 Jiro Sato in 1932 at Central Station, Sydney | |
| Country (sports) |  Empire of Japan |
|---|---|
| Born | (1908-01-05)January 5, 1908 |
| Died | April 5, 1934(1934-04-05) (aged 26) |
| Turned pro | 1929 (amateur tour)[1] |
| Retired | 1934 (death) |
| Plays | Right-handed |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 128-26 (83.1%)[2] |
| Career titles | 18[2] |
| Highest ranking | No. 3 (1933,A. Wallis Myers)[3] |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | SF (1932) |
| French Open | SF (1931,1933) |
| Wimbledon | SF (1932,1933) |
| US Open | 4R (1933) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Wimbledon | F (1933)[4] |
| Mixed doubles | |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| Australian Open | F (1932)[5] |
Jiro Sato (佐藤 次郎,Satō Jirō;Japanese pronunciation:[sa.toːdʑi.ɾoː]; January 5, 1908 – April 5, 1934) was a Japanesetennis player. He was ranked world No. 3 in 1933 but committed suicide in theStrait of Malacca during his trip to theDavis Cup in 1934.[6]
He received worldwide fame at Wimbledon in 1932, when he beat the defending championSidney Wood in the quarterfinal. In the semifinal, he lost toBunny Austin. His peak came in 1933, when he beatFred Perry in theFrench Open quarterfinal. He was ranked world No. 3 byA. Wallis Myers ofThe Daily Telegraph, behindJack Crawford andFred Perry.[7] However, it got more and more difficult for him to endure the enormous pressure from Japan. It is believed that this pressure drove him to throw himself overboard into theStrait of Malacca on April 5, 1934, at 26 years of age.[6]
He debuted on the international tennis scene in 1929 when the touringRacing Club de Paris visited Japan for a series of exhibition matches. He notably defeated tennis legendsJacques Brugnon,Raymond Rodel andPierre Henri Landry, only losing toHenri Cochet.[1]
In 1930, he was the runner-up for theAll Japan Championships, which he finally did win the next year.[4] Also in 1930, he was a runner-up for the Mid-Pacific Invitational tournament, losing to AmericanCranston Holman and the doubles final as well.[8][9]
In 1931, he lost the Miramar L. T. C. title inJuan-les-Pins againstHyotaro Sato, won the doubles, and was a finalist in mixed doubles.[10] He clinched theSouth of England Championships in singles and doubles. He was defeated byJean Borotra for theBritish Covered Court Championships title.[11] He partnered with Hyotaro Sato to gain the Beau Site Club de Cannes second meeting trophy[12] and the St. Raphaël T.C. title.[13] In singles competition, he claimed the Country Club de Monte-Carlo second meeting title (the same tournament in which the Sato pair reached the doubles final).[13] He became Dutch doubles champion alongsideMinoru Kawachi.[14] In July, he beatVernon Kirby to win theTunbridge Wells Championship.[15] He captured theMidland Counties Championships in singles and mixed doubles that same month, only losing in the doubles final.[16]
Between July and November 1931, he won 13 singles titles in Great Britain.[17] He metFred Perry twice for thePacific Southwest Championships title in 1932 and 1933, losing both times.[18][19] In August 1933, he partnered compatriotRyosuke Nunoi to win the doubles title at theGerman Championships inHamburg.[20]
From 1931 to 1933, Sato played in ten ties for the JapaneseDavis Cup team and won 22 rubbers and lost only six, compiling a 79% winning record.
