Robert (Bob) Howe (3 August 1925 – 30 November 2004)[2] was an Australian tennis player. Although he won 29 singles titles, his main successes were achieved in the doubles competition. He won four mixed doubles Grand Slam titles, including the Wimbledon mixed doubles championship in 1958.[3]

Bob Howe
Full nameRobert Neville Howe
Country (sports) Australia
Born(1925-08-03)3 August 1925
Sydney, NSW, Australia
Died30 November 2004(2004-11-30) (aged 79)
Santa Ana, California, US
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro1968 (amateur from 1949)
Retired1971
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)[1]
Singles
Career record500-369
Career titles29
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQF (1958, 1963)
French Open3R (1957)
Wimbledon4R (1956, 1962, 1965)
US Open4R (1957)
Doubles
Career record208–94
Career titles18
Highest rankingNo. 12 (30 August 1977)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenF (1959)
French OpenF (1958, 1961)
WimbledonSF (1956, 1957)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian OpenW (1958)
French OpenW (1960, 1962)
WimbledonW (1958)

Career

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In singles play, Howe won the 1954 London Hard Court Championships on clay at The Hurlingham Club defeating Gordon Forbes in the final.

He won the ILTF Surrey Hard Court Championships on clay in 1956 and 1962.

In 1963 he won the Nottingham Open on grass defeating Pierre Barthès in the semifinal and Tony Pickard in the final.

Grand Slam finals

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Doubles (3 runner-ups)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1958 French Championships Clay   Abe Segal   Ashley Cooper
  Neale Fraser
6–3, 6–8, 3–6, 5–7
Loss 1959 Australian Championships Grass   Don Candy   Rod Laver
  Bob Mark
7–9, 4–6, 2–6
Loss 1961 French Championships Clay   Bob Mark   Roy Emerson
  Rod Laver
6–3, 1–6, 1–6, 4–6

Mixed doubles (4 titles, 4 runner-ups)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1956 French Championships Clay   Darlene Hard   Thelma Coyne Long
  Luis Ayala
6–4, 4–6, 1–6
Win 1958 Australian Championships Grass   Mary Bevis Hawton   Angela Mortimer
  Peter Newman
9–11, 6–1, 6–2
Loss 1958 French Championships Clay   Lorraine Coghlan   Shirley Bloomer
  Nicola Pietrangeli
6–8, 2–6
Win 1958 Wimbledon Grass   Lorraine Coghlan   Althea Gibson
  Kurt Nielsen
6–3, 13–11
Win 1960 French Championships Clay   Maria Bueno   Ann Haydon-Jones
  Roy Emerson
1–6, 6–1, 6–2
Lost 1960 Wimbledon Grass   Maria Bueno   Darlene Hard
  Rod Laver
11–13, 6–3, 6–8
Loss 1961 Wimbledon Grass   Edda Buding   Fred Stolle
  Lesley Turner
9–11, 2–6
Win 1962 French Championships Clay   Renée Schuurman   Lesley Turner
  Fred Stolle
3–6, 6–4, 6–4

References

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  1. ^ Sutton Tennis & Squash Club
  2. ^ Tennis Archives biography
  3. ^ "History – Rolls of Honour – Mixed Doubles Finals 1913–2008". wimbledon.org. Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
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