Quick Facts
Biography
Kurt Nielsen (19 November 1930 – 11 June 2011) was a Danish tennis player. He was born in Copenhagen, and is the only Danish tennis player ever to have played in a Men's Singles final in a Grand Slam tournament.
Nielsen reached the singles finals of Wimbledon in 1953 (losing to Vic Seixas, having defeated Ken Rosewall in the quarterfinal) and 1955 (losing to Tony Trabert). Before this, he won the Boys' Singles at Wimbledon in 1947 (defeating Sven Davidson). Besides his successes at Wimbledon, he won the Boys' singles at the French Open, and reached senior quarterfinals in the French Open (twice) and the US Open.
With Althea Gibson, Nielsen won the US Open mixed doubles in 1957, thereby becoming the first Dane to have ever won a Grand Slam event as a senior. During his long career he won around 30 international titles, played 96 Davis Cup matches for Denmark (with a 53–43 record), and holds the record of having won the most Danish national tennis championships (50). Nielsen turned professional in 1960, and played on the pro circuit.
After ending his active career, Nielsen held numerous honourable positions in leading international tennis associations, as well as being supervisor and referee at many Grand Slam events. He was a commentator on the Danish version of the TV channel Eurosport until late 2006.
Nielsen was the grandfather of Danish tennis player Frederik Løchte Nielsen. He followed his grandfather and became the second Dane to win a Grand Slam tournament at the 2012 Wimbledon men's doubles.
Grand Slam singles finals
Singles: 2 (0–2)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1953 | Wimbledon |  Vic Seixas | 7–9, 3–6, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 1955 | Wimbledon | Tony Trabert | 3–6, 5–7, 1–6 |
Mixed doubles: 2 (1–1)
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1957 | US Open | Althea Gibson | Darlene Hard Robert Howe | 6–3, 9–7 |
| Runner-up | 1958 | Wimbledon | Althea Gibson | Lorraine Coghlan Robinson Robert Howe | 3–6, 11–13 |
Singles performance timeline
The following lists main draw appearances for Grand Slam and pre-Open Era Professional Major tournaments only.
| Tournament | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Championships | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | Absent; had turned pro | 0–0 | |||||
| French Championships | 3R | A | A | 1R | 4R1 | A | 2R | 4R1 | 4R | 4R | 1R | 4R | 1R | 16–10 | ||||||
| Wimbledon Championships | 2R | A | 1R | 3R | 3R | F | 4R | F | 3R | 3R | SF | 2R | 3R | 31–12 | ||||||
| U.S. National Championships | A | A | A | A | 3R | QF | A | 3R | A | 4R | 1R | A | A | 11–5 | ||||||
| Win–loss | 3–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 6–3 | 10–2 | 4–2 | 10–3 | 5–2 | 7–3 | 5–3 | 4–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 58–27 |
| Professional majors | ||||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. Pro Tennis Championships | Absent; had not turned pro | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0–0 | |||||||||||
| French Pro Championship | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | 0–6 | ||||||||||||
| Wembley Championships | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | PR | A | 1R | 0–5 | ||||||||||||
| Win–loss | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–11 |
Note: 1 First round bye