Rodney Heath
Full name | Rodney Wilfred Heath |
---|---|
Country (sports) | Australia |
Born | 15 June 1884 Melbourne, Australia |
Died | 26 October 1936(1936-10-26) (aged 52) Melbourne, Australia |
Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
Singles | |
Career record | 133–61 (68.5%)[1] |
Career titles | 9[1] |
Grand Slam singles results | |
Australian Open | W (1905, 1910) |
French Open | 1R (1925) |
Wimbledon | QF (1911) |
Doubles | |
Grand Slam doubles results | |
Australian Open | W (1906, 1911) |
Wimbledon | F (1919) |
Team competitions | |
Davis Cup | W (1911) |
Rodney Wilfred Heath (15 June 1884 – 26 October 1936) was an Australian tennis player.
Personal
Heath was the second son of F. W. Heath who was the official timekeeper at the Victorian Racing Club and Victorian Amateur Turf Club. Rodney's brother C. V. Heath won the South Australian men's singles title in 1902.[2] In June 1915 Heath left Australia to join the Royal Flying Corps in England. He was promoted to the rank of major two years later.[3][4] In 1916 Heath was injured when he crash-landed his plane after flying into a snowstorm en route from England to France.[5]
Tennis career
Heath was the Men's Singles champion at the inaugural Australasian Championships in 1905 defeating Albert Curtis in four sets. He won again it five years later, in 1910, after a victory in the final against Horace Rice in three straight sets.[6][7][8]
In 1911 he played in the Davis Cup challenge round in New Zealand against the United States and defeated William Larned in four sets.[9]
In 1919 he reached the final of the Wimbledon Men's Doubles tournament with Randolph Lycett.
Death
On 26 October 1936, 9 months before his 53rd birthday, Heath was found dead in the bedroom of his sister's home in Melbourne, Australia. It is said that Heath died from melanoma in his stomach.
Grand Slam finals
Singles
Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 1905 | Australasian Championships | Grass | Arthur Curtis | 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4 | [10] |
Win | 1910 | Australasian Championships | Grass | Horace Rice | 6–4, 6–3, 6–2 | [10] |
Doubles: 5 (2 titles, 3 runners-up)
Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 1906 | Australasian Championships | Grass | Anthony Wilding | Cecil C. Cox Harry Parker | 6–2, 6–4, 6–2 | [11] |
Loss | 1910 | Australasian Championships | Grass | James O'Day | Ashley Campbell Horace Rice | 3–6, 3–6, 2–6 | [12] |
Win | 1911 | Australasian Championships | Grass | Randolph Lycett | John Addison Norman Brookes | 6–2, 7–5, 6–0 | [13] |
Loss | 1914 | Australasian Championships | Grass | Arthur O'Hara Wood | Ashley Campbell Gerald Patterson | 5–7, 6–3, 3–6, 3–6 | [12] |
Loss | 1919 | Wimbledon | Grass | Randolph Lycett | Pat O'Hara-Wood Ronald Thomas | 4–6, 2–6, 6–4, 2–6 | [14] |
References
- ^ a b "Rodney Heath: Career match record". thetennisbase.com. Tennismem SAL. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
- ^ "Rodney Heath". www.tennis.co.nf.
- ^ "Death of MR. R. W. Heath". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 27 October 1936. p. 9.
- ^ "Personal". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 23 June 1915. p. 8.
- ^ "Rod. Heath's Accident". The Farmer & Settler. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 20 April 1916. p. 4.
- ^ Collins, Bud (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. pp. 355, 357, 692, 693. ISBN 978-0942257700.
- ^ "Inter-state Tennis. Australasian Championship". The Age. 27 November 1905. Retrieved 23 February 2011 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ "Player Profiles – Rodney Heath". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
- ^ "Davis Cup Player Profile – Rodney Heath". International Tennis Federation (ITF). Retrieved 12 August 2012.
