Anthony Wilding

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Anthony Wilding
1914
)
Medal record
Men's tennis
Representing  Australasia
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1912 Stockholm Indoor singles

Anthony Frederick Wilding (31 October 1883 – 9 May 1915), also known as Tony Wilding, was a New Zealand

ILTF World Championships (period 1912–1923): In singles, two World Hard Court Championships (WHCC) (1913–14) and one World Covered Court Championships (WCCC) (1913). With his eleven Grand Slam tournaments, two WHCC and one WCCC titles, he has a total of fourteen Major tournament titles (nine singles, five doubles). His sweep of the three ILTF World Championships in 1913 was accomplished on three different surfaces (grass, clay and wood) being the first time this has been achieved in Major tournaments.[4]

Wilding won the

Battle of Aubers Ridge at Neuve-Chapelle, France. In 1978 Wilding was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame
.

Early life

Wilding at four years old

Wilding was the second of five children of Frederick Wilding and Julia Anthony and was named after both parents.[7] Cora Wilding was a younger sister.[8] Wilding's parents emigrated from Herefordshire, England to Christchurch, New Zealand after their marriage in 1879. His father was a well-to-do lawyer in Christchurch who also played tennis and won several doubles championships of New Zealand. His mother was the daughter of Alderman Charles Anthony, mayor of Hereford.[7]

At their farmlet, situated on the banks of the

English Bar at the Inner Temple in June 1906.[20]

Tennis career

British tournaments and Wimbledon debut

In October 1901 at the age of 17 Wilding won his first singles title at the Canterbury Championships.

Dorothea Douglass, the reigning Wimbledon ladies champion.[27] Wilding worked diligently on improving his backhand during the winter of 1903–04.[28]

He made his first appearance at the Wimbledon Championships in June 1904, defeating Albert Prebble in the first round of the singles event before losing to Harold Mahony in four sets.[29] He was pleased to take a set from the 1896 champion: "To my great delight I captured a set and made Mahony talk to himself a great deal".[30] Shortly afterwards, at the Welsh Championships, he reached his first singles final which he lost in straight sets to S.H. Smith.[31] He won his first title in England at the Championships of Shropshire followed by a win at the Thompson Challenge Cup in Redhill; both relatively new and minor events on the tennis circuit.[32] In August 1904 Wilding won the Scottish Championships in Moffat, defeating C.J. Glenny in the final.[33] At his second Wimbledon appearance he came back from two-sets down to defeat William Clothier in the fourth round but lost in the quarterfinal against the experienced Arthur Gore.[34]

Davis Cup debut and first European tour

In July 1905 he made his first

Homburg which were both, as almost all tournaments on the European mainland, played on clay.[39][40][41]

Riviera circuit and Wimbledon semifinal

Starting in February 1906 Wilding toured during almost the entire year across continental Europe and England, sometimes travelling by train but most often on his beloved motorcycle. For the first time he played the

Francis Fisher in the final, and doubles title, partnering compatriot Rodney Heath.[46] A week later he also won the New Zealand Championship against Harry Parker in the final.[47] At the 1907 Wimbledon Championships Wilding had the misfortune to be drawn in the same section[f] as tournament favourite and eventual champion Norman Brookes who defeated him in their second-round match in five sets.[g][49] Reluctant to return to New Zealand to practise law, as he originally intended, Wilding instead decided to play a circuit of European tournaments. During the 1907–08 winter, when tennis activity was at a low, he generated income as an English teacher and tennis trainer for aristocratic families in Bohemia and Hungary. In March 1908 he partnered Major Ritchie to win the doubles title at the South of France tournament against multiple Wimbledon champions Lawrence and Reginald Doherty.[50] Wilding won the 1908 Victorian Championships singles title after defeating Fred Alexander.[51]

Wilding dressed in tennis attire, c. 1912

Between 1907 and 1909 he helped the Australasian team win three consecutive Davis Cups, the first against the

