Jiro Sato

For the actor, see Jiro Sato (actor). For the baseball player, see Reinaldo Sato.
Jiro Sato
Jiro Sato in 1932 at Central Station, Sydney
Country (sports) Empire of Japan
Born(1908-01-05)January 5, 1908
Gunma Prefecture, Empire of Japan
DiedApril 5, 1934(1934-04-05) (aged 26)
Strait of Malacca
Turned pro1929 (amateur tour)[1]
Retired1934 (death)
PlaysRight-handed
Singles
Career record128-26 (83.1%) [2]
Career titles18 [2]
Highest rankingNo. 3 (1933, A. Wallis Myers)[3]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenSF (1932)
French OpenSF (1931, 1933)
WimbledonSF (1932, 1933)
US Open4R (1933)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
WimbledonF (1933)[4]
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian OpenF (1932)[5]

Jiro Sato (佐藤 次郎, Satō Jirō, Japanese pronunciation: [sa.toː dʑi.ɾoː]; January 5, 1908 – April 5, 1934) was a Japanese tennis player. He was ranked world No. 3 in 1933, but committed suicide in the Strait of Malacca during his trip to the Davis Cup in 1934.[6]

He received worldwide fame in Wimbledon 1932, when he beat the defending champion Sidney Wood at the quarterfinal. In the semifinal, he lost to Bunny Austin. His peak came in 1933, when he beat Fred Perry in the French Open quarterfinal. He was ranked world No. 3 by A. Wallis Myers of The Daily Telegraph, behind Jack Crawford and Fred Perry.[7] However, it got more and more difficult for him to endure the enormous pressure from Japan. It is believed that pressure drove him to throw himself overboard into the Strait of Malacca on April 5, 1934, at 26 years of age.[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference tennis&golf5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Garcia, Gabriel. "Jiro Sato: Career match record". thetennisbase.com. Tennismem SL. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  3. ^ Andy Yanne (December 3, 2006). "Asian players who made a mark: A historical look". tennishk.org. Hong Kong, China: Hong Kong Tennis Association. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Straits was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "1932 Mixed Doubles". australianopen.com. Melbourne: Tennis Australia. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  6. ^ a b John Cottrell (August 30, 1971). "Death En Route To Wimbledon". Sports Illustrated. Vol. 35, no. 9. Sydney, Australia. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  7. ^ "Mr. Wallis Myers' ranking". The Sydney Morning Herald. 103 (29, 866). Sydney: 7. September 22, 1933. Retrieved March 15, 2013.