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{{short description|South African tennis player and author}}
{{Short description|South African tennis player and author (1934–2020)}}
{{For|other people with the same name|Gordon Forbes (disambiguation)}}
{{For|other people with the same name|Gordon Forbes (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Use South African English|date=May 2012}}
{{Use South African English|date=May 2012}}
{{Infobox tennis biography
{{Infobox tennis biography
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| country = {{flagicon|RSA|1928}} South Africa
| country = {{flagicon|RSA|1928}} South Africa
| residence =
| residence =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1934|02|21}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1934|02|21}}
| birth_place = [[Burgersdorp]], Cape Province, South Africa
| birth_place = [[Burgersdorp]], Cape Province, South Africa
| death_date =
| death_date = {{death date and age|2020|12|09|1934|02|21|df=y}}
| death_place =
| death_place = [[Plettenberg Bay]], Cape Province, South Africa
| height =
| height =
| college =
| college =
| turnedpro =
| turnedpro =
| retired =
| retired =
| plays =
| plays = Right-handed
| careerprizemoney =
| careerprizemoney =
| tennishofyear = <!-- year inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame -->
| tennishofyear = <!-- year inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame -->
| tennishofid = <!-- ID from the Tennis HoF website, taken from http://www.tennisfame.com/famer.aspx?pgID=867&hof_id=HERE -->
| tennishofid = <!-- ID from the Tennis HoF website, taken from http://www.tennisfame.com/famer.aspx?pgID=867&hof_id=HERE -->
| website =
| website =
| singlesrecord =
| singlesrecord = 342-217 (72%)
| singlestitles =
| singlestitles = 16
| highestsinglesranking =
| highestsinglesranking =
| currentsinglesranking =
| currentsinglesranking =
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| DavisCupresult = SF<sup>Eu</sup> (1962, 1963)
| DavisCupresult = SF<sup>Eu</sup> (1962, 1963)
}}
}}
'''Gordon Forbes ''' (born 21 February 1934) is a former [[South Africa]]n professional [[tennis]] player and author. During the 1950s and 1960s, he was the [[doubles (tennis)|doubles]] partner of countryman [[Abe Segal]]. Together, they were considered one of the best doubles teams in the world.<ref>{{cite book|last=Plimpton|first=George|title=The Norton Book of Sports|year=1992|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=978-0-393-03040-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/nortonbookofspor00plim/page/205 205]|url=https://archive.org/details/nortonbookofspor00plim|url-access=registration|quote=Abe Segal.}}</ref>
'''Gordon Forbes ''' (21 February 1934 – 9 December 2020) was a South African professional [[tennis]] player and author. Forbes won the singles title of the [[South African Open (tennis)|South African Championships]] in 1959 and 1961 and was runner-up in 1955, 1962, 1963 and 1964. He won the Tuscaloosa Grass Court Invitational in 1962, defeating Rod Laver in the final. During the 1950s and 1960s, he was the doubles partner of countryman [[Abe Segal]]. They were considered one of the best doubles teams in the world.<ref>{{cite book|last=Plimpton|first=George|title=The Norton Book of Sports|year=1992|publisher=W. W. Norton & Company|isbn=978-0-393-03040-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/nortonbookofspor00plim/page/205 205]|url=https://archive.org/details/nortonbookofspor00plim|url-access=registration|quote=Abe Segal.}}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==
Forbes learnt to play tennis in his childhood on the family farm. At age 12 he played and won his first junior tournament in [[East London, Eastern Cape|East London]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Forbes|first=Gordon|title=A Handful of Summers|year=1997|publisher=HarperCollins|location=London|isbn=9780007291304|page=22|edition=1st American}}</ref>
Forbes learnt to play tennis in his childhood on the family farm. At age 12, he played and won his first junior tournament in [[East London, Eastern Cape|East London]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Forbes|first=Gordon|title=A Handful of Summers|year=1997|publisher=HarperCollins|location=London|isbn=9780007291304|page=22|edition=1st American}}</ref>


Forbes won the singles title of the [[South African Open (tennis)|South African Championships]] in 1959 and 1961 and was runner-up in 1955, 1962, 1963 and 1964. He played for the South African [[Davis Cup]] team in 14 ties in the period 1955 to 1963 and compiled a record of 20 wins and 11 losses.
Forbes won the singles title of the [[South African Open (tennis)|South African Championships]] in 1959 and 1961 and was runner-up in 1955, 1962, 1963 and 1964. He won the Tuscaloosa Grass Court Invitational in 1962, defeating reigning U.S. No. 1 Whitney Reed in a marathon semifinal, and World No. 1 Rod Laver in a close four set final. He played for the South African [[Davis Cup]] team in 14 ties in the period 1955 to 1963 and compiled a record of 20 wins and 11 losses.