Wimbledon singles title for four straight years between 1910 and 1913. He was the last player to win four successive championships until 1979; when Bjorn Borg won his fourth successive championship.[30] He attained the first of three No. 1 rankings in 1911.[54] In 1910 and 1912 he defeated Arthur Gore in the final, both times in four sets. In 1911 his opponent Herbert Roper Barrett retired in the final at two sets all. In 1913 at Wimbledon tennis player and author A. Wallis Myers says that he played "the best game of his life", beating American Maurice McLoughlin, the 1912 U.S. National Championships winner, in three straight sets.[55][56] In 1914 he narrowly missed winning his fifth title in a row, losing in the final to Norman Brookes. In addition, he won four men's doubles titles at Wimbledon, in 1907 and 1914 with Norman Brookes and in 1908 and 1910 partnering with Major Ritchie.[57][58]

He missed the 1908 Olympics in London because of an administrative error in which the Australasia Olympic committee forgot to officially nominate any tennis players, but at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm won a bronze medal in the men's indoor singles for Australasia.[59][60]

During the 1911 Riviera season Wilding defeated Max Decugis in the final of three tournaments in Monte Carlo, Menton and Nice.[61]

Triple World Champion

Wilding won a unique World Championships triple in 1913:[62]

Tony Wilding won all three events in 1913. In a sense, this was the equivalent of achieving what would later become known as the Grand Slam of Tennis because all three of the major tournaments sanctioned by the world governing body were won by one player and all in one calendar year.[63][64][h] In 1914 Wilding retained his World Hard Court Championship title in Paris without losing a single set, defeating Ludwig von Salm-Hoogstraeten in the final.[65]

In 1914, after a five-year absence, he returned to Davis Cup play, and with Norman Brookes, lead the Australasian team to another championship, defeating the United States team in the Challenge round before a home crowd at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York.[66] This turned out to be his final tournament. Wilding had entered the 1914 U.S. Championships which followed later in August but withdrew due to the outbreak of World War I and returned to England.[67][68][69]

Wilding was a leading tennis player in the world during 1909–1914 and is considered a former world No. 1. Norman Brookes in 1950 compiled a ranking list of greatest tennis players and put Wilding fourth behind Bill Tilden and the Dohertys, and ahead of Budge, Kramer, Lacoste and Perry.[70] Over his career, he was popular among fans and players alike, being honest and professional, advising players to "[b]e moderate in all things, especially in eating, smoking and drinking."[30] His style was to play powershots from the baseline.[30]

Other sports

Wilding on a BAT motorcycle off to John o' Groats from Land's End in 1908

He also played for the

Racing Club de France.[74][75] He considered that "play must be combined with various other exercises. The prizefighter does not limit his training to sparring" and in doing so advanced the physical requirements for competitive tennis.[30] He was a keen motorcycle (with sidecar) rider with many long trips in Europe, New Zealand and America. In July 1908 he won a gold medal in a 1,437 kilometres (893 mi) reliability trial from Land's End to John o' Groats on his BAT-JAP motorcycle.[76] Several "mighty rides" (Myers) in Europe in 1910 included London to Lake Geneva and back, some 4,800 kilometres (3,000 mi), including 560 kilometres (350 mi) from Évian-les-Bains to Paris in one day. He ventured into places with poor roads like Hungary and Serbia. Wilding frequently used a motorcycle to travel between tennis tournaments on the European continent.[77]

Major finals

Main article: Anthony Wilding career statistics

Grand Slam singles

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Win 1906
Australasian Championships
 Grass
Francis Fisher
 6–0, 6–4, 6–4
Win 1909 Australasian Championships Grass Australia Ernie Parker 6–1, 7–5, 6–2
Win 1910
Wimbledon
 Grass United Kingdom Arthur Gore 6–4, 7–5, 4–6, 6–2
Win 1911 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom Herbert Roper Barrett 6–4, 4–6, 2–6, 6–2 ret.
Win 1912 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom Arthur Gore 6–4, 6–4, 4–6, 6–4
Win 1913 Wimbledon [i] Grass United States Maurice McLoughlin 8–6, 6–3, 10–8
Loss 1914 Wimbledon [j] Grass Australia Norman Brookes 4–6, 4–6, 5–7

