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| Full name | Bernard James Bartzen |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  United States |
| Born | (1927-11-25)November 25, 1927 Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | July 10, 2019(2019-07-10) (aged 91) Ft. Worth, Texas, U.S. |
| Turned pro | 1945 (amateur tour) |
| Retired | 1960 |
| Plays | Left-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| College | College of William & Mary |
| Singles | |
| Highest ranking | No. 8 (1959,Lance Tingay)[1] |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| French Open | 4R (1953) |
| Wimbledon | 2R (1953) |
| US Open | SF (1959) |
Bernard "Tut" Bartzen (November 25, 1927 – July 10, 2019) was an Americantennis player in the mid-20th century, who later became a winning college tennis coach.
Born in 1927 inAustin, Texas, Bartzen moved with his family toSan Angelo when he was 5 years old.[2] He won three Texas state high school titles — two in singles and one in doubles — and the National Interscholastic singles championship.
Bartzen attended theCollege of William & Mary, where the left-hander posted a 50–0 singles record. He also won the NCAA doubles title withFred Kovaleski in 1948.[2]
Bartzen went on the American tennis circuit and was ranked in the top 10 nine straight years (1953–1961), two of them at No. 2 (1959 and 1960).[2]Lance Tingay ofThe Daily Telegraph ranked him world No. 8 for 1959.[1] During his career, he had wins over such future Hall of Famers asVic Seixas andTony Trabert. One of those wins over Trabert came in 1955 in the final at the event inCincinnati, where Bartzen won three titles: 1955, 1957 and 1958.
Bartzen reached the semifinals of theU.S. National Championships in1959 (beatingVic Seixas and third-seededBarry MacKay before losing to eventual championNeale Fraser)[3] and the quarterfinals in 1955.
He also won fourU.S. Clay Court Championships[4] held at River Forest, Illinois in 1954 defeatingTony Trabert in the final, in 1958 defeatingSammy Giammalva in the final, in 1959 defeatingWhitney Reed in the final, and in 1961.
Bartzen won theCanadian National title on red clay in 1954.
Bartzen was a member of theU.S. Davis Cup team between 1952 and 1961 and won all his 15 singles matches. In 1959 and 1960 he served as co-captain.[5]
After his playing career, Bartzen served 12 years as head tennis pro at Colonial Country Club inFort Worth, Texas, where he hosted theColonial National Invitational Tournament, before taking over theTexas Christian University program in 1974. His tennis teams were ranked nationally every year but one in a 20-year stretch.[6]
Bartzen was inducted into the Texas Tennis Hall of Fame in 1982 and theTexas Sports Hall of Fame in 1995.[5][6]
Bernard James "Tut" Bartzen died on July 10, 2019, 19 years to the day after his wife, Sara Jane Ledbetter.[7]
