Lew Hoad

Early life and career

Lewis Hoad was born on 23 November 1934, in the working-class Sydney inner suburb of Glebe, the eldest of three sons of tramway electrician Alan Hoad and his wife Ailsa Lyle. Hoad started playing tennis at age five with a racket gifted by a local social club. As a young child he would wake up at 5 a.m. and hit tennis balls against a wall and garage door until the neighbours complained and he was allowed to practice on the courts of the Hereford Tennis Club behind the house. At age 10 he competed in the seaside tournament at Manly in the under 16 category.

In his youth he often played with Ken Rosewall and they became known as the Sydney 'twins', although they had very different physiques, personalities and playing styles. Their first match was in their early teens and was played as an opener of an exhibition match between Australia and America. Rosewall won 6–0, 6–0. Hoad built up great physical strength, especially in his hands and arms, by training at a police boys' club, where he made a name as a boxer. Hoad was about 12 when he was introduced to Adrian Quist, a former Australian tennis champion and then general manager of the Dunlop sports goods company. Quist played a couple of sets with Hoad and was impressed by his natural ability. When Hoad was 14 he left school and joined the Dunlop payroll, following the pattern of that 'shamateur' era when most of Australia's brightest tennis prospects were employed by sporting goods companies.

Hoad had just turned 15 when he and Rosewall were selected to play for New South Wales in an interstate contest against Victoria. In November 1949 Hoad won the junior title at the New South Wales Championships and that same weekend he also competed in the final of the junior table tennis championship in Sydney.

Amateur career: 1951 – 1957

Hoad's first Grand Slam tournament appearance was at the 1951 Australian Championships held in January at the White City Tennis Club in Sydney. He won his first match against Ronald McKenzie in straight sets but lost in the following round to defending champion Frank Sedgman. It was the only Grand Slam tournament he played that year.

In 1952 he reached the third round of the Australian Championships, played in Adelaide, and in April he was selected by the Australasian Lawn Tennis Association as member of the team to play in overseas tournaments. In May, before departing to Europe, he won the singles title at the Australian Hardcourt Championships after a five-set win in the final against Rosewall. Hoad, who had never played a tournament on clay courts, received a walkover in the first round of the French Championships and lost in straight sets to sixth-seeded and 1947 and 1951 French finalist Eric Sturgess. In only their second appearance as a doubles team at a Grand Slam event Hoad and Rosewall reached the French semifinal. Hoad subsequently played the Belgian tennis championships in Brussels in early June and reached the quarterfinal in which he was outclassed by Budge Patty. Hoad's first entry at the Queen's Club Championship in June 1952 ended in the quarterfinal against countryman and eventual champion Frank Sedgman. A week later he played his first match at the Wimbledon Championships defeating Beppe Merlo in a nervous and unimpressive five-set encounter. Wins against Rolando del Bello and Freddie Huber were followed by a fourth round loss against second-seeded and eventual finalist Jaroslav Drobný. Hoad and Rosewall caused an upset when they defeated second-seeded Gardnar Mulloy and Dick Savitt in the third round of the doubles event in a run that ended in the semifinal against Vic Seixas and Eric Sturgess.

After a semifinal result at the Swedish championships in July and an exhibition between Australia and West Germany Hoad and the Australