Laver, Rod

Rod Laver, byname of Rodney George Laver, (born August 9, 1938, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia), Australian tennis player, the second male player in the history of the game (after Don Budge in 1938) to win the four major singles championships—Australian, French, British (Wimbledon), and U.S.—in one year (1962) and the first to repeat this Grand Slam (1969). Laver is considered one of the greatest players in the history of tennis.

The son of two tournament lawn tennis players, Laver was introduced early to the game. Considered too small to become a good player, he began vigorous practice as a youth in the Australian outback. Later he came to the attention of the Australian Davis Cup captain, Harry Hopman, and “Rocket,” as Laver was dubbed by Hopman, became a member of the Australian Davis Cup squad at the age of 18. He first toured overseas in 1956, and his first outstanding success was winning the Australian doubles championship with Robert Mark and the Wimbledon mixed doubles with Darlene Hard in 1959. He won the Australian singles in 1960. In Wimbledon play, Laver won the men’s singles four times (1961–62, 1968–69), the mixed doubles twice (1959–60), and the men’s doubles once (1971). In 1962 he added the Italian and German singles titles to his four Grand Slam victories. From 1959 through 1962 and in 1973 he played for the Australian team in Davis Cup competition, leading the country to victory each year he competed; in 1962 he won all three of his matches—two singles and one doubles—in the challenge (final) round.

Laver turned professional in 1963 and dominated the professional game with his power and accuracy. Open tournaments were introduced in 1968, and that year he won the first open Wimbledon championship. His championship play continued into the 1970s. In 1971 he became the first professional tennis player to surpass the $1,000,000 mark in career prize money, and he held on to his position as tennis’s all-time leading money-winner until 1978. In 1976 the 38-year-old Laver retired from professional play, having won an unprecedented 200 singles titles. However, he continued to compete at other levels, notably playing (1976–78) for the San Diego team of the World Team Tennis league.

Laver was the recipient of numerous honours. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1981. In 2000 Centre Court at Melbourne Park (home of the Australian Open) was renamed Rod Laver Arena, and in 2017 the Laver Cup debuted; the annual tournament features two six-player teams (Team Europe and Team World). He cowrote the memoirs The Education of a Tennis Player (1971; with Bud Collins), which focuses on his 1969 season, and Rod Laver (2013; with Larry Writer).