Rod Laver

Rod Laver: Biography in Details

Who is Rod Laver?

A famous Australian tennis player Rod Laver.

Likely, he was also ranked the No. 1 professional from 1964 to 1970, spanning four years before and three years after the start of the Open Era in 1968. He also was the No. 1 ranked amateur in 1961–62.

Age, Parents, Siblings, Nationality, Ethnicity

Rod Laver was born in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia on August 9, 1938. His birth name is Rodney George Laver and he is currently 84 years old.

His father’s name is Roy Laver and his mother’s name is Melba Roffey. He received his training from the legendary tennis player, Harry Hopman, in Queensland.

He has four siblings namely, Trevor Laver, Lois Laver, and Bob Laver. Rod holds Australian citizenship, but his ethnicity is unknown. His birth sign is Leo.

Rod Laver: Education, School/ College University

Talking about Rod’s educational history, he is a school dropout. There is no information about his educational achievements.

Rod Laver: Professional Life, Career

Talking about his profession, in 1959, he competed in the finals of ‘Wimbledon’ and won the mixed doubles game, where he teamed up with his American counterpart Darlene Hard.

In the following year, he participated in the ‘Australian Championships, winning the five-set final match against Australian player Neale Fraser.

Likewise, in 1961, he took part in ‘Wimbledon’ and won the singles title for the first time.

During 1962, Laver won seventeen tennis matches, along with four Grand Slam tournaments.

The most memorable of these tournaments were the ‘Italian’, ‘French’ and ‘German’ Championships.

He won the ‘French Championships’ with a lot of difficulties, against Australian Roy Emerson.

At the ‘Wimbledon’ and the ‘US Championships, in the same year, he played exceptionally well, losing very few matches.

In December 1962, Rod won the ‘Davis Cup’, as a part of the Australian team.

This established him as a professional world tennis player, like Lew Hoad, Pancho Gonzales, Ken Rosewall, and Andrés Gimeno.

Whereas, from 1963 to 70, this skilled player was victorious at the ‘U.S. Pro Tennis Championships’ on five occasions.

At the beginning of the same period, he established himself as the no. 2 player in the world. During 1964, Rodney won tournaments like the ‘Wembley Championships’, where he beat his friend Rosewall, and the ‘US Pro’, defeating Pancho Gonzales.

The next year, Laver moved up to the position of no. 1 in the world rankings, after having seen victory at seventeen tennis championships.

In the following year, he won sixteen championships, and in 1967, he tasted victory again, with nineteen tournament wins to his name.

These wins included ‘US Pro Championships, the ‘Wembley Pro’, ‘Wimbledon’, and the ‘French Pro’.

Moreover, in the ‘Wimbledon final, he defeated fellow Australian Rosewall by 6–2, 6–2, 12–10.

In the same year, he took part in ‘Grand Slam matches, becoming the first person to win the ‘Open Era’ championship at ‘Wimbledon’.

Besides that, Rodney won a straight set against Australian player Tony Roche in the final.

Moreover, in 1968, he also won prestigious tournaments like ‘US Professional Championships’, which played on grass courts, and the ‘French Pro Championships’ on clay courts, thus bagging the world no. 1 spot.

In the following year, in 1969, Laver played several tournaments, winning all four Grand Slam championships.

He also won the ‘South African Open’, ‘Philadelphia US Pro Indoor’, ‘US Professional Championships, and the ‘Wembley British Indoor’. He was thus victorious in 106 matches out of the 132 he played.

During the same period, Rod signed contracts with the tours ‘National Tennis League’ (‘NTL’), and ‘World Championship Tennis’ (‘WCT’).

Owing to this, he participated in only five ‘Grand Slam championships in two years.

In 1973, he won several championships, including the ‘Davis Cup’.

In the following year, he won only six championships, and his world ranking dropped to No. 4.

Three years later, he signed a contract with the ‘World Team Tennis, a tennis league.

Rod Laver: Awards, Nomination

Laver was awarded the ABC Sportsman of the Year Award. Later was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1981.

He was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985 and upgraded to a Legend of Australian Sport in 2002.

Rod Laver's Anniversary Dates

Rod Laver's Birthday Dates