The British tennis scene has been dominated by English and Scottish players in recent times. Wales has not seen a top tennis star emerge for many years now. However, in the past, there were several top players that competed at major events.
England had Fred Perry, and Andy Murray is still going for Scotland, but who are the most legendary stars in Welsh tennis history?
Happy birthday to the best dressed man in tennis and triple Wimbledon champion Fred Perry. Thanks for your wit, skill and creation that still lives on today 🌹 pic.twitter.com/gGxRa6P4mh
— Fred Perry (@fredperry) May 18, 2023
Mike Davies
Mike Davies is undoubtedly the greatest tennis player to have ever come out of Wales. The Swansea-born player was even inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2012.
Davies once even reached the Wimbledon men’s doubles final. In the summer of 1960, he went all of the way to the final match of the tournament where he came up short alongside Bobby Wilson.
In modern times, there is not a British player that will stand a realistic chance of going far in their home tournament. In a bet on tennis for the 2024 event, Scotsman Murray has the shortest odds of 50/1. Betfair offers a betting calculator that allows you to convert the tennis odds into whichever format you wish for Wimbledon and the other upcoming grand slam events.
Presently, the tennis world is dominated by a host of European, North American and even Australian stars, but there are no British players that currently reside at the peak of the game. Yet in his own era, Davies managed to reach the final two at Wimbledon and win 34 titles throughout his career. It is extremely rare that British players stand at the top of the sport.
@newhavenopen CONGRATULATIONS Mike Davies on receiving your well deserved HOF ring! pic.twitter.com/o0I3h697
— International Tennis Hall of Fame (@TennisHalloFame) August 25, 2012
The Welsh legend reached heights that no British player in general matched until the emergence of a prime Andy Murray in the 2010s. Davies has a strong claim to being one of
the greatest British players overall, but he is certainly the most successful tennis talent that has ever come out of Wales.
Edith Austin
Edith Austin was a women’s player who reached an All Comers’ Wimbledon final twice. In 1894 and 1896, she represented Wales in the final of the women’s singles event.
Austin fell to a defeat in her first final appearance against Blanche Hillyard, and in her second attempt in 1896, she suffered a narrow loss to fellow Brit Alice Pickering.
She may have fallen short at the most prestigious tennis competition in the world, but the fact she qualified for the final on two occasions allowed Austin to write herself into Welsh sporting history.
Austin also won 17 singles titles over her career. She played in an era that some would argue did not offer the same competitiveness as the Open Era that eventually followed. However, her achievements cannot be taken away, she achieved what no other woman in Welsh tennis history has ever replicated since.
These two past stars of the men’s and women’s games both represented Wales in the latter stages of Wimbledon and won an abundance of titles throughout their careers. They stand as the greatest Welsh tennis players of all time.
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