Rod Laver

Lore & Background

Rodney George Laver was born in Rockhampton, Australia, on 9 August 1938. He was the third of four children of Roy Laver, a cattleman and butcher, and his wife Melba Roffey. Amongst his relatives were the cricketers Frank Laver and Jack Laver. He attended Rockhampton State High School in 1991. Laver was a teenager when he left school to pursue a tennis career that lasted 24 years. He was coached in Queensland by Charlie Hollis and later by the Australian Davis Cup team captain Harry Hopman, who gave Laver the nickname 'Rocket'.

Laver was both Australian and US Junior champion in 1957. His first major singles title was the Australian Championships in 1960. In 1962, Laver became the first male player since Don Budge in 1938 to win all four Grand Slam singles titles in the same year. He won an additional 18 titles, for a season total of 22. In December 1962, Laver turned professional after winning the Davis Cup with the Australian team. During the next seven years, Laver won the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships five times, including four in a row beginning in 1966. In 1967, he won the Wimbledon Pro, US Pro Championships, Wembley Pro Championships, and French Pro Championship, giving him a professional Grand Slam.

With the dawn of the Open Era in 1968, Laver became Wimbledon's first Open Era champion. In 1969, Laver won all four Grand Slam tournaments in the same calendar year for the second time. He won 18 of the 32 singles tournaments he entered (still the Open Era titles record) and compiled a 106–16 win–loss record.

Reader's Guide

Rod Laver is significant as the only tennis player, male or female, to have won the Grand Slam (all four major singles titles in a calendar year) twice, in 1962 and 1969. The latter remains the only time a man has done so in the Open Era. He also completed the Pro Slam in 1967. Laver won 200 singles titles across his amateur and professional careers, the most won by any tennis player. He was ranked world number 1 professional indisputably for five years from 1965 to 1969, and by some sources also in 1964 and 1970. He contributed to five Davis Cup titles for Australia during a time when the Davis Cup was deemed as significant as the four majors. The Rod Laver Arena (the main show court of the Australian Open) and the Laver Cup tournament are named after him. His legacy includes being the only player to have won titles on all court surfaces of his time (grass, clay, hard, carpet, wood).

Did You Know?

• Laver won 200 singles titles across his amateur and professional careers, the most won by any tennis player.
• He is the only player in tennis history to have won titles on all court surfaces of his time (grass, clay, hard, carpet, wood).
• Laver won the Grand Slam in singles twice, in 1962 and 1969; the latter remains the only time a man has done so in the Open Era.
• The Rod Laver Arena and the Laver Cup tournament are named after him.