Norman Brookes

Sir Norman Everard Brookes (14 November 1877 – 28 September 1968) was an Australian tennis player. During his career he won three Grand Slam singles titles, Wimbledon in 1907 and 1914 and the Australasian Championships in 1911. Brookes was part of the Australasian Davis Cup team that won the title on six occasions. The Australian Open men's singles trophy, the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup, is named in his honour. After his active playing career Brookes became president of the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia.

For those of a similar name, see Norman Brooks (disambiguation).

Sir Norman Brookes
Full nameNorman Everard Brookes
Country (sports) Australia
Born(1877-11-14)14 November 1877
St Kilda, Victoria, Australia
Died28 September 1968(1968-09-28) (aged 90)
South Yarra, Victoria, Australia
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Retired1928
PlaysLeft-handed (one-handed backhand)[1]
Int. Tennis HoF1977 (member page)
Singles
Career record225–52 (81.2%)[2]
Career titles19[2]
Highest rankingNo. 1 (1907, ITHF)[3]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian OpenW (1911)
French Open2R (1928)
WimbledonW (1907, 1914)
US OpenQF (1919)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian OpenW (1924)
WimbledonW (1907, 1914)
US OpenW (1919)
Team competitions
Davis CupW (1907, 1908, 1909, 1914, 1919)
Brookes and his wife, Mabel, in 1914
Norman Brookes

Early life

Brookes was born in the St Kilda suburb of Melbourne as the youngest son to Catherine Margaret (née Robinson) and William Brookes.[4] His father, an English immigrant who emigrated to Australia in 1852 had become rich from gold mining in the Bendigo area.[4] His older brothers, Herbert and Harold, were prominent businessmen. Brookes received a private education at Melbourne Grammar School where he matriculated in 1895.[5] As a schoolboy he excelled in cricket, Australian football and tennis.[6] On leaving school, he went to work as a clerk at Australian Paper Mills, where his father was managing director, and was on the board himself within eight years.[5]

As a youth Brookes played regularly on the court of the family mansion in Queens Road, Melbourne and nearby, at the Lorne St courts, he studied the strokes and tactics of leading players and was coached by Wilberforce Eaves.[7][8] In 1896 he became a regular player at the Royal South Yarra Tennis Club.[9]

During World War I he served as commissioner of the Australian Red Cross in Egypt.

Tennis career

In 1907 Brookes became the first non-British player and the first left-hander to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon after a straight sets victory in the final against 39-year old Arthur Gore.[10] Brookes intended to defend his Wimbledon title as late as February 1908 but in April cancelled his plans to travel to England due to the ill health of his father (who died in 1910) which meant that Brookes had to spend more time at his father's company Australian Paper Mills.[11] He gave priority to his business endeavors during this time and would not return to Wimbledon until 1914 when he again won the singles title, this time against the title holder Anthony Wilding with whom he also won the Wimbledon doubles title in 1907 and 1914. During these years he also skipped most Australasian Championships with the exception of the 1911 edition which was held in his hometown Melbourne and which he won in the final against Horace Rice. When he did play tennis he focused on the locally held Victorian Championships and the Davis Cup.

Brookes played 39 Davis Cup matches for Australia/New Zealand and the Australian Davis Cup team between 1905 and 1920 and was a member of the winning team in 1907, 1908, 1909, 1914, 1919.

In May 1914 he won the singles title at the Surrey Lawn Championships in Surbiton, defeating Gordon Lowe in the final in five sets.[12]

Brookes was instrumental in the development of Kooyong as a tennis centre. In 1926 he became the first president of the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia, a post he held for the next 29 years until his retirement in June 1955.[13]

Australian rules football career

Brookes was also an Australian rules footballer in his youth, particularly for Melbourne Grammar School.[14] Until 2016 it was believed that he had played two VFL games for St Kilda in 1898; it was actually his brother Harold who had done so.[15]

Personal life

Brookes married 20-year-old Mabel Balcombe Emmerton, the daughter of Harry Emmerton, a solicitor, on 19 April 1911 at St Paul's Cathedral in Melbourne. They had three daughters.

He died in South Yarra, Victoria, in 1968.

Honours

Norman Brookes was created a Knight Bachelor "in recognition of service to public service" in 1939.[16] His wife, Mabel, Lady Brookes (CBE in 1933) became Dame Mabel Brookes (DBE) in 1955 for her work in charities and social causes.

The trophy for men's singles at the Australian Open, the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup, is named in his honour.[17]

He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1977.

