Tony Wilding

Tony Wilding

Anthony ("Tony") Frederick Wilding (born October 31, 1883 in Christchurch, New Zealand – died May 9, 1915 near Neuve-Chapelle, Pas-de-Calais, France) was a champion tennis player and a soldier killed in action during World War I. He was the co-World No. 1 in 1911 and 1912 and the World No. 1 player in 1913. Pete Sampras was the first person to break his record across multiple Wimbledon wins in doubles, singles and mixed doubles.

Wilding was the son of Frederick and Julia Wilding. His father was a well-to-do lawyer in Christchurch, New Zealand. He was educated there at Mr Wilson's School in Cramner Square, then attended the Canterbury University College for six months before going to England in 1902 to enter Cambridge University, where he developed his tennis game.

In 1905, Wilding made his first Davis Cup appearance as part of the Australasian team and the following year won the Australasian Championship singles and doubles championships. Finishing his education, he was called to the English Bar in 1906.

Between 1907 and 1909 he helped the Australasian team win the Davis Cup, and he won his second Australian Open in 1909, the same year he qualified as a Barrister and Solicitor at the Supreme Court of New Zealand. Focusing on his tennis game, he then won the Wimbledon singles title for four straight years between 1910 and 1913. In 1913 at Wimbledon Myers says that he played "the best game of his life", beating Maurice McLoughlin in three sets. In 1914 he narrowly missed winning his fifth in a row, losing in the 1914 finals to Norman Brookes. In addition, he won four doubles titles at Wimbledon. In 1914, he returned to Davis Cup play, leading the Australasian team to another championship.

He missed the 1908 Olympics in London because of administrative bungling, but at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm won a bronze medal in the men's indoor singles for Australasia.

At the outbreak of World War I, Tony Wilding joined the Royal Marines, serving as a Captain with the Armoured Car Division in the battlefields of France. He was killed in action on May 9, 1915 during the Battle of Aubers Ridge at Neuve-Chapelle, France. He had been dating and was about to marry Hollywood silent screen star Maxine Elliott. [ [http://www.anthonywilding.com Anna Wilding Official fansite ] at www.anthonywilding.com]

Captain Tony Wilding was buried in the Rue-des-Berceaux Military Cemetery in Richebourg-L'Avoue, Pas-de-Calais, France. In 1978, he was named to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Wilding Park, the principal venue for tennis in Christchurch, New Zealand, is named in his honour.

He also played for the Canterbury cricket team in the early 1900s where he played two first-class matches. He was a keen motorcycle (with sidecar) rider with many long trips in Europe, New Zealand and America. In 1908 he won a gold medal in a reliability trial from Land's End to John o' Groats. Several "mighty rides" (Myers) in Europe in 1910 included London to Lake Geneva and back, some 3000 miles (4800 km), including 350 miles (560 km) from Evian to Paris in one day. He ventured into poorly roaded places like Hungary and Serbia.

Wilding's singles titles (at least 112)

Sources:
*"ANTHONY WILDING, A Sporting Life", Len and Shelley Richardson, Canterbury University Press, 2005 (main source)
*"On the Court and Off" by Anthony F. Wilding (1912, Methuen, London) ISBN 1 877257 01 X
*"Captain Anthony Wilding" by A. Wallis Myers (1916, Hodder and Stoughton, London)

* * It seems to be a different tournament from the previous one held in the same city
* ** It is not clear if it was a different tournament from the following one in the list
* *** The All England Plate was a tournament played by the losers of the first two rounds of the Wimbledon Men's Singles tournament (in 1907 Wilding lost in five sets in the 2nd round to the future winner Norman Everard Brookes)
* **** Up until 1921, the winners of the previous year's competition (except in the Ladies Doubles and Mixed Doubles) were automatically granted byes into the final round (then known as the challenge round). This led to many winners retaining their titles for successive years, as they were able to rest while their opponent competed from the start of the competition. From 1922, the title holders played through from the start of the championships. In 1912 at Wimbledon he had offered to "play through" instead of standing out to meet the All Comers' winner, though his offer was not accepted.
* ***** "Hard Court" in the Commonwealth countries (UK, Australia, ...) means "Clay Court"

Grand Slam titles

*Singles:
** Australian Open: 1906, 1909
**Wimbledon: 1910, 1911, 1912, 1913
*Doubles:
** Australian Open: 1906
**Wimbledon: 1907, 1908, 1910, 1914

Davis Cup

*Winning team: 1907, 1908, 1909, 1914

Notes

ee also

*Tennis male players statistics

External links

* [http://www.anthonywilding.com Anthony Wilding Official fansite ] at www.anthonywilding.com
* [http://www.olympic.org.nz/Athletes/AthleteProfile.aspx?Print=&ContactID=862&id=3774 Biography at New Zealand Olympic Committee website]


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