==Later life==
After retiring from tennis, Forbes wrote three books about his experiences as a player, his contemporaries in the sport and other tennis topics.<ref>{{cite news|last=Allen|first=Brook|title=Sports Books in Brief|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/08/books/sports-books-in-brief-369411.html|accessdate=13 June 2010|newspaper=The New York Times|date=8 June 1997}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=New York Tennis Magazine’s Literary Corner: A Handful of Summers by Gordon Forbes|url=http://newyorktennismagazine.com/article3419/new-york-tennis-magazine%E2%80%99s-literary-corner-handful-summers-gordon-forbes|publisher=New York Tennis Magazine|author=Brent Shearer|date=September 6, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=SA’s raconteur racquet man aces another memoir|url=https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/life/books/2017-11-07-sas-raconteur-racquet-man-aces-another-memoir/|accessdate=16 November 2017|publisher=Business Day|author=David Southey|date=November 7, 2017}}</ref> He died on 9 December 2020 of Covid-19.
After retiring from tennis, Forbes wrote three books about his experiences as a player, his contemporaries in the sport and other tennis topics.<ref>{{cite news|last=Allen|first=Brook|title=Sports Books in Brief|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/06/08/books/sports-books-in-brief-369411.html|access-date=13 June 2010|newspaper=The New York Times|date=8 June 1997}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=New York Tennis Magazine's Literary Corner: A Handful of Summers by Gordon Forbes|url=http://newyorktennismagazine.com/article3419/new-york-tennis-magazine%E2%80%99s-literary-corner-handful-summers-gordon-forbes|publisher=New York Tennis Magazine|author=Brent Shearer|date=6 September 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=SA's raconteur racquet man aces another memoir|url=https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/life/books/2017-11-07-sas-raconteur-racquet-man-aces-another-memoir/|access-date=16 November 2017|publisher=Business Day|author=David Southey|date=7 November 2017}}</ref> He died from [[COVID-19]] on 9 December 2020, at age 86, during the [[COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://supersport.com/tennis/news/201210_Tennis_legend_and_author_Gordon_Forbes_passes_away_aged_86 |title=Tennis legend and author Gordon Forbes passes away aged 86 |access-date=12 February 2021 |archive-date=11 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211165650/https://supersport.com/tennis/news/201210_Tennis_legend_and_author_Gordon_Forbes_passes_away_aged_86 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


==Grand Slam finals==
==Grand Slam finals==

===Doubles (1 runner-up)===
===Doubles (1 runner-up)===
{|class="sortable wikitable"
{|class="sortable wikitable"
!style="width:40px"|Result
!style="width:40px"|Result
!style="width:35px"|Year
!style="width:35px"|Year
!style="width:180px"|Championship
!style="width:160px"|Championship
!style="width:50px"|Surface
!style="width:50px"|Surface
!style="width:160px"|Partner
!style="width:130px"|Partner
!style="width:160px"|Opponents
!style="width:130px"|Opponents
!style="width:130px" class="unsortable"|Score
!style="width:110px" class="unsortable"|Score
|-style="background:#ebc2af;"
|-style="background:#ebc2af;"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss ||1963 || [[French Championships]] || Clay || {{flagicon|RSA|1928}} [[Abe Segal]] || {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Roy Emerson]] <br> {{flagicon|ESP}} [[Manuel Santana]] || 2–6, 4–6, 4–6
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss ||1963 || [[French Championships]] || Clay || {{flagicon|RSA|1928}} [[Abe Segal]] || {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Roy Emerson]] <br> {{flagicon|ESP|civil}} [[Manuel Santana]] || 2–6, 4–6, 4–6
|}
|}


===Mixed doubles (1 title)===
===Mixed doubles (1 title)===

{|class="sortable wikitable"
{|class="sortable wikitable"
!style="width:40px"|Result
!style="width:40px"|Result
!style="width:35px"|Year
!style="width:35px"|Year
!style="width:180px"|Championship
!style="width:160px"|Championship
!style="width:50px"|Surface
!style="width:50px"|Surface
!style="width:160px"|Partner
!style="width:130px"|Partner
!style="width:160px"|Opponents
!style="width:130px"|Opponents
!style="width:130px" class="unsortable"|Score
!style="width:110px" class="unsortable"|Score
|-style="background:#ebc2af;"
|-style="background:#ebc2af;"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win ||1955 || [[French Championships]] || Clay || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Darlene Hard]] || {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Jenny Staley]] <br> {{flagicon|CHI}} [[Luis Ayala]] || 5–7, 6–1, 6–2
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win ||1955 || [[French Championships]] || Clay || {{flagicon|USA}} [[Darlene Hard]] || {{flagicon|AUS}} [[Jenny Staley]] <br> {{flagicon|CHI}} [[Luis Ayala (tennis)|Luis Ayala]] || 5–7, 6–1, 6–2
|}
|}


