Frank Sedgman facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Frank Sedgman
AO

Full name	Francis Arthur Sedgman
Country (sports)	Australia
Born	(1927-10-29) 29 October 1927 (age 97) Mont Albert, Victoria, Australia
Turned pro	1953 (amateur tour from 1945)
Retired	1976
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF	1979 (member page)
Singles
Career record	863–516 (62.5%)
Career titles	49
Highest ranking	No. 1 (1950, Harry Hopman, Ned Potter.)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	W (1949, 1950)
French Open	F (1952)
Wimbledon	W (1952)
US Open	W (1951, 1952)
Other tournaments
Professional majors
US Pro	F (1954, 1961)
Wembley Pro	W (1953, 1958)
French Pro	W (1953)
Other pro events
TOC	F (1957AU, 1957FH, 1958AU)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	W (1951, 1952)
French Open	W (1951, 1952)
Wimbledon	W (1948, 1951, 1952)
US Open	W (1950, 1951)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	W (1949, 1950)
French Open	W (1951, 1952)
Wimbledon	W (1951, 1952)
US Open	W (1951, 1952)

Frank Sedgman, born on October 29, 1927, is a famous Australian tennis player. He was once ranked number one in the world! He played tennis for over 30 years. During his amateur career, he won 5 big Grand Slam singles titles. He also won an amazing 22 Grand Slam doubles titles!

Frank is one of only five tennis players ever to win many Grand Slam titles in two different types of tennis (like singles and doubles). Other famous players who did this include Margaret Court and Serena Williams. In 1951, he and his partner Ken McGregor won all four major Grand Slam doubles tournaments in one year! This is called winning the 'Grand Slam'.

Later, in 1953, Frank became a professional player. He won important professional titles like the Wembley World Professional Indoor singles in 1953 and 1958. He also won the Sydney Masters in 1958 and the Melbourne Professional singles in 1959.

Many experts ranked Frank as the world's number one amateur player in 1950, 1951, and 1952. In 1953, Tennis de France magazine even called him the world's best professional player.

Frank Sedgman's Tennis Career

Playing as an Amateur

Frank Sedgman

Frank Sedgman was 180 cm (5 feet 11 inches) tall and played with his right hand. He was known for his "serve-and-volley" style of play. This means he would serve the ball and then quickly run to the net to hit the next shot. He was very fast and good at hitting the ball close to the net.

Frank helped the Australian Davis Cup team win in 1950, 1951, and 1952. Between 1948 and 1952, he won 22 Grand Slam titles! These included singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.

Frank and his partner Ken McGregor are the only men's doubles team to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in one year (1951). This is a huge achievement! The next year, they almost did it again. They won the first three Grand Slams, but then lost at the US Open.

Early Years (1945-1948)

In 1945, Frank started playing in men's tennis events, even though he was still a junior. A famous coach, Harry Hopman, called him a "potential champion." Hopman said Frank had worked hard to get stronger and faster.

In 1946, Frank played in his first Australian Championships. He won his first match but lost in the next round. In 1947, he won the Victorian Hardcourt Championships. He also played in the French Championships and Wimbledon in 1948.

Winning Grand Slams (1949-1952)

In January 1949, Frank won his first Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Championships. He beat the defending champion and a former champion to win. At Wimbledon in 1949, he had a tough match and lost in five sets.

In 1950, Frank won his second Australian Championships singles title. He beat Ken McGregor in the final. He was the top player at Wimbledon that year but lost in the final. Later in 1950, many experts ranked him as the world's number one amateur player.

In 1951, Frank won the US Championships singles title. He beat several top players to win this major tournament. He also won many other tournaments that year. People tried to convince him to become a professional player. But he decided to stay an amateur for another year. He was again ranked as the world's number one amateur.

In 1952, Frank won his first Wimbledon singles title. He said winning Wimbledon was very important to him as an amateur player. He also won the US Championships again, keeping his title. By the end of 1952, he was still ranked as the world's number one amateur. After this, he decided to become a professional tennis player.