In 1981 he was honoured on a postage stamp issued by Australia Post depicting a cartoon image by Tony Rafty.[18]

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 5 (3 titles, 2 runners-up)
Result Ref. Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss[19]1905WimbledonGrass Laurence Doherty6–8, 2–6, 4–6
Win[19]1907WimbledonGrass Arthur Gore6–4, 6–2, 6–2
Win[20]1911Australasian ChampionshipsGrass Horace Rice6–1, 6–2, 6–3
Win[19]1914WimbledonGrass Anthony Wilding6–4, 6–4, 7–5
Loss[19]1919WimbledonGrass Gerald Patterson3–6, 5–7, 2–6

Doubles: 5 (4 titles, 1 runner-up)
Result Ref. Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win[21]1907WimbledonGrass Anthony Wilding Karl Behr
Beals Wright		6–4, 6–4, 6–2
Loss[22]1911Australasian ChampionshipsGrass John Addison Rodney Heath
Randolph Lycett		2–6, 5–7, 0–6
Win[21]1914WimbledonGrass Anthony Wilding Herbert Roper Barrett
Charles Dixon		6–1, 6–1, 5–7, 8–6
Win[23]1919U.S. National ChampionshipsGrass Gerald Patterson Vincent Richards
Bill Tilden		8–6, 6–3, 4–6, 4–6, 6–2
Win[22]1924Australasian ChampionshipsGrass James Anderson Pat O'Hara Wood
Gerald Patterson		6–2, 6–4, 6–3

Performance timeline
Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# A NH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)

Events with a challenge round: (WC) won; (CR) lost the challenge round; (FA) all comers' finalist

190519061907190819091910191119121913191419151916191719181919192019211922192319241925192619271928 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments3 / 832–586.5
French Only for French club members Not held Only for French club members AAA 2R1 0 / 0 0–0 –
Wimbledon CR A W AAAAAA WC Not held CR AAAA 4R AAAA 2 / 5 24–3 88.9
U.S. AAAAAAAAA 1R2 AAAA QF AAAA 2R AAAA 0 / 2 4–2 66.7
Australasian AAAAAA W AAAA Not held AAAAAAAAAA 1 / 1 4–0 100
Win–Loss 7–17–04–07–04–23–20–0
National representation
Olympics Not held A Not held A Not held A Not held 1R3 Not held 0 / 0 0–0 –

1,2,3 Brookes did not play. His opponent got a walkover.

References
  1. Norman Brookes at Australian Open Tennis. Quote: "Brookes was the first left-handed player ever to claim the coveted grass court title."
  2. "Norman Brookes career match record". thetennisbase.com. The Tennis Base. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  3. International Tennis Hall of Fame Inductee
  4. Naughton (2011), p. 15
  5. Naughton (2011), p. 19
  6. Naughton (2011), p. 18
  7. W. H. Frederick. "Brookes, Sir Norman Everard (1877–1968)". Australian Dictionary of Biography.
  8. Naughton (2011), p. 17
  9. Naughton (2011), p. 20
  10. "Sir Norman Brookes". Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
  11. "Weekly jottings". The Australasian. 25 April 1908. p. 24 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. "Surrey County Championships – Brookes Wins Singles". The Age. 25 May 1914. p. 12 – via Google News Archive.
  13. "Sir Norman's Good-bye to Big Tennis". The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 June 1955. p. 2 – via Google News Archive.
  14. "Our First Great Champion at Wimbledon". The Age. 14 October 1959. p. 13 – via Google News Archive.
  15. "Recent additions/changes/corrections". March 2016.
  16. "It's an Honour". Australian Government. Retrieved 28 February 2008.
  17. "Australian Open – Trophy Tour". Tennis Australia.
  18. "Caricature of Sir Norman Brookes, tennis player". Australian Stamp.
  19. "Wimbledon Rolls of Honour / Gentlemen's Singles". Wimbledon official tournament website. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  20. "Australian Open Results Archive / Men's Singles". Australian Open official website. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  21. "Wimbledon Rolls of Honour / Gentlemen's Doubles". Wimbledon official tournament website. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  22. "Australian Open Results Archive / Men's Doubles". Australian Open official website. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  23. "US Open Past Champions / Men's Doubles". US Open official website. Archived from the original on 25 October 2007. Retrieved 11 October 2015.

Further reading
  • Naughton, Richard (2011). The Wizard : The story of Norman Brookes, Australia's first Wimbledon champion. Docklands, Vic.: The Slattery Media Group. ISBN 978-1921778414.
  • Brookes, Mabel (1974). Memoirs. Melbourne: Macmillan. ISBN 9780333139899. OCLC 1532297.
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