World Championships singles

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Win 1913 World Hard Court Championships Clay France André Gobert 6–3, 6–3, 1–6, 6–4
Win 1913 World Covered Court Championships Wood France Maurice Germot 5–7, 6–2, 6–3, 6–1
Win 1914 World Hard Court Championships Clay Austria-Hungary Ludwig von Salm-Hoogstraeten 6–0, 6–2, 6–4

Performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Events with a challenge round: (WC) won; (CR) lost the challenge round; (FA) all comers' finalist

1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments 6 / 12 30–6 83.3
French not held 0 / 0 0–0 –
Wimbledon
 2R QF SF 2R QF A WC WC WC WC CR 4 / 10 23–6 79.3
U.S. A A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 0 0–0 –
Australian NH A W A A W A A A A A 2 / 2 7–0 100.0
Win–loss 1–1 3–1 7–1 1–1 3–1 4–0 8–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–1

Military service and death

Wilding in his armoured car in Paris in January 1915

Shortly after the outbreak of World War I, Wilding joined the

Battle of Aubers Ridge at Neuve-Chapelle, France when a shell exploded on the roof of the dug-out he was sheltering in.[20][70][83]

Wilding was buried the next day at the front but was later re-interred at the Rue-des-Berceaux Military Cemetery in Richebourg-l'Avoué, Pas-de-Calais, France.[84][85] He had been dating, and was rumored to be about to marry, Broadway star Maxine Elliott, 15 years his senior.[86][87][88]

Legacy and honours

In 1978, he was inducted into the

statuette based on him titled Physical Energy.[93][94]

Records

All time

Tournament Since Record accomplished Players matched
All tournaments
 1877 114 career outdoor titles won (1900–1915)[95] Rod Laver
1877 23 titles won in a single season (1906)[95] Stands alone
1877 19 consecutive titles (1913–1914) [96] Bill Tilden
1877 91.77% (636–57) career match winning percentage [97] Stands alone
1877 92.46% (564–46) outdoor match winning percentage [97] Stands alone
1877 96.01% (313–13) clay court match winning percentage[98] Stands alone
1877 120 consecutive clay court match victories (1910–1914) [97][99] Stands alone
1877 22 consecutive clay court titles (1912–1914) [97] Stands alone

See also

Notes

  1. ILTF
  2. ^ Wilding is also the first player from New Zealand to win a Grand Slam doubles title and also the first player from New Zealand to win a Grand Slam title.
  3. ^ Between 1905 and 1914 Australia and New Zealand entered the Davis Cup competition as a combined Australasia team. During this period Wilding was the only New Zealander to play for the team.
  4. Franzensbad, Carlsbad, Baden-Baden and Sheffield.[42]
  5. ^ Wilding made a stopover in Melbourne on invitation of Norman Brookes in order to practice with his prospective 1907 Davis Cup doubles partner and play the Victorian Championships. Wilding lost the Victorian singles final in straight sets to Brookes but together they won the doubles title against Dunlop and Heath.[45]
  6. ^ During Wilding's career the draws at Wimbledon did not have seeded players which meant that the strongest players could be drawn against each other in the early rounds. A simplified system of seeding was introduced during the 1924 Wimbledon Championships when up to four players from a country were drawn in the four different quarters of the draw. The current merit–based seeding based on rankings was introduced in 1927.[48]
  7. ^ Wilding won the All England Plate, a Wimbledon competition for players who were defeated in the first or second round of the singles event at the Wimbledon Championships.
  8. ^ The current four majors were only made officially so from 1924/1925
  9. ILTF
  10. ILTF

