Quick Facts
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John David Newcombe, AO, OBE (born 23 May 1944) is a former tennis player from Australia who is one of the few men to have attained a world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles. At the majors, he won seven singles titles and a former record 17 men's doubles titles. He also contributed to five Davis Cup titles for Australia during an age when Davis Cup was deemed as significant as the majors. Tennis magazine rated him the 10th best male player of the period 1965–2005.
Biography
Newcombe played several sports as a boy before devoting himself to tennis. He was the Australian junior champion from 1961 to 1963 and was a member of Australia's Davis Cup winning team in 1964. He won his first Grand Slam title in 1965 by taking the Australian Championships doubles title with fellow Australian Tony Roche. That same year, the duo won the Wimbledon doubles title. They teamed to win the Australian doubles championship three more times, Wimbledon another four times and the US Championships in 1967, the French Championships in 1967, and the French Open in 1969. They won 12 Grand Slam titles, which remained the all-time record for a men's doubles team until 2013, when it was surpassed by Bob and Mike Bryan.
Newcombe's powerful serve and volley was the backbone of his attacking game. He frequently came up with a second-serve ace. He was the top ranked amateur in the world in 1967 according to Lance Tingay, although Rex Bellamy ranked him second behind Roy Emerson. As a professional, Newcombe was the joint world No. 1 player in 1970 and 1971. In singles play, he was a two-time winner of the Australian Open, a three-time winner of Wimbledon, and a two-time winner of the US Open.
In January 1968, he signed a three-year professional contract with Lamar Hunt's World Championship Tennis (WCT) and became part of the "Handsome Eight", the original eight WCT players. As a member of the WCT professional tour group and the Players' Union, Newcombe was banned by the International Tennis Federation from competing in the 1972 Wimbledon Championships and he joined the ATP boycott of the event in 1973.
Newcombe was the last of the Australians who dominated tennis in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, included Newcombe in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time.
Newcombe was captain of the Australian Davis Cup team from 1995 until 2000.
He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985 and in 1986 his achievements were recognized with his induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Grand Slam finals
Singles (7 titles, 3 runner-ups)
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1966 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Fred Stolle | 6–4, 10–12, 3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 1967 | Wimbledon | Grass | Wilhelm Bungert | 6–2, 6–1, 6–1 |
| Win | 1967 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Clark Graebner | 6–4, 6–4, 8–6 |
| Loss | 1969 | Wimbledon | Grass | Rod Laver | 4–6, 7–5, 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 1970 | Wimbledon | Grass | Ken Rosewall | 5–7, 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–1 |
| Win | 1971 | Wimbledon | Grass | Stan Smith | 6–3, 5–7, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 1973 | Australian Open | Grass | Onny Parun | 6–3, 6–7, 7–5, 6–1 |
| Win | 1973 | US Open | Grass | Jan Kodeš | 6–4, 1–6, 4–6, 6–2, 6–3 |
| Win | 1975 | Australian Open | Grass | Jimmy Connors | 7–5, 3–6, 6–4, 7–6 |
| Loss | 1976 | Australian Open | Grass | Mark Edmondson | 7–6, 3–6, 6–7, 1–6 |
Grand Slam performance timeline
Singles
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | SR | W–L | Win % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | 1R | A | QF | QF | QF | SF | SF | SF | A | QF | QF | 3R | QF | W | QF | W | F | A | QF | A | 1 / 1 | 46–14 | 76.7 |
| French Open | A | 3R | 3R | 2R | 2R | QF | 3R | 4R | A | QF | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | 1R | A | A | 1 / 7 | 16–10 | 61.5 | |
| Wimbledon | A | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 4R | 3R | W | 4R | F | W | W | A | A | QF | A | 3R | A | 4R | 2 / 12 | 45–11 | 80.4 | |
| US Open | A | A | A | 4R | 3R | A | F | W | QF | SF | SF | 1R | 3R | W | SF | A | A | A | A | 0 / 6 | 45–9 | 83.3 | |
| Win–Loss | 0–1 | 0–2 | 5–3 | 5–4 | 5–4 | 10–3 | 14–4 | 20–2 | 7–2 | 18–4 | 13–2 | 8–2 | 4–2 | 12–1 | 12–3 | 6–0 | 7–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4 / 26 | 152–44 | 77.6 | |
Source: ITF
Distinctions
- Newcombe served as chairman of the International Tennis Players Association which formed in 1969.
- He served as president of the Association of Tennis Professionals in 1977 and 1978.
- Overall, he won 26 Grand Slam titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles (27 if his 1965 mixed doubles shared win is added).
- Newcombe and Rod Laver are the only players to ever win both the US Open and Wimbledon men's singles titles as an amateur and as a professional. The grass surfaces favoured his game, and the French Open's clay surface was the only major singles championship he never won. However, he did take the French doubles title on three occasions.
- He is an Australian Living Treasure.
- The Newcombe Medal, awarded yearly to the most outstanding Australian tennis player, is named in honour of his tennis achievements.
- He runs the John Newcombe Tennis Ranch & Tennis Academy in New Braunfels, Texas.
- In 2001, he was revealed to be President George W. Bush's drinking companion on the night of 4 September 1976, when Bush was charged with driving under the influence. This controversy surfaced during the 2000 US Presidential Election.
- He partners with Cliff Drysdale to develop the John Newcombe Estate & Country Club in New Braunfels, Texas.