 | |
| Full name | Henry Christian Hopman |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  Australia |
| Born | (1906-08-12)12 August 1906 Glebe, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 27 December 1985(1985-12-27) (aged 79) Seminole, Florida, USA |
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1978(member page) |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 463-201 (69.7%)[1] |
| Career titles | 34[1] |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | F (1930,1931,1932) |
| French Open | QF (1930) |
| Wimbledon | 4R (1934,1935) |
| US Open | QF (1938,1939) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 0–0 |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | W (1929, 1930) |
| French Open | F (1930, 1948) |
| US Open | F (1939) |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| Australian Open | W (1930, 1936, 1937, 1939) |
| Wimbledon | F (1945) |
| US Open | W (1939) |
Henry Christian HopmanCBE (12 August 1906 – 27 December 1985) was an Australiantennis player and coach.
Harry Hopman was born on 12 August 1906 inGlebe, Sydney as the third child of John Henry Hopman, a schoolteacher, and Jennie Siberteen, née Glad. His family then moved toParramatta.
Hopman started playing tennis at the age of 13 and, playing barefoot, won an open singles tournament on a court in the playground of Rosehill Public School where his father was headmaster.[2] He was later a student atParramatta High School where he played tennis andcricket.
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Hopman was the successful captain-coach of 22 AustralianDavis Cup teams from 1939 to 1967. With players such asFrank Sedgman,Ken McGregor,Lew Hoad,Ken Rosewall,Rod Laver,Neale Fraser,John Newcombe,Fred Stolle,Tony Roche,Roy Emerson,Ashley Cooper,Rex Hartwig,Mervyn Rose andMal Anderson, he won the cup an unmatched 16 times.
In late 1951, when it appeared that Davis Cup player Frank Sedgman was about to turn professional, Hopman used his column in theMelbourne Herald to lead a fundraising campaign designed to keep Sedgman in the amateur ranks. Enough money was raised to purchase a petrol station in the name of Sedgman's wife-to-be and Sedgman remained an amateur for one more year. As Joe McCauley writes inThe History of Professional Tennis, "For some reason, the pious Hopman, a strong opponent of the paid game, did not regard this as an infringement of Sedgman's amateur status."[3]
Hopman was also a journalist, joining theMelbourne Herald in 1933 as a sportswriter. He provided sporting commentary. AfterWorld War II, this became his focus until he was once again coaxed into tennis coaching. As an example of Hopman's journalism, Kramer writes that Sedgman, by then a successful touring professional, once "volunteered to help train the Aussie Davis Cup team. Hopman accepted the offer, and then he took Sedg aside and told him that what Hoad and Rosewall needed was confidence. So he told Sedg to go easy on them, which he gladly did. After a few days, Hopman wrote an exclusive in his newspaper column revealing how his kids could whip Sedgman and how this proved once again that amateurs were better than the pros."[4]
TheHopman Cup was named in his honour. Until her death in mid-2018, his widow Lucy Hopman travelled toPerth, Western Australia each year for the tournament.
Hopman was inducted into theInternational Tennis Hall of Fame inNewport, Rhode Island, in 1978.