== Bibliography ==
== Bibliography ==
*{{cite book|title=A Handful of Summers|year=1979|isbn=978-0-8317-4362-8}}
* {{cite book|title=A Handful of Summers|year=1979|isbn=978-0-8317-4362-8 |last1=Forbes |first1=Gordon |publisher=Mayflower Books }}
*{{cite book|title=Too Soon To Panic |year=1995|isbn=978-0-670-86329-7}}
* {{cite book|title=Too Soon To Panic |year=1995|isbn=978-0-670-86329-7 |last1=Forbes |first1=Gordon |publisher=Viking }}
*{{cite book|title=I'll Take the Sunny Side: A Memoir|year=2017|isbn=978-1928257448}}
* {{cite book|title=I'll Take the Sunny Side: A Memoir|year=2017|isbn=978-1928257448|last1=Forbes|first1=Gordon|publisher=Bookstorm }}


== References ==
== References ==
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[[Category:South African male tennis players]]
[[Category:South African male tennis players]]
[[Category:French Championships (tennis) champions]]
[[Category:French Championships (tennis) champions]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Cape Town]]
[[Category:Tennis players from Cape Town]]
[[Category:1934 births]]
[[Category:1934 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:2020 deaths]]
[[Category:Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles]]
[[Category:Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles]]
[[Category:Tennis writers]]
[[Category:Tennis writers]]
[[Category:White South African people]]
[[Category:White South African people]]
[[Category:Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa]]
[[Category:People from Burgersdorp]]

Latest revision as of 09:26, 15 October 2023

For other people with the same name, see Gordon Forbes (disambiguation).

Gordon Forbes
Country (sports)South Africa South Africa
Born(1934-02-21)21 February 1934
Burgersdorp, Cape Province, South Africa
Died9 December 2020(2020-12-09) (aged 86)
Plettenberg Bay, Cape Province, South Africa
PlaysRight-handed
Singles
Career record342-217 (72%)
Career titles16
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open1R (1971)
French Open3R (1955, 1956, 1957, 1959)
Wimbledon4R (1956)
US OpenQF (1962)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open2R (1962)
French OpenF (1963)
WimbledonSF (1963)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
French OpenW (1955)
WimbledonQF (1962)
Team competitions
Davis CupSFEu (1962, 1963)

Gordon Forbes (21 February 1934 – 9 December 2020) was a South African professional tennis player and author. Forbes won the singles title of the South African Championships in 1959 and 1961 and was runner-up in 1955, 1962, 1963 and 1964. He won the Tuscaloosa Grass Court Invitational in 1962, defeating Rod Laver in the final. During the 1950s and 1960s, he was the doubles partner of countryman Abe Segal. They were considered one of the best doubles teams in the world.[1]

Career[edit]

Forbes learnt to play tennis in his childhood on the family farm. At age 12, he played and won his first junior tournament in East London.[2]

Forbes won the singles title of the South African Championships in 1959 and 1961 and was runner-up in 1955, 1962, 1963 and 1964. He won the Tuscaloosa Grass Court Invitational in 1962, defeating reigning U.S. No. 1 Whitney Reed in a marathon semifinal, and World No. 1 Rod Laver in a close four set final. He played for the South African Davis Cup team in 14 ties in the period 1955 to 1963 and compiled a record of 20 wins and 11 losses.

Later life[edit]

After retiring from tennis, Forbes wrote three books about his experiences as a player, his contemporaries in the sport and other tennis topics.[3][4][5] He died from COVID-19 on 9 December 2020, at age 86, during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa.[6]

Grand Slam finals[edit]

Doubles (1 runner-up)[edit]

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1963 French Championships Clay South Africa Abe Segal Australia Roy Emerson
Spain Manuel Santana		 2–6, 4–6, 4–6

Mixed doubles (1 title)[edit]

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1955 French Championships Clay United States Darlene Hard Australia Jenny Staley
Chile Luis Ayala		 5–7, 6–1, 6–2

Bibliography[edit]

  • Forbes, Gordon (1979). A Handful of Summers. Mayflower Books. ISBN 978-0-8317-4362-8.
  • Forbes, Gordon (1995). Too Soon To Panic. Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-86329-7.
  • Forbes, Gordon (2017). I'll Take the Sunny Side: A Memoir. Bookstorm. ISBN 978-1928257448.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Plimpton, George (1992). The Norton Book of Sports. W. W. Norton & Company. pp. 205. ISBN 978-0-393-03040-2. Abe Segal.
  2. ^ Forbes, Gordon (1997). A Handful of Summers (1st American ed.). London: HarperCollins. p. 22. ISBN 9780007291304.
  3. ^ Allen, Brook (8 June 1997). "Sports Books in Brief". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  4. ^ Brent Shearer (6 September 2011). "New York Tennis Magazine's Literary Corner: A Handful of Summers by Gordon Forbes". New York Tennis Magazine.
  5. ^ David Southey (7 November 2017). "SA's raconteur racquet man aces another memoir". Business Day. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Tennis legend and author Gordon Forbes passes away aged 86". Archived from the original on 11 December 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2021.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gordon_Forbes&oldid=1180233730"