12 Tennis Legends

Sure, Venus and Serena Williams may be the most unstoppable sister act in tennis history. And Pete Sampras may have won more grand slam singles titles than any other man before him. But these are just the latest in a long line of tennis champions. With this list, Encarta celebrates tennis players who achieved greatness long before today's champions were even born.

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1. Suzanne Rachel Flore Lenglen of France, who in the 1920s became one of the first tennis players to turn professional, was also famous for her revealing apparel, which exposed her forearms and calves.

2. American Helen Wills Moody dominated women's tennis in the 1920s and is now considered one of the greatest female tennis players in the sport's history. She was known as Little Miss Poker Face because of her unemotional style of play.

3. American Bill Tilden was one of the all-around tennis players of the 1920s, with wins at the U.S. Open, Wimbledon, Davis Cup, and other tournaments. He was also an all-around kind of guy: he wrote books, a play, and acted in several plays.

4. British athlete Fred Perry first became famous for playing table tennis (or Ping-Pong): he won the world singles championship at age 20. He then took up tennis and in 1933 led the British team to its first Davis Cup victory since 1912.

5. In 1938 American athlete Don Budge became the first person to win the U.S., Wimbledon, French, and Australian singles championships in one year.

6. After the busy years of the 1940s where he led the Davis Cup team to several victories, won two U.S. Open singles championships, and won Wimbledon, American Jack Kramer* retired from play in 1957 and became a full-time tennis promoter.

7. American Maureen "Little Mo" Connolly won the Australian championships, the French championships, Wimbledon, and the United States championships in 1953, becoming the first woman to win the tennis grand slam.

8. In 1957 the Associated Press named American tennis player and golfer Althea Gibson athlete of the year. Seven years earlier, she was the first black athlete to play in the U.S. Open championships.

9. With more than 60 major titles, Australian Margaret Smith Court* is one of the most successful players--male or female--in tennis history. She is the only player to win the grand slam in doubles (1963) and singles (1970) play.

10. Australian tennis player Rod Laver is the one and only athlete to win the grand slam of tennis (Wimbledon, and the French, Australian, and U.S. Open titles) twice; he won as an amateur in 1962 and as a professional in 1969.

11. Arthur Ashe broke new ground by being the first African American man to win a major tennis tournament. In 1969 he also became the first amateur to ever win the U.S. amateur championship and the U.S. Open titles in the same year.

12. In 1969 American Pancho Gonzalez, who never had a formal tennis lesson, played a 112-game match at Wimbledon at the age of 41. He won the match, which was the longest match in Wimbledon history.

Encarta Encyclopedia can help you learn more about the history of tennis.

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