Sato played with a flat forehand drive, which he modeled afterHenri Cochet when Cochet visited Japan in 1929. He hit the ball on the forehand side early after the bounce and was an excellent volleyer.[21]
Jiro Sato attendedWaseda University and studied economics.[6] He abandoned his studies in 1933 to pursue tennis.[6] He had an elder brother, Hyotaro Sato, who was also a tennis player.[22] In 1934, he was engaged toSanae Okada,[6] one of Japan's best female tennis players.[22]
On April 4, 1934, Jiro Sato was on the shipN.Y.K. Hakone Maru crossing theStrait of Malacca en route to Europe for the1934 International Lawn Tennis Challenge (later to be known as Davis Cup) against theAustralia Davis Cup team in the second round.Ted Tinling was also on board. Earlier that day, Sato complained of stomach pains and thus had no appetite and remained in his cabin. He considered leaving the ship atSingapore, which he did for a medical examination. The exam revealed no reasons for his health problems, and it was concluded that his problems were psychological. Sato was nervous and feared that his illness would be an obstacle for his team to win. As the day passed, theJapan Davis Cup team was given a banquet hosted by the Japanese consul in Singapore. Sato was present and was further pushed by the consul and his teammates to proceed with the trip and sail to Europe. That same day a cable was received from theJapanese Lawn Tennis Association insisting on Sato's participation in the Davis Cup and that the voyage should be resumed without delay.[6]
At 11:30 p.m. on April 5, 1934, before reachingPenang, Sato was found missing by his compatriotJiro Yamagishi.[6] The last time he was seen was at 8:30 p.m. when he had dinner in his cabin.[4] He left two suicide notes, one to his Japanese tennis teammates expressing doubts that he would be able to help the team in the upcoming contest. He begged them to forgive him and do their best to prevail in the match. He promised he would be with his colleagues in spirit.[6][22] The other note was addressed to the ship's captain, apologizing for the inconveniences that his actions might cause. A search for him continued for seven more hours and the vessel hovered in the strait.[6] Wireless messages were sent to nearby ships.[4] Later further evidence was found which confirmed the suicide theory. Two iron davit-winding handles and a training skip-rope were missing, which Sato probably used to tie weights on himself to make sure he would drown. After the discovery of the new evidence, the ship sent out a radio message stating that "Japan's finest tennis player and national hero was believed to have committed suicide by throwing himself overboard". On April 6, a prayer was ministered by his friends who assembled on the deck of the ship.[6] An altar was built on board with photographs and racquets of Sato placed around it.[22] Also a traditional Japanese "cake offering" ceremony was held.[4][22] It was speculated that the pressure on him came from the growing prestige of theEmpire of Japan and from the Japanese Lawn Tennis Association who refused to allow the exhausted Sato to have a break from tennis and skip the 1934 season. He became depressed and concerned about his abilities.[6]
Several world class players reacted to the event.Fred Perry said that Sato was "one of the cheeriest men he had ever known".Bunny Austin added, "He had a great sense of humor...He always gave the impression that he would be the last man on earth to come to such an end".Ryuki Miki took over as captain of the Davis Cup team and went on to win the1934 Wimbledon Championships mixed doubles title the same year. Miki stated Sato was a joyful person who loved jokes and making people laugh. His fiancée recalled that Sato hoped he could stay atSingapore. She further added: "I believe Jiro committed suicide solely from a sense of responsibility after he had acceded to the tennis association's urgings to proceed to Europe, even when he wanted to return from Singapore. To the end of my life I shall regret that it was the order of the Japanese Lawn Tennis Association that resulted in his death. Jiro was a man of honor and he played every time for the honor of Japan."[6] His brother Hyotaro Sato addressed a call for the Japanese team to not cancel their match and to fight their hardest.[22]
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1933 | Wimbledon | Grass |  Ryosuke Nunoi |  Jean BorotraJacques Brugnon | 6–4, 3–6, 3–6, 5–7 |
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1932 | Australian Championships | Grass |  Meryl O'Hara Wood | Marjorie Cox CrawfordJack Crawford | 8–6, 6–8, 3–6 |
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | Career |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Championships | - | SF | - | 3–1 |
| French Championships | SF | 4R | SF | 13–3 |
| Wimbledon | QF | SF | SF | 14–3 |
| US Championships | - | 2R | 4R | 2–2 |
| Grand Slam W-L | 9–2 | 11-4 | 12-3 | 32–9 |
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