The former American star passed away on Wednesday at the age of 90.
Former great American tennis champion Tony Trabert, winner of five Grand Slam tournaments in the 1950s, died Wednesday at the age of 90, the International Hall of Fame announced Thursday. To his credit one of the best seasons in the history of the yellow ball in 1955, when he won no less than 18 tournaments including three Majors out of four: Roland Garros, which he had already won the previous year, Wimbledon, and the US Open (then called US National Championships) where he won for the first time in 1953.
During that season, he had won 106 matches, including 38 in a row, and had lost only 7. And it took a great Ken Rosewall in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, to deprive him of this last lift. He is part of the closed club of seven players to have won three major titles in a single season. Only Don Budge (1938), Rod Laver (1962, 1969), Mats Wilander (1988), Roger Federer (2004, 2006, 2007), Rafael Nadal (2010) and Novak Djokovic (2011, 2015) have achieved this.
“A formidable ambassador of tennis”
Stan Smith
Trabert, who was president of the Hall of Fame from 2001 to 2011 and was a consultant for 30 years on American television, had also converted to coach. Captain of the American Davis Cup team from 1976 to 1980, he notably guided John McEnroe to the titles in 1978 and 1979. “He didn’t just show us how to be a great champion. He has also been a role model coach, a fair and effective leader, someone who has been a tremendous ambassador for tennis. He was a good friend to me and to many others and he will be sadly missed, ”Hall of Fame President Stan Smith paid tribute to him.
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