Sam Giammalva

Sam Giammalva, Sr. (born August 1, 1934 in Houston, Texas), was an outstanding amateur tennis player in the mid-20th Century.

Giammalva played for the United States Davis Cup team, earning a 7–3 record in match play between 1956 and 1958. He was on the victorious U.S. teams of 1957 and 1958.

In 1958, he teamed with Barry MacKay to reach the doubles final at the U.S. Nationals. The pair fell to Alex Olmedo and Hamilton Richardson, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4.

Ironically, it was Michigan’s MacKay who beat Giammalva, of the University of Texas at Austin, in the final of the 1957 NCAA Championship, 6–4, 3–6, 6–2, 3–6, 6–3. Giammalva also reached the NCAA doubles final in 1955. He won three straight Southwest Conference singles titles from 1956-1958.

Giammalva reached four finals at the tournament in Cincinnati. In 1958, he knocked off Crawford Henry, Gustavo Palafox, and Donald Dell before falling to fellow Texan Bernard Bartzen in the singles final, 7–5, 6–3, 6–2. He also reached the singles final in 1954 and doubles finals in 1952 & 1958.

Giammalva went on to coach at Rice University for 14 years (1959-1972), leading the Owls to 10 Southwest Conference titles and second-place NCAA tournament finishes in 1968 and 1970.

Giammalva’s sons, Tony Giammalva and Sammy Giammalva, Jr., were also touring tennis players. Sam Jr. won two singles titles and four doubles titles on the ATP Tour, and was ranked as high as No. 28 in singles and No. 22 in doubles during his career. Elder son Tony won 4 doubles titles as well and reached a career high singles ranking of 70 in 1981.