Sidney Wood

Sidney Burr Wood Jr. (November 1, 1911 –

Sidney Wood
January 10, 2009) was an American tennis player
who won the 1931 Wimbledon singles title. Wood
was ranked in the world's Top 10 five times between
1931 and 1938, and was ranked World No. 6 in 1931
and 1934 and No. 5 in 1938 by A. Wallis Myers of
The Daily Telegraph.[2]

Career
Wood was born in Black Rock, Connecticut. He won
the Arizona State Men's Tournament on his 14th
birthday, which qualified him for the French
Championship and earned him a spot at
Wimbledon.[3] He attended The Hill School in Full name Sidney Burr Beardslee
Pottstown, Pennsylvania, where he created the Wood Jr.
tradition of "J-ball." At the French Championships in Country (sports) United States
1927, 15 year old Wood was the youngest competitor
Born November 1, 1911
ever in the men's singles event.[4] In the 1927
Black Rock, Connecticut, U.S.
Wimbledon Championships, Wood became the
youngest competitor in the Men's Singles at 15 years Died January 10, 2009 (aged 97)
231 days old and the Men's Doubles at 15 years 234 Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.

days old.[5] He was the third youngest winner of the Turned pro 1927 (amateur tour)
Wimbledon Championships, which he won in 1931 Retired 1956
at the age of 19 (beating Fred Perry in the semi- Plays Right-handed (1-handed
finals and then Frank Shields withdrew from the backhand)
final due to an ankle injury).[6] Shields did so on
Int. Tennis HoF 1964 (member page ([Link]
request of the U.S. Davis Cup Committee, "Frank
[Link]/hall-of-fa
wanted to play me and it was an insult to Wimbledon
mers/inductees/sidney-wood/))
and the public that he didn't," recalled Wood.[7][8]
Wood is the only uncontested winner of a Singles
Wimbledon final.[9] He also reached the finals of the Highest ranking No. 5 (1938, A. Wallis Myers)[1]
Mixed Doubles of the French Championships in Grand Slam singles results
1932, the Davis Cup in 1934, and the U.S. National
French Open 3R (1928, 1932)
Championships Men's Singles in 1935 (losing to
Wimbledon W (1931)
Wilmer Allison).
US Open F (1935)
Wood is credited with inventing, designing and Doubles
patenting Supreme Court, a synthetic playing surface
Grand Slam doubles results
used for indoor courts.[10] It was used by the World
Championship Tennis tour from 1973 to 1978. He Wimbledon SF (1931)
was inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 1964. US Open F (1942)
In 2000, he led the Parade of Champions at
Mixed doubles
Wimbledon as the oldest surviving title holder. At
the time of his death, he was the oldest living Hall of Grand Slam mixed doubles results

Famer.[11] French Open F (1932)

Team competitions
Davis Cup F (1934)
Grand Slam finals

Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score

Win 1931 Wimbledon Grass Frank Shields walkover [12]

U.S. National [13]

Loss 1935 Grass Wilmer Allison 2–6, 2–6, 3–6
Championships

Doubles: 1 runner-up

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score

Gardnar
Ted 7–9, 5–7, [14]
Loss 1942 U.S. Championships Grass Mulloy
Schroeder 1–6
Bill Talbert

Mixed Doubles: 1 runner-up

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score

French Helen Wills Betty Nuthall

Loss 1932 Clay 4–6, 2–6
Championships Moody Fred Perry

Family
Wood's uncle Watson Washburn was a Davis Cup team member. He credited his uncle with introducing
him to tennis.[3]

Wood was the father of David, Colin, Sidney III, and W. Godfrey Wood. Sidney Wood III, a Yale tennis
player, died at the age of 22 in an early morning car accident, in a car driven by a tennis teammate on a
North Carolina highway in 1961.[15] Colin is the young boy portrayed by Diane Arbus in the iconic 1962
photograph Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park.[16] Godfrey became a sports executive.
Wood was survived by three sons and his last wife, Patricia Wood (sister of the fashion editor Catherine
Murray di Montezemolo[17]).

References
1. "Bromwich placed third" ([Link]
UDAAAAIBAJ&dq=wallis-myers&pg=5321%2C640312). The Sydney Morning Herald.
October 5, 1938. p. 19 – via Google News Archive.
2. Béla Kehrling, ed. (November 1, 1931). "Külföldi hírek" ([Link]
52/pdf/EPA02127_tennis_es_golf_1931_3_020.pdf) [International news] (PDF). Tennisz és
Golf. III (in Hungarian). Vol. 20. Budapest, Hungary: Egyesült Kő-, Könyvnyomda. Könyv- és
Lapkiadó Rt. pp. 16–17. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
3. Tennis Master Sydney Wood Dies ([Link]
Southampton Press, January 15, 2009.
4. "Grand Slam Tennis Statistics" ([Link] [Link].
5. "Wimbledon Records & Statistics" ([Link]
[Link]/en_GB/about/history/[Link]). Event Guide - History. AELTC. Archived
from the original ([Link] on January
18, 2009. Retrieved January 14, 2009.
6. "Wimbledon 1931" ([Link] [Link].
7. Collins, Bud (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter
Press. p. 43. ISBN 9780942257700.
8. Sarah Kirkham (August 28, 2014). "Throwback Thursday: Sidney Wood wins without
winning" ([Link]
ck_thursday_sidney_wood_wins_without_winning.html). [Link]. AELTC.
9. Richard Goldstein (January 14, 2009). "Sidney Wood, 97, only Wimbledon winner by
default" ([Link] The
New York Times. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
10. Charles Friedman (February 16, 1975). "Ex‐Champion Seeking the Perfect Court" ([Link]
[Link]/1975/02/26/archives/[Link]). The New
York Times.
11. Tennis Great Sidney Woods Dies ([Link]
0090111/LOCAL06/901110279) Associated Press, January 11, 2009
12. "Wimbledon Rolls of Honour / Gentlemen's Singles" ([Link]
_of_honour/[Link]). Wimbledon official tournament website. Retrieved
September 27, 2015.
13. "U.S. Open Past Champions / Men's Singles" ([Link]
3/[Link] U.S. Open official website.
Archived from the original ([Link] on
February 22, 2009. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
14. "U.S. Open Past Champions / Men's Doubles" ([Link]
0/[Link] U.S. Open official website.
Archived from the original ([Link] on
October 25, 2007. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
15. Father & Son ([Link]
azine/article/0,9171,872201,[Link]?iid=chix-sphere) Time Magazine, March 31, 1961
16. Segal, David. "Double Exposure: a Moment With Diane Arbus Created a Lasting
Impression." ([Link]
[Link]) Washington Post, May 12, 2005. Retrieved February 3, 2010.
17. "Patricia Wood, Edward Ney" ([Link]
[Link]). The New York Times. April 30, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2021.

External links
Sidney Wood ([Link] at the
International Tennis Hall of Fame
Sidney Wood ([Link] at the Association of
Tennis Professionals
Sidney Wood ([Link] at the
International Tennis Federation
Sidney Wood ([Link] at the
Davis Cup

Retrieved from "[Link]