Full name John Sheldon Olliff Name John Olliff Role Tennis Player | French Open 3R (1932) Retired 1949 US Open 4R (1930, 1932) Turned pro 1928 | |
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Born 1 December 1908London, England ( 1908-12-01 ) Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand) Wimbledon 4R (1929, 1931, 1932, 1938, 1939) Died June 29, 1951, Chiswick, United Kingdom | ||
John Sheldon Olliff (1 December 1908 – 29 June 1951) was an English tennis player, author and sportsjournalist.
Life
Olliff took part in the Wimbledon Championships from 1928. In singles, he advanced to the fourth round several times until 1939. In doubles, he reached the semifinals with his partner Ronnie Shayes where they lost to Harold Hare and Frank Wilde. At the French Championships Olliff reached the fourth round in 1932. He also played at the US Championships in 1929 and 1930, and advanced to the quarterfinals in the last year.
Olliff won six tournaments in his career as a tennis player: the Northern Lawn Tennis Championships (1928, 1929, 1931), the Irish Championships (1930), the Queen's Club Championships (1931) and the Surrey Grass Court Championships (1938). After the Second World War, he played a match for the British Davis Cup team in the first round against France in 1946. Along with Henry Billington, he lost against Marcel Bernard and Bernard Destremau.
After his active career, he took a job as a sportsjournalist at the Daily Telegraph and succeeded A. Wallis Myers as tennis correspondent. He died of a heart attack on the way to a match at Wimbledon on 29 June 1951. His successor at the Telegraph became Lance Tingay.