Playing as a Professional

Tours and Championships (1953-1959)

In 1953, Frank played against Jack Kramer in a big professional tour. Kramer won more matches, but Frank played very well. Frank won the Wembley tournament, beating famous players like Don Budge and Pancho Gonzales. He also won a tournament in Paris. Tennis de France magazine ranked him as the world's number one professional player for 1953.

In 1954, Frank played in another World Series tour. He was runner-up to Pancho Gonzales in one of the US Pro tournaments. He also won a tour in Asia and the Australian professional championships.

In 1956, Frank reached the final of the Wembley tournament but lost to Gonzales. In 1957, he was runner-up in two Tournament of Champions events. He beat Ken Rosewall in one of these tournaments.

In 1958, Frank won the Ampol Masters Pro in Sydney. He beat both Gonzales and Tony Trabert in long matches to win. He also won his second Wembley title, beating Gonzales and Trabert again. Jack Kramer ranked Frank as the world's number two professional player for 1958.

In 1959, Frank won the Melbourne event in the Ampol world series. He beat Gonzales in the final. He also won the Grand Prix de Europe tour, finishing ahead of other top players like Rosewall and Trabert.

Later Professional Career (1960-1976)

By the 1960s, Frank's career was slowing down. However, Jack Kramer still ranked him as the world's number two professional player in 1960. Frank retired from the professional tour at the end of 1965.

When "Open tennis" started in 1968, allowing both amateurs and professionals to play together, Frank returned to the game. He played in the Australian Open in 1970 and Wimbledon in 1971. He continued to play professionally until he fully retired in 1976. His last appearance at the Australian Championships was 30 years after his first!

Life After Playing Tennis

Frank Sedgman also worked as a commentator for Australian TV channels. He talked about tennis matches, like the Davis Cup and Australian Championships, from 1960 to 1976.

In 1972, he helped promote the Australian Open tennis tournament. He was one of the directors of Tennis Camps of Australia, which helped organize the event. He even helped give away TV rights for free to get more people to watch!

Awards and Recognition

Frank Sedgman has received many honors for his amazing tennis career.

• He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1979. This is a very special place for the greatest tennis players.
• He was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1979.
• In 1985, he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
• He received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000.
• In 2019, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO). This was for his great service to tennis and for being a role model for young athletes.
• Jack Kramer, a famous tennis promoter, included Frank in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time.

Major Tournament Finals

Grand Slam Singles Finals

Frank Sedgman played in 8 Grand Slam singles finals, winning 5 of them.

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1949	Australian Championships	Grass	John Bromwich	6–3, 6–2, 6–2
Win	1950	Australian Championships	Grass	Ken McGregor	6–3, 6–4, 4–6, 6–1
Loss	1950	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Budge Patty	1–6, 10–8, 2–6, 3–6
Win	1951	US Championships	Grass	Vic Seixas	6–4, 6–1, 6–1
Loss	1952	Australian Championships	Grass	Ken McGregor	5–7, 10–12, 6–2, 2–6
Loss	1952	French Championships	Clay	Jaroslav Drobný	2–6, 0–6, 6–3, 4–6
Win	1952	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Jaroslav Drobný	4–6, 6–2, 6–3, 6–2
Win	1952	US Championships	Grass	Gardnar Mulloy	6–1, 6–2, 6–3

Grand Slam Doubles Finals

Frank Sedgman played in 14 Grand Slam doubles finals, winning 9 of them.

