Country (sports) Hungary Name Jozsef Asboth Turned pro 1939 French Open SF (1947) Retired 1957 | Wimbledon SF (1948) Grand slams won (singles) 1 French Open W (1947) Role Tennis player Highest ranking No. | |
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Born 18 September 1917
Szombathely, Austria-Hungary ( 1917-09-18 ) Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand) Died September 22, 1986, Munich, Germany | ||
József Asbóth ([ˈjoːʒɛf ɒʃboːt]; Hungarian: Asbóth József; 18 September 1917 – 22 September 1986) was a Hungarian male tennis player. Born in a family of railway workers, he is best remembered for being the first Hungarian tennis and the first player from Eastern Europe to win a Grand Slam singles title, at the 1947 French Open (where he was seeded fifth). As of today, he is still the only Hungarian male player who won a Grand Slam title in singles. Asbóth also reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 1948. Hungary's Communist government had let him leave the country only after the personal warrant of the Swedish King Gustaf V that Asbóth would return to his homeland and wasn't going to emigrate. In 1941, he was a member of the Hungarian team that won the Central European Cup. Asbóth was ranked World No. 8 by John Olliff of The Daily Telegraph in 1948 (and No. 9 in 1947).
His Davis Cup record was 24 wins and 17 losses and he won the Hungarian National Tennis Championships 13 times.
After his career, he became responsible for the next generation of tennis players at the Belgian Tennis Federation. He later became a trainer in Munich.
In 1993 a street was named after Asbóth in Szombathely, the city where he was born.