References

  1. ^ a b "Anthony Wilding: Career match record". thetennisbase.com. Tennis Base.
  2. ^ "Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  3. ^ Katwala, Sunder (24 June 2013). "It's time to remember Tony Wilding, the first tennis superstar". The New Statesman. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  4. ^ "International Tennis Hall of Fame". www.tennisfame.com. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Anthony Wilding". Olympedia. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Mektic and Pavic win all-Croatian final to take doubles gold". SportsDesk. 30 July 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  7. ^ a b Wallis Myers (1916), p. 7
  8. ^ Sargison, Patricia A. "Wilding, Cora Hilda Blanche". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  9. ^ Wilding, Anthony F. (1912). On The Court And Off. New York: Doubleday, Page & Co. p. 88.
  10. ^ Richardson & Richardson (2005), p. 18
  11. ^ a b Richardson & Richardson (2005), p. 24
  12. ^ Wallis Myers (1916), p. 37
  13. ^ Wallis Myers (1916), p. 45
  14. ^ Richardson & Richardson (2005), pp. 32–33
  15. ^ Wilding (1913), p. 97
  16. ^ Richardson & Richardson (2005), p. 39–41
  17. ^ Wilding (1913), pp. 100–101
  18. ^ Richardson & Richardson (2005), p. 73
  19. ^ Wilding (1913), p. 109
  20. ^ a b c "Biographies – Wilding, Anthony Frederick". The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  21. PapersPast
    .
  22. ^ Wallis Myers (1916), p. 43
  23. ^ Richardson & Richardson (2005), p. 29
  24. ^ Richardson & Richardson (2005), pp. 61–62
  25. ^ "Lawn Tennis – Sheffield and Hallamshire Club". The Sheffield Daily Independent. British Newspaper Archive. 3 July 1903. p. 10.
  26. ^ "Lawn Tennis – Sheffield and Hallamshire Club". The Sheffield Daily Independent. British Newspaper Archive. 4 July 1903. p. 10.
  27. ^ Richardson & Richardson (2005), p. 64
  28. ^ Richardson & Richardson (2005), pp. 70
  29. PapersPast
    .
  30. ^ a b c d e "Remembering Anthony Wilding: Wimbledon.com looks back at the career of Anthony Wilding, who lost his life in the First World War". Wimbledon.com. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  31. ^ Richardson & Richardson (2005), pp. 78–79
  32. ^ Richardson & Richardson (2005), p. 79
  33. PapersPast
    .
  34. ^ Richardson & Richardson (2005), pp. 97–98
  35. ^ Richardson & Richardson (2005), p. 100
  36. PapersPast
    .
  37. PapersPast
    .
  38. ^ "Redhill". Lawn Tennis and Badminton. Vol. X, no. 261. 26 July 1905. pp. 247, 248.
  39. PapersPast
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  40. PapersPast
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  41. ^ Richardson & Richardson (2005), p. 108
  42. ^ Richardson & Richardson (2005), p. 123
  43. ^ Richardson & Richardson (2005), pp. 125–126
  44. ^ "Lawn Tennis". Evening Post. Vol. LXXII, no. 120. 17 November 1906. p. 14.
  45. ^ Richardson & Richardson (2005), pp. 129–132
  46. ^ "The Tennis Tournament". Evening Post. 31 December 1906. p. 2.
  47. ^ "The Finals". Evening Post. 2 January 1907. p. 3.
  48. ISBN 978-1-899039-40-1
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  49. ^ Richardson & Richardson (2005), pp. 151–152
  50. ^ "Lawn Tennis". The Border Morning Mail and Riverina Times (Albury, NSW : 1903–1920). Albury, NSW: National Library of Australia. 19 March 1908. p. 4.
  51. ^ "Lawn Tennis – Victorian Singles Championship". Evening Post. Vol. LXXVI, no. 124. 24 November 1908. p. 7.
  52. ^ "Lawn Tennis – Spirited Contest for Davis Cup". The Straits Times. No. 23, 155. 30 December 1909. p. 3.
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  54. ^ "Tennis Hall of Fame". Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  55. ^ A. Wallis Myers (1916). Captain Anthony Wilding. London: Hodder and Stoughton. p. 161.
  56. ^ Wallis Myers, Arthur (1921). Twenty Years of Lawn Tennis – Some Personal Memories. London: Methuen & Co. Ltd. pp. 26, 27.
  57. ^ "Lawn Tennis – Success of Wilding and Ritchie". Evening Post. 17 August 1910. p. 9. Retrieved 8 July 2012.
  58. ISBN 978-0-942257-70-0
