Eric Sturgess

Full name	Eric William Sturgess
Country (sports)	South Africa
Born	(1920-05-10)10 May 1920 Johannesburg,South Africa
Died	14 January 2004(2004-01-14) (aged 83) Sunninghill,South Africa
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record	292–55 (84.15%)
Highest ranking	No. 6 (1948,John Olliff)[1]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	SF (1950)
French Open	F (1947,1951)
Wimbledon	SF (1951)
US Open	F (1948)
Doubles
Career record	0–1
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	F (1950)
French Open	W (1947)
Wimbledon	F (1951,1952)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	F (1950)
French Open	W (1947, 1949)
Wimbledon	W (1949,1950)
US Open	W (1949)

Eric William Sturgess (10 May 1920 – 14 January 2004) was aSouth Africanmale tennis player and winner of six Grand Slam doubles titles. He also reached the singles final of a Grand Slam tournament three times but never won. Sturgess was ranked World No. 6 by John Olliff ofThe Daily Telegraph in both 1948 and 1949.^[1][2]

Eric Sturgess was born inJohannesburg, where he attendedParktown Boys' High School.^[3] Sturgess joined the South African Air Force on the outbreak ofWorld War II and became an instructor with No 4 Spitfire Squadron,SAAF. In October 1944 he was shot down by anti-aircraft fire, captured on landing and sent to the air force officers' prison camp,Stalag Luft III, in eastern Germany. In January 1945 he was transported to Stalag IIIA atLuckenwalde which was liberated two months later by the advancing Russian forces.^[3]

He reached the singles final of the 1947 and 1951French Championships but lost toHungarianJózsef Asbóth (6–8, 5–7, 4–6) andJaroslav Drobný (6–3, 6–3, 6–3) respectively. In 1947 he won the doubles competition with countrymanEustace Fannin. In 1948 he reached the singles final at theU.S. National Championships but lost to AmericanPancho Gonzales.^[4]

In 1947 and 1948 he won theBritish Hard Court Championships played inBournemouth. He won the first threeSwedish Open tournaments (1948, 1949, 1950), played inBåstad. Sturgess won a record 11 singles titles at theSouth African Championships between 1939 and 1957.

At both the 1951 and 1952South African Open, he won in the finals playingSyd Levy of South Africa.

By the end of his career Sturgess had reached 15 Grand Slam finals (three in singles, six in doubles and six in mixed doubles). He won four titles (the 1947 French Championships doubles title, the 1949 French Championships mixed doubles title and the 1949 and 1950 Wimbledon mixed doubles title).^[4]

He represented South Africa in theDavis Cup competition in six ties, compiling a 13–5 record in singles and doubles.^[5]

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1947	French Championships	Clay	József Asbóth	6–8, 5–7, 4–6
Loss	1948	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Pancho Gonzales	2–6, 3–6, 12–14
Loss	1951	French Championships	Clay	Jaroslav Drobný	3–6, 3–6, 3–6

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1947	French Championships	Clay	Eustace Fannin	Tom Brown Bill Sidwell	6–4, 4–6, 6–4, 6–3
Loss	1949	French Championships	Clay	Eustace Fannin	Pancho Gonzales Frank Parker	3–6, 6–8, 7–5, 3–6
Loss	1950	Australian Championships	Grass	Jaroslav Drobný	John Bromwich Adrian Quist	3–6, 7–5, 6–4, 3–6, 6–8
Loss	1950	French Championships	Clay	Jaroslav Drobný	Bill Talbert Tony Trabert	2–6, 6–1, 8–10, 2–6
Loss	1951	Wimbledon	Grass	Jaroslav Drobný	Ken McGregor Frank Sedgman	6–3, 2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss	1952	Wimbledon	Grass	Vic Seixas	Ken McGregor Frank Sedgman	3–6, 5–7, 4–6

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1947	French Championships	Clay	Sheila Piercey Summers	Jadwiga Jędrzejowska Cristea Caralulis	6–0, 6–0
Win	1949	French Championships	Clay	Sheila Piercey Summers	Jean Quertier Gerry Oakley	6–1, 6–1
Win	1949	Wimbledon	Grass	Sheila Piercey Summers	Louise Brough John Bromwich	9–7, 9–11, 7–5
Win	1949	U.S. National Championships	Grass	Louise Brough	Margaret Osborne duPont Bill Talbert	4–6, 6–3, 7–5
Loss	1950	Australian Championships	Grass	Joyce Fitch	Doris Hart Frank Sedgman	6–8, 4–6
Win	1950	Wimbledon	Grass	Louise Brough	Pat Canning Todd Geoff Brown	11–9, 1–6, 6–4
Loss	1952	French Championships	Clay	Shirley Fry	Doris Hart Frank Sedgman	8–6, 3–6, 3–6

• Eric Sturgess at theAssociation of Tennis Professionals
• Eric Sturgess at theInternational Tennis Federation
• Eric Sturgess at theDavis Cup (archived)
• Telegraph obituary

• South African people of British descent
• French Championships (tennis) champions
• Tennis players from Johannesburg
• South African male tennis players
• Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era)
• 1920 births
• 2004 deaths
• Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles
• Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles
• Alumni of Parktown Boys' High School
• South African Air Force personnel of World War II
• 20th-century South African sportsmen

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from November 2020
• Use South African English from July 2012
• All Wikipedia articles written in South African English