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| Full name | Malcolm Douglass Whitman |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  United States |
| Born | (1877-03-15)March 15, 1877 New York City, United States |
| Died | December 28, 1932(1932-12-28) (aged 55) New York City, United States |
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) |
| Turned pro | 1896 (amateur tour) |
| Retired | 1917 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1955(member page) |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 110–28 (79.7%)[1] |
| Career titles | 17[1] |
| Highest ranking | No.1 (1900,ITHF)[2] |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| US Open | W (1898,1899,1900) |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | W (1900,1902) |
Malcolm "Mal" Douglass Whitman (March 15, 1877 – December 28, 1932) was an Americantennis player who won three singles titles at theU.S. National Championships.
He graduated fromThe Roxbury Latin School, where he is celebrated as one of its greatest athletes. Whitman was American intercollegiatesingles tennis champion in 1896[3] and doubles champion in 1897 and 1898[4] as a student atHarvard University. He graduated fromHarvard Law School in 1899 and received his bachelor in law degree in 1902.[5]
In 1896, Whitman entered his first U.S. National Championships at theNewport Casino and lost in the quarterfinals toBill Larned. In 1897, he lost in the quarterfinals, this time againstHarold Nisbet.[6] Whitman is best known for this hat-trick of singles titles at the U.S. National Championships. Between 1898 and 1900, he stayed undefeated there. In 1901, he did not compete and in the1902 Championships, and he lost in the All-Comers final to EnglishmanReginald Doherty. According to the Doherty brothers, Malcolm Whitman and Bill Larned were at the time the best American singles players.
He played on the inauguralAmerican Davis Cup squad in 1900 and beat EnglishmanArthur Gore inBoston, Massachusetts to help his US team win the trophy.[7] In the 1902 Davis Cup final against Great Britain in Brooklyn, he contributed to his team's win by defeatingJoshua Pim and Reginald Doherty in the singles.[8]
Whitman retired from tennis in 1902 at the age of 25. He was a member of the executive committee of the U.S. National Lawn Tennis Association and held management positions in several companies.[5]
In 1932, he wrote a book on the origin of tennis titledTennis - Origins and Mysteries.
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1898 | U.S. National Championships | Grass |  Dwight Davis | 3–6, 6–2, 6–2, 6–1 | [9] |
| Win | 1899 | U.S. National Championships | Grass | J. Parmly Paret | 6–1, 6–2, 3–6, 7–5 | [9] |
| Win | 1900 | U.S. National Championships | Grass | William Larned | 6–4, 1–6, 6–2, 6–2 | [9] |
In their bookR.F. and H.L. Doherty - On Lawn Tennis (1903) multiple Wimbledon champions Reginald and Lawrence Doherty described Whitman's playing style:
Whitman is very safe everywhere, and has not a weak point. We believe he has only been beaten once in the last five years. Perhaps his backhand is almost as good as his forehand. He plays the volleying game, as nearly all the Americans do, and gets up to the net on every possible occasion, and when at the net is very hard to pass. He is wonderfully sure on his volley and, besides, has an enormous reach, and is very active and severe overhead. On the ground he plays rather a soft but still an accurate game, and gets more pace on the ball than he seems to. His length is always excellent. He hits the ball rather low, and passes well. And he has that supreme merit - that he rarely misses easy strokes.
— On Lawn Tennis - 1903[10]
Whitman married his first wife, Janet McCook in 1907. She died in December 1909 after the birth of their second child.[11] In July 1912, Whitman married Jennie Adeline Crocker but they divorced in 1924. In 1926, Whitman married Lucilla Mara de Vescovi, known as theCountess Mara. In December 1931, his daughter Mary, 16, from his second marriage, died ofpneumonia.[12] On December 28, 1932, Whitman committed suicide by jumping off an apartment building in New York after a nervous breakdown.[13]
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| National | |