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  59. ^ "Anglo-Colonial Tennis". Auckland Star. Vol. XXXIX, no. 172. 20 July 1908. p. 6.
  60. ^ "Tony Wilding Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  61. ^ Huka (18 March 1911). "Lawn Tennis". Evening Post. Vol. LXXXI, no. 65. p. 14.
  62. ^ "Lawn Tennis". Poverty Bay Herald. Vol. XL, no. 13235. 18 November 1913. p. 5.
  63. ^ Bensen, Clark (2013–2014). "The World Championships of 1913 to 1923: the Forgotten Majors" (PDF). tenniscollectors.org. Newport, RI, United States: Journal of The Tennis Collectors of America. p. 470. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2018. Number 30
  64. ^ "The End of the Early World Clay Court Championships". Histoire du Tennis.
  65. ^ "1912–1914 The first World Clay Court Championships". Histoire du Tennis.
  66. ^ "Davis Cup – Results 1914 Challenge Round". ITF. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  67. ^ "In National Lawn Tennis Tourney at Newport – Wilding Defaults". The Paterson Press. 25 August 1914.
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  69. ^ "Tennis Cracks in Championship" (PDF). The New York Times. 23 August 1914.
  70. ^ a b "Anthony Wilding: Wimbledon Champion 1910–1914". Wilding family. 2001. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  71. ^ "Players – Anthony Wilding". Cricket Archive.
  72. ^ "Player profile – Tony Wilding". ESPN.
  73. ^ Wallis Myers (1916), p. 50
  74. ^ Wilding (1913), p. 106
  75. ^ Wallis Myers (1916), p. 59
  76. ^ Richardson & Richardson (2005), pp. 176–177
  77. ^ Captain Anthony Wilding. London: Hodder and Stoughton. 1916. pp. 133, 134. Retrieved 4 August 2013.
  78. ^ "Lieut. Anthony Wilding – From Tennis to the Royal Marines". Feilding Star. Vol. XI, no. 2464. 5 October 1914. p. 2.
  79. ^ a b c A. Wallis Myers (1916). Captain Anthony Wilding. London: Hodder and Stoughton. pp. 260–267.
  80. ^ "Anthony Wilding Appointed Lieutenant". Wairarapa Daily Times. Vol. LXVI, no. 12098. 5 October 1914. p. 5.
  81. ^ Captain Anthony Wilding. London: Hodder and Stoughton. 1916. p. 286.
  82. ^ "Wilding's Heroic Death". Poverty Bay Herald. Vol. XLII, no. 13750. 31 July 1915. p. 3.
  83. ^ "Wilding Foresaw Death". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 31 July 1915. p. 17.
  84. ^ "Casualty Details – Wilding, Anthony Frederick". www.cwgc.org. Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
  85. ^ "Online Cenotaph – Anthony Frederick Wilding". www.aucklandmuseum.com. Auckland War Memorial Museum.
  86. ^ Phillips, HJ (14 September 1915). "Maxine Elliot hourly faces death". Salt Lake Telegram. p. 4.
  87. ^ "Researching a tennis legacy". The New York Times. 22 June 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  88. ISBN 9781473878365
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  89. ^ "Net Inductees". Rome News-Tribune. 12 July 1978.
  90. ^ Joseph Romanos. "Tennis – The development of tennis, 1870s to 1910s". Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
  91. ^ "Anthony Wilding (1883–1915)". www.nzhalloffame.co.nz. New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame.
  92. New Zealand Post
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  93. ^ Wallis Myers (1916), p. 244
  94. Gallica
    : 71.
  95. ^ a b Simons, Asher (24 January 2014). "Sporting Heroes: Anthony Wilding – Wimbledon champ died on Western Front". www.independent.co.uk. The Independent Newspaper UK. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  96. ^ "The Tennis Base: Record titles streak". Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  97. ^ a b c d Garcia, Gabriel (2018). "WILDING, TONY / ALL TIME RECORDS". thetennisbase.com. Madrid, Spain: Tennismem SAL. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  98. ^ "Tennis Base: Tony Wilding career match record".
  99. ^ Ilic, Jovica (10 May 2017). "May 9, 1915 – Tennis ace Anthony Wilding loses his life in the World War I". Tennis World USA.

Sources

Books
Online biographies

External links

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