Tennis greatJack Kramer, who was also a successful promoter of the professional tour, writes in his 1979 autobiography that Hopman "always knew exactly what was going on with all his amateurs. He had no children, no hobbies, and tennis was everything to him. Hopman always said he hated the pros, and he battledopen tennis to the bitter end, but as early as the time when Sedgman and McGregor signed, Hopman was trying to get himself included in the deal so he could get a job with pro tennis in America."[4]
Kramer, who admits that Hopman "has never been my favorite guy", goes on to say: "The minute one of his stars would turn pro, Hopman would turn on him. No matter how close he'd been to a player, as soon as he was out of Hopman's control, the guy was an outcast. 'It was as if we'd never existed'Rosewall said once."[4]
Hopman was first married toNell Hall, with whom he won fourmixed doubles finals. The marriage took place on 19 March 1934 atSt Philip's Anglican Church in Sydney. She died of an intracranial tumour on 10 January 1968.[5] Hopman emigrated to the United States in 1969 and became a successful professional coach, atPort Washington Tennis Academy, of future champions such asVitas Gerulaitis and laterJohn McEnroe. Hopman later opened the Harry Hopman's International Tennis camp in Treasure Island thenLargo, Florida, with his second wife, Lucy Pope Fox, whom he married on 2 February 1971.[6]
He was appointedMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the1951 New Year Honours for services to sport, and promoted toCommander of the Order (CBE) in the1956 New Year Honours, again for services to sport (particularly tennis).[7][8]
Hopman died of a heart attack on 27 December 1985.[9]
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1930 | Australian Championships | Grass | Edgar Moon | 3–6, 1–6, 3–6 |
| Runner-up | 1931 | Australian Championships | Grass | Jack Crawford | 4–6, 2–6, 6–2, 1–6 |
| Runner-up | 1932 | Australian Championships | Grass | Jack Crawford | 4–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 6–1 |
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1929 | Australian Championships | Grass | Jack Crawford | Jack CummingsEdgar Moon | 6–1, 6–8, 4–6, 6–1, 6–3 |
| Winner | 1930 | Australian Championships | Grass | Jack Crawford | Tim FitchettJohn Hawkes | 8–6, 6–1, 2–6, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 1930 | French Championships | Clay | Jim Willard |  Henri CochetJacques Brugnon | 3–6, 7–8, 3–6 |
| Runner-up | 1931 | Australian Championships | Grass | Jack Crawford | James AndersonNorman Brookes | 2–6, 4–6, 3–6 |
| Runner-up | 1932 | Australian Championships | Grass | Gerald Patterson | Jack Crawford Edgar Moon | 10–12, 3–6, 6–4, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 1939 | US Championships | Grass | Jack Crawford | Adrian QuistJohn Bromwich | 6–8, 1–6, 4–6 |
| Runner-up | 1948 | French Championships | Clay | Frank Sedgman |  Lennart Bergelin Jaroslav Drobný | 6–8, 1–6, 10–12 |
| Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1930 | Australian Championships | Grass | Nell Hall Hopman | Marjorie Cox CrawfordJack Crawford | 11–9, 3–6, 6–3 |
| Runner-up | 1932 | Wimbledon Championships | Grass |  Josane Sigart |  Elizabeth Ryan Enrique Maier | 5–7, 2–6 |
| Runner-up | 1935 | Wimbledon Championships | Grass | Nell Hall Hopman |  Dorothy Round LittleFred Perry | 5–7, 6–4, 2–6 |
| Winner | 1936 | Australian Championships | Grass | Nell Hall Hopman | May BlickAbe Kay | 6–2, 6–0 |
| Winner | 1937 | Australian Championships | Grass | Nell Hall Hopman | Dorothy StevensonDon Turnbull | 3–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
| Winner | 1939 | Australian Championships | Grass | Nell Hall Hopman | Margaret WilsonJohn Bromwich | 6–8, 6–2, 6–3 |
| Winner | 1939 | US Championships | Grass | Alice Marble | Sarah Palfrey CookeElwood Cooke | 9–7, 6–1 |
| Runner-up | 1940 | Australian Championships | Grass | Nell Hall Hopman | Nancye Wynne BoltonColin Long | 5–7, 6–2, 4–6 |
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | 1938 | 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | SR | W–L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 3R | 2R | QF | SF | F | F | F | QF | QF | 3R | SF | SF | 3R | QF | QF | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | QF | 1R | 2R | 3R | 3R | 2R | A | A | 0 / 21 | 39–20 | 66.1 |
| France | A | A | 2R | A | QF | A | A | A | 4R | 4R | A | A | A | A | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | A | A | 2R | A | 3R | A | 1R | 2R | 0 / 8 | 10–6 | 62.5 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | 2R | A | 3R | A | 3R | A | 4R | 4R | A | A | A | A | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | NH | 2R | A | 2R | A | 3R | A | 1R | A | 0 / 9 | 15–9 | 62.5 |
| United States | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | QF | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | 2R | A | 2R | A | A | A | 0 / 6 | 9–6 | 60.0 |
| Win–loss | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–4 | 3–1 | 9–3 | 4–1 | 6–2 | 2–1 | 7–3 | 6–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 5–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–3 | 0–0 | 3–4 | 1–1 | 6–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0 / 44 | 73–41 | 64.0 |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |