 Johnston in 1916 in his match against Richard "Dick" Norris Williams II | |
| Full name | William Marquitz Johnston |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  United States |
| Born | (1894-11-02)November 2, 1894 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Died | May 1, 1946(1946-05-01) (aged 51) San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) |
| Turned pro | 1913 (amateur tour) |
| Retired | 1928 |
| Plays | Right-handed (1-handed backhand) |
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1958(member page) |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 350–51 (87.3%)[1] |
| Career titles | 42[1] |
| Highest ranking | No.1 (1919,A. Wallis Myers)[2] |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Wimbledon | W (1923) |
| US Open | W (1915,1919) |
| Other tournaments | |
| WHCC | W (1923) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | SF (1921) |
| US Open | W (1915, 1916, 1920) |
| Mixed doubles | |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | 2R (1923) |
| US Open | W (1921) |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | W (1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926) |
William Marquitz "Little Bill"Johnston (November 2, 1894 – May 1, 1946) was an Americanworld No. 1tennis player.
Bill Johnston was born November 2, 1894, in San Francisco, the son of Robert Johnston, an electrical plant mechanic and Margaret Burns, of Irish origin. Johnston started to play tennis in early 1906, aged 11, on the public asphalt courts in Golden Gate Park. After the1906 San Francisco earthquake, the schools were closed, and he spent much of his spare time practicing on the tennis courts. He achieved his first tournament victory at the 1910 Bay Counties junior singles competition.[3]
In 1916, Johnston won theCincinnati Open (now Cincinnati Masters) afterClarence Griffin defaulted in the challenge round. Johnston won the Longwood Challenge Cup, played on the Longwood Courts at Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts in 1913, 1916, 1919, 1920 and 1921.[4]
During World War I, Johnston served in the U.S. Navy.[5]
Johnston was theco-World No. 1 player in 1919 and in 1922 respectively along withGerald Patterson andBill Tilden. He won theUS Championships in 1915 and 1919 as well as theWorld Hard Court Championships (clay) andWimbledon in 1923.[6]
Until"Big Bill" Tilden began to defeat him regularly in 1920, Johnston had been the best American player for a number of years and was ranked No. 1 by theUnited States Lawn Tennis Association in 1915 and 1919.[7] In July 1919, Johnston defeated Tilden in the final of theU.S. Clay Court Championships.[8] A month later, Johnston beat Tilden in three straight sets in the final of the1919 US Championships, then Tilden overtook him in 1920. Johnston remained competitive with Tilden for the next seven or eight years, but was never able to beat Tilden in an important match again. For instance, in 1922 Johnston defeated Tilden three times out of four occasions but Tilden beat Johnston in the final of the U.S. Championships in five sets.[9] In 1923, despite Johnston winning both theWorld Hard Court Championships and Wimbledon, he failed to beat Tilden at the US Championships, losing in three one-sided sets. Johnston threatened to get closer to beating Tilden on the big stage in following years, but memorably lost the 1925 US Championships final in five sets to Tilden. Johnston was runner-up a record six times in theUS Championships, and this is still a record today. Together Johnston and Tilden won seven consecutiveDavis Cup trophies, from 1920 to 1926, a record that still stands.[10] In September 1927, Johnston announced his retirement after the U.S.Davis Cup loss to the French team consisting of the 'Four Musketeers' and confirmed his decision in mid-1928.[11] He turned down an offer to become professional.[12]
Johnston was renowned for the power and deadliness of his forehand drive, which he hit shoulder-high with a Western grip.[5][13][14]
After his tennis career, Johnston was active in the brokerage industry. He died of tuberculosis on May 1, 1946, at the age of 51.[15]
Bill Johnston was inducted into theInternational Tennis Hall of Fame in 1958.
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1915 | U.S. Championships | Grass |  Maurice McLoughlin | 1–6, 6–0, 7–5, 10–8 |
| Loss | 1916 | U.S. Championships | Grass |  R. Norris Williams | 6–4, 4–6, 6–0, 2–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 1919 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Bill Tilden | 6–4, 6–4, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1920 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Bill Tilden | 1–6, 6–1, 5–7, 7–5, 3–6 |
| Loss | 1922 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Bill Tilden | 6–4, 6–3, 2–6, 3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 1923 | Wimbledon | Grass | Frank Hunter | 6–0, 6–3, 6–1 |
| Loss | 1923 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Bill Tilden | 4–6, 1–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 1924 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Bill Tilden | 1–6, 7–9, 2–6 |
| Loss | 1925 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Bill Tilden | 6–4, 9–11, 3–6, 6–4, 3–6 |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1915 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Clarence Griffin | Maurice E. McLoughlinTom Bundy | 2–6, 6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 |
| Win | 1916 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Clarence Griffin | Maurice E. McLoughlinHenry Ward Dawson | 6–4, 6–3, 5–7, 6–3 |
| Win | 1920 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Clarence Griffin | Roland RobertsWillis E. Davis | 6–2, 6–2, 6–3 |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1921 | U.S. Championships | Grass | Mary Browne | Molla Bjurstedt MalloryBill Tilden | 3–6, 6–4, 6–3 |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1923 | World Hard Court Championships | Clay |  Jean Washer | 4–6, 6–2, 6–2, 4–6, 6–3 |
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
Events with a challenge round: (WC) won; (CR) lost the challenge round; (FA) all comers' finalist
(OF) only for French players
| 1913 | 1914 | 1915 | 1916 | 1917 | 1918 | 1919 | 1920 | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | 1927 | SR | W–L | Win % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | 3 / 15 | 67–12 | 84.8 | |||||||||||||||
| French | OF | not held | OF | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | |||||||||
| Wimbledon | A | A | not held | A | 2R | A | A | W | A | A | A | A | 1 / 2 | 8–1 | 88.9 | |||
| U.S. | 3R | 2R | W | F | A | A | W | F | 4R | F | F | F | F | QF | SF | 2 / 13 | 59–11 | 84.3 |
| Australian | A | A | A | not held | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 0 | 0–0 | – | ||
| Win–loss | 2–1 | 1–1 | 7–0 | 6–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 7–0 | 7–2 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 12–1 | 6–1 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 4–1 | |||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