- ^ a b "Australian Open Results Archive / Men's Singles". Australian Open official website. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
- ^ "Australian Open Results Archive / 1906 Men's Doubles". Australian Open official website. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
- ^ a b "Australian Open Results Archive / Men's Doubles". Australian Open official website. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
- ^ "Australian Open Results Archive / 1911 Men's Doubles". Australian Open official website. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
- ^ "Wimbledon Rolls of Honour / Gentlemen's Doubles". Wimbledon official tournament website. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
External links
- Rodney Heath at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Rodney Heath at the International Tennis Federation
- Rodney Heath at the Davis Cup
- Rodney Heath at Tennis Australia
- v
- t
- e
- 1905: Rodney Heath
- 1906: Anthony Wilding
- 1907: Horace Rice
- 1908: Fred Alexander
- 1909: Anthony Wilding
- 1910: Rodney Heath
- 1911: Norman Brookes
- 1912: James Parke
- 1913: Ernie Parker
- 1914: Arthur O'Hara Wood
- 1915: Gordon Lowe
- 1919: Algernon Kingscote
- 1920: Pat O'Hara Wood
- 1921: Rice Gemmell
- 1922: James Anderson
- 1923: Pat O'Hara Wood
- 1924: James Anderson
- 1925: James Anderson
- 1926: John Hawkes
- 1927: Gerald Patterson
- 1928: Jean Borotra
- 1929: John Colin Gregory
- 1930: Edgar Moon
- 1931: Jack Crawford
- 1932: Jack Crawford
- 1933: Jack Crawford
- 1934: Fred Perry
- 1935: Jack Crawford
- 1936: Adrian Quist
- 1937: Vivian McGrath
- 1938: Don Budge
- 1939: John Bromwich
- 1940: Adrian Quist
- 1946: John Bromwich
- 1947: Dinny Pails
- 1948: Adrian Quist
- 1949: Frank Sedgman
- 1950: Frank Sedgman
- 1951: Dick Savitt
- 1952: Ken McGregor
- 1953: Ken Rosewall
- 1954: Mervyn Rose
- 1955: Ken Rosewall
- 1956: Lew Hoad
- 1957: Ashley Cooper
- 1958: Ashley Cooper
- 1959: Alex Olmedo
- 1960: Rod Laver
- 1961: Roy Emerson
- 1962: Rod Laver
- 1963: Roy Emerson
- 1964: Roy Emerson
- 1965: Roy Emerson
- 1966: Roy Emerson
- 1967: Roy Emerson
- 1968: William Bowrey
- 1969: Rod Laver
- 1970: Arthur Ashe
- 1971: Ken Rosewall
- 1972: Ken Rosewall
- 1973: John Newcombe
- 1974: Jimmy Connors
- 1975: John Newcombe
- 1976: Mark Edmondson
- 1977 (Jan): Roscoe Tanner
- 1977 (Dec): Vitas Gerulaitis
- 1978: Guillermo Vilas
- 1979: Guillermo Vilas
- 1980: Brian Teacher
- 1981: Johan Kriek
- 1982: Johan Kriek
- 1983: Mats Wilander
- 1984: Mats Wilander
- 1985: Stefan Edberg
- 1987: Stefan Edberg
- 1988: Mats Wilander
- 1989: Ivan Lendl
- 1990: Ivan Lendl
- 1991: Boris Becker
- 1992: Jim Courier
- 1993: Jim Courier
- 1994: Pete Sampras
- 1995: Andre Agassi
- 1996: Boris Becker
- 1997: Pete Sampras
- 1998: Petr Korda
- 1999: Yevgeny Kafelnikov
- 2000: Andre Agassi
- 2001: Andre Agassi
- 2002: Thomas Johansson
- 2003: Andre Agassi
- 2004: Roger Federer
- 2005: Marat Safin
- 2006: Roger Federer
- 2007: Roger Federer
- 2008: Novak Djokovic
- 2009: Rafael Nadal
- 2010: Roger Federer
- 2011: Novak Djokovic
- 2012: Novak Djokovic
- 2013: Novak Djokovic
- 2014: Stanislas Wawrinka
- 2015: Novak Djokovic
- 2016: Novak Djokovic
- 2017: Roger Federer
- 2018: Roger Federer
- 2019: Novak Djokovic
- 2020: Novak Djokovic
- 2021: Novak Djokovic
- 2022: Rafael Nadal
- 2023: Novak Djokovic
- 2024: Jannik Sinner