Abe Segal

Alan Abraham Segal (23 October 1930 – 4 April 2016) was a South African tennis player.

For persons of a similar name, see Alan Segal.

Abe Segal
Full nameAlan Abraham Segal
Country (sports) South Africa
Born(1930-10-23)23 October 1930
Johannesburg, South Africa
Died4 April 2016(2016-04-04) (aged 85)
Cape Town, South Africa
PlaysLeft-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open2R (1954)
French Open3R (1955, 1957, 1961, 1962)
WimbledonQF (1964)
US Open4R (1956)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian OpenQF (1954)
French OpenF (1958, 1963)
WimbledonSF (1963)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian OpenQF (1964)
WimbledonQF (1964)
Team competitions
Davis CupFEu (1965)

Early life and career

He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and was Jewish.[1][2]

During the 1950s and 1960s, he was the doubles partner of Gordon Forbes. Together, they were considered one of the better doubles teams in the world.[3]

He was critical of South Africa's policy of apartheid.[4] Alex Metreveli and István Gulyás both refused to compete in the 1964 Wimbledon against Segal, a white South African, because of apartheid.[5] In response, black tennis player Arthur Ashe said he would play Segal any time because he did not think politics had a place in sports.[6] Weeks later, Segal played Ashe in Illinois, beating him.[6] This prompted the International Lawn Tennis Federation to pass a resolution prohibiting racial discrimination and withdrawing from a tournament except for "health or bereavement" reasons.[7]

In 1951, he won the singles title at the Irish Open, defeating Guy Jackson in the final in straight sets.

He played for the South African Davis Cup team in 19 ties in the years 1955, 1957, 1959, and 1961 to 1965, and he compiled a record of 24 wins and 14 losses.

After retiring from tennis, Segal took up painting.[8] In 2008 he published a memoir titled Hey Big Boy!.[9][10]

Segal died of cancer on 4 April 2016 at the age of 85.[11][12]

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (2 runner-ups)
Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss1958French ChampionshipsClay Robert Howe Ashley Cooper
Neale Fraser		6–3, 6–8, 3–6, 5–7
Loss1963French ChampionshipsClay Gordon Forbes Roy Emerson
Manuel Santana		2–6, 4–6, 4–6

See also

References
  1. Wechsler, Bob (17 May 2008). Day by Day in Jewish Sports History. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. ISBN 9780881259698 – via Google Books.
  2. Horvitz, Peter S. (17 April 2007). The Big Book of Jewish Sports Heroes: An Illustrated Compendium of Sports History and the 150 Greatest Jewish Sports Stars. SP Books. ISBN 9781561719075 – via Google Books.
  3. Plimpton, George (1992). The Norton Book of Sports. W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 205. ISBN 978-0-393-03040-2. Abe Segal.
  4. Hall, Eric Allen (6 August 2014). Arthur Ashe: Tennis and Justice in the Civil Rights Era. JHU Press. ISBN 9781421413952 – via Google Books.
  5. Djata, Sundiata (1 May 2008). Blacks at the Net: Black Achievement in the History of Tennis, Volume Two. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 9780815608981 – via Google Books.
  6. Company, Johnson Publishing (30 July 1964). "Jet". Johnson Publishing Company – via Google Books.
  7. Djata, Sundiata A. (2008). Blacks at the net: Black achievement in the history of tennis. Syracuse University Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-8156-0898-1.
  8. Bills, Peter (25 March 2009). "Abe Segal & Gordon Forbes: 'sport was all fun and now it almost isn't at all'". The Independent. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  9. Hey, big boy! : [a legacy of laughs by an ex No. 1]. Worldcat. OCLC 420872286.
  10. "Tennis KGB Style" (PDF). Sports Illustrated. August 2008.
  11. "Death of SA tennis legend Abe Segal a great loss". tennissa.co.za. Tennis South Africa. 5 April 2016. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  12. "Tennis legend Abe Segal dies". Supersport. 5 April 2016.


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