Fred Perry facts for kids
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| Full name | Frederick John Perry |
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| Country (sports) |  Great Britain |
| Born | 18 May 1909 Portwood, Stockport, England |
| Died | 2 February 1995 (aged 85) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Height | 6 ft (1.83 m) |
| Turned pro | 1936 (amateur from 1929) |
| Retired | 1959 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1975 (member page) |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 695–281 (71.2%) |
| Career titles | 62 |
| Highest ranking | No. 1 (1934, A. Wallis Myers) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | W (1934) |
| French Open | W (1935) |
| Wimbledon | W (1934, 1935, 1936) |
| US Open | W (1933, 1934, 1936) |
| Professional majors | |
| US Pro | W (1938, 1941) |
| Wembley Pro | QF (1951, 1952) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | W (1934) |
| French Open | W (1933) |
| Wimbledon | F (1932) |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
| French Open | W (1932) |
| Wimbledon | W (1935, 1936) |
| US Open | W (1932) |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | W (1933, 1934, 1935, 1936) |
Frederick John Perry (born May 18, 1909 – died February 2, 1995) was a famous British tennis and table tennis player. He was once ranked the world's number one tennis player. Fred Perry won 10 major tennis titles, including eight Grand Slam tournaments. He also won six major doubles titles.
Perry won the Wimbledon Championships three times in a row, from 1934 to 1936. For many years, he was the last British man to win Wimbledon. He was also the last British man to win a Grand Slam singles title until Andy Murray did so in 2012.
Fred Perry was the first tennis player ever to achieve a "Career Grand Slam". This means he won all four major singles titles: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open. He completed this amazing feat at age 26 in 1935. He is still the only British player to have done this.
Before tennis, Fred Perry was a world champion in table tennis in 1929. He started playing tennis at 14. In 1930, he joined a British team to tour the United States.
From 1933 to 1936, Perry led the British team to win the Davis Cup four times in a row. This was a huge success for British tennis. Even with all his achievements, some tennis officials didn't fully recognize him at first. This was because he turned professional in 1936. In 1984, a statue of Fred Perry was put up at Wimbledon to honor him.
Contents
Early Life and Beginnings
Fred Perry was born in 1909 in Stockport, England. His father, Samuel Perry, worked in a cotton mill. Because his father was involved in local politics, Fred lived in different towns like Bolton and Wallasey when he was young.
When he was 11, his family moved to Ealing, west London. His father became a Member of Parliament in 1929. Fred first learned to play tennis on public courts near his home. He went to Ealing Grammar School for Boys.
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Medal record
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Amateur Tennis Career
Fred Perry was a talented table tennis player before he became a tennis star. He even trained with the Arsenal football club to improve his fitness for tennis.
Early Tennis Success
In 1927, at 18, Fred Perry started his tennis career. He reached the quarter-finals of several tennis events in London. In 1929, the same year he won the World Table Tennis Championships, he won his first tennis titles. He won the New Malden championships and the Queens Evening Tournament.
By 1930, Perry was winning bigger events. He won the Middlesex championships and the Harrogate championships in England. He also won the Argentine championships in Buenos Aires.
In 1931, he won the Paddington championships in London. He also won the Eastern grasscourt championships in New York. This showed he could win on different surfaces and in different countries.
Rising to the Top in 1932
The year 1932 was very successful for Perry. He won tournaments in Paris, Roubaix, Jamaica, and Bermuda. Back in the UK, he won the Kingston championships and the British hardcourt championships.
He also won the Pacific Southwest championships in September. In an exciting match, he saved three match points in the quarter-finals. He then went on to win the title. Perry also won the Pacific Coast championships.
Grand Slam Wins Begin in 1933
In May 1933, Perry won the British hard court championships again. Later that year, he won his first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Championships. He beat Jack Crawford in the final. Crawford was a strong player, but Perry's powerful shots helped him win.
Perry also won the Pacific Southwest championships in September. While touring Australia, he won the Victorian championships in Melbourne. He beat top players like Harry Hopman and Jack Crawford.
Wimbledon Champion in 1934
In January 1934, Perry beat Jack Crawford to win the Australian Open. He also won the British hardcourt championships again in May.
Then, he won his first Wimbledon Championships title, beating defending champion Crawford. The crowds at Wimbledon loved Perry. He was from a working-class background, which was different from most players at the time. After his win, he heard a committee member say "the best man didn't win." This showed some people in the tennis establishment were not happy with his success.
Perry won the U.S. Championships again in 1934. He faced Wilmer Allison in a tough five-set final. Perry was ranked the World No. 1 amateur player by many experts that year.
First Career Grand Slam in 1935
In January 1935, Perry won the New Zealand championships. He also won the British hardcourt championships for the third time.
In June, Perry won the French Open. This made him the first man ever to win all four Grand Slam singles titles. This achievement is called a "Career Grand Slam." He beat Gottfried von Cramm in the final. Perry also won the Belgian championships. He then kept his Wimbledon title, beating von Cramm again in the final. Perry was ranked World No. 1 amateur again.
Final Amateur Triumphs in 1936
In 1936, Perry won two Cannes championship titles. He also won the Czech championships. He won his fifth British hardcourt title in a row.
His final Wimbledon win was a very quick match. He beat Gottfried von Cramm 6–1, 6–1, 6–0 in less than 45 minutes. This was one of the fastest finals ever. Perry then won his eighth and last Grand Slam singles title at the U.S. Championships. He beat Don Budge in a close five-set match.
Fred Perry also led the British team to win the Davis Cup four times in a row from 1933 to 1936. He won 34 out of 38 singles matches and 11 out of 14 doubles matches in the Davis Cup. He was ranked World No. 1 amateur for the third year in a row.
Professional Tennis Career
Turning Professional
After being the world's top amateur player for three years, Fred Perry decided to become a professional tennis player in late 1936. This meant he could earn money from playing. However, the British tennis establishment largely ignored him after this decision.
He played his first professional match on January 6, 1937. He played against Ellsworth Vines, who was the best professional player at the time. Perry won in four sets. For the next two years, Perry and Vines played many matches against each other. In 1937, they each won 35 matches. Perry also won the King George VI Coronation Cup.
Later Professional Years
In 1938, Vines beat Perry in their long tour. Perry won the U.S. Pro tournament in Chicago that year. In 1939, Don Budge turned professional after winning the Grand Slam as an amateur. Budge then played against Perry and Vines, beating Perry more often.
Perry continued to win tournaments in the early 1940s. In 1941, he won the U.S. Pro tournament again. He was ranked the World No. 1 professional player by some experts.
His professional career was interrupted by World War II. Perry joined the U.S. Air Force in 1942, as he had become an American citizen in 1939. After the war, he continued to play. In 1948, at age 39, he won the Slazenger Pro in Scarborough, England. He beat Yvon Petra, who had won Wimbledon two years earlier. Perry played until he was 50 years old in 1959.
Table Tennis Achievements
Fred Perry was known for his strong and fast playing style in table tennis. He had a powerful forehand shot. In the 1928 World Championships, he reached the quarter-finals in singles. He also won a silver medal in men's doubles and bronze medals in mixed doubles and team events.
In 1929, Perry won the men's singles title at the World Table Tennis Championships in Budapest. He beat Miklós Szabados in the final. His last table tennis appearance was in 1932.
Broadcasting Career
After his tennis career, Fred Perry became a well-known tennis commentator. He worked for BBC Radio from 1959 to 1994. Many people recognized his voice during Wimbledon broadcasts. He also commentated on TV for BBC and ITV. He often shared his insights and stories from his playing days.
Personal Life
Fred Perry was quite famous off the court too. He had relationships with actresses like Marlene Dietrich and Helen Vinson. He married Helen Vinson in 1935, but they later divorced. He married three more times. His final marriage to Barbara Riese in 1952 lasted over 40 years until his death. They had two children, Penny and David.
In 1937, Perry played in a fun tennis match with famous people. He and Charlie Chaplin played against Groucho Marx and Ellsworth Vines.
Fred Perry passed away in Melbourne, Australia, in 1995. He had broken his ribs after a fall in a hotel bathroom.
Sporting Legacy
Many people consider Fred Perry to be one of the greatest tennis players ever. Jack Kramer, a famous player and promoter, called Perry one of the six greatest players of all time. In 1975, Don Budge ranked Perry as the third-best player ever.
A 1997 documentary called Kings of the Court also named Perry as one of the ten greatest players before the "Open Era" of tennis began in 1968. In a 2012 TV series, Perry was ranked the 15th-greatest male player of all time.
Some experts noted that Perry was very fast and had quick reflexes. His forehand shot was especially powerful. However, his backhand was sometimes seen as a weaker point.
Perry always said that he played his professional matches very seriously. He believed he and other pros always gave their best effort.
Fred Perry Clothing Label
In the late 1940s, Fred Perry helped create the first sweatband. Then, he worked on making a sports shirt. In 1952, the Fred Perry tennis shirt was launched at Wimbledon. It was made of white cotton and had short sleeves and buttons. It quickly became very popular.
The brand's logo is a laurel wreath, which was inspired by the symbol for Wimbledon. This logo is stitched onto the left side of Fred Perry clothes.
Later, colored versions of the polo shirt were made for table tennis. In the 1960s, these shirts became popular with mod culture in the UK. The brand has been linked to different youth cultures over the years.
The Perry family originally ran the brand. In 1995, a Japanese company called Hit Union bought it. However, the Perry family still works closely with the brand.
The brand also sponsored British tennis player Andy Murray early in his career. In 2019, Fred Perry stopped selling certain polo shirts in North America. This was because a far-right group had started wearing them as a uniform. The company asked members of this group to stop wearing their clothing.
Honors and Memorials
United Kingdom Honors
In 1984, a bronze statue of Fred Perry was put up at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, London. This was to celebrate 50 years since his first singles championship win there. After he passed away in 1995, his ashes were buried near the statue.
His hometown of Stockport has many memorials to him. There is a blue plaque on the house where he was born. In 2002, a walking path called the Fred Perry Way was opened in Stockport. This 14-mile route goes through different parts of the area.
In 2009, the Royal Mail issued a postage stamp featuring Fred Perry. In 2010, a new civic building in Stockport was named Fred Perry House. In 2012, another blue plaque was put on the house in Ealing, London, where he lived for many years.
Worldwide Recognition
Fred Perry was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1975. This is a special honor for great tennis players.
He also received an honorary law degree from Washington and Lee University in 1987. He had coached the university's tennis team in the 1940s. In the United States, some streets and drives are named after Fred Perry.
World Table Tennis Championships
- 1928 Stockholm: Silver Doubles; Bronze Mixed Doubles; Bronze Team
- 1929 Budapest: Gold Singles; Bronze Doubles; Bronze Team
Images for kids
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Fred Perry
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The house where Fred Perry was born, 33 Carrington Road, Stockport
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Fred Perry (right) with Pat Hughes at White City in Sydney, Australia, in 1934
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A statue of Fred Perry at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon
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Fred Perry's grave near his statue at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon
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The Fred Perry Clothing Label
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The classic Fred Perry design
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Fred Perry Way sign in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport
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English Heritage blue plaque at 223 Pitshanger Lane, Ealing, London