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1947	Australian Championships	Grass	George Worthington	John Bromwich Adrian Quist	1–6, 3–6, 1–6
Loss	1948	Australian Championships	Grass	Colin Long	John Bromwich Adrian Quist	6–1, 8–6, 7–9, 3–6, 6–8
Loss	1948	French Championships	Clay	Harry Hopman	Lennart Bergelin Jaroslav Drobný	6–8, 1–6, 10–12
Win	1948	Wimbledon	Grass	John Bromwich	Tom Brown Gardnar Mulloy	5–7, 7–5, 7–5, 9–7
Loss	1949	U.S. Championships	Grass	George Worthington	John Bromwich Bill Sidwell	4–6, 0–6, 1–6
Win	1950	U.S. Championships	Grass	John Bromwich	Gardnar Mulloy Bill Talbert	7–5, 8–6, 3–6, 6–1
Win	1951	Australian Championships	Grass	Ken McGregor	John Bromwich Adrian Quist	11–9, 2–6, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3
Win	1951	French Championships	Clay	Ken McGregor	Gardnar Mulloy Dick Savitt	6–2, 2–6, 9–7, 7–5
Win	1951	Wimbledon	Grass	Ken McGregor	Jaroslav Drobný Eric Sturgess	3–6, 6–2, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3
Win	1951	U.S. Championships	Grass	Ken McGregor	Don Candy Mervyn Rose	10–8, 6–4, 4–6, 7–5
Win	1952	Australian Championships	Grass	Ken McGregor	Don Candy Mervyn Rose	6–4, 7–5, 6–3
Win	1952	French Championships	Clay	Ken McGregor	Gardnar Mulloy Dick Savitt	6–3, 6–4, 6–4
Winner	1952	Wimbledon	Grass	Ken McGregor	Vic Seixas Eric Sturgess	6–3, 7–5, 6–4
Loss	1952	U.S. Championships	Grass	Ken McGregor	Mervyn Rose Vic Seixas	6–3, 8–10, 8–10, 8–6, 6–8

Grand Slam Mixed Doubles Finals

Frank Sedgman played in 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles finals, winning 8 of them.

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1948	French Championships	Clay	Doris Hart	Pat Canning Todd Jaroslav Drobný	3–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss	1948	Wimbledon	Grass	Doris Hart	Louise Brough John Bromwich	2–6, 6–3, 3–6
Win	1949	Australian Championships	Grass	Doris Hart	Joyce Fitch John Bromwich	6–1, 5–7, 12–10
Win	1950	Australian Championships	Grass	Doris Hart	Joyce Fitch Eric Sturgess	8–6, 6–4
Loss	1950	U.S. Championships	Grass	Doris Hart	Margaret Osborne duPont Ken McGregor	4–6, 6–3, 3–6
Win	1951	French Championships	Clay	Doris Hart	Thelma Coyne Long Mervyn Rose	7–5, 6–2
Win	1951	Wimbledon	Grass	Doris Hart	Nancye Wynne Bolton Mervyn Rose	7–5, 6–2
Win	1951	U.S. Championships	Grass	Doris Hart	Shirley Fry Mervyn Rose	6–3, 6–2
Win	1952	Wimbledon	Grass	Doris Hart	Thelma Coyne Long Enrique Morea	4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win	1952	French Championships	Clay	Doris Hart	Shirley Fry Eric Sturgess	6–8, 6–3, 6–3
Win	1952	U.S. Championships	Grass	Doris Hart	Thelma Long Lew Hoad	6–3, 7–5

Pro Slam Singles Finals

Frank Sedgman played in 7 Pro Slam singles finals, winning 3 of them.

Result	Year	Championship	Opponent	Score
Win	1953	Wembley Pro	Pancho Gonzales	6–1, 6–2, 6–2
Win	1953	French Pro Championship	Pancho Gonzales
Loss	1954	US Pro Championship	Pancho Gonzales	3–6, 7–9, 6–3, 2–6
Loss	1956	Wembley Pro	Pancho Gonzales	6–4, 9–11, 9–11, 7–9
Win	1958	Wembley Pro	Tony Trabert	6–4, 6–3, 6–4
Loss	1959	French Pro Championship	Tony Trabert	4–6, 4–6, 4–6
Loss	1961	US Pro Championship	Pancho Gonzales	3–6, 5–7

Singles Performance Timeline

This chart shows how Frank Sedgman performed in major tennis tournaments over the years. He became a professional player in 1953, so he couldn't play in the amateur Grand Slam events until 1968, when "Open Era" tennis began.

The results of the Pro Tours are not listed here.

See also

• List of male tennis players
• Overall tennis records – Men's singles
• Tennis records of the Open Era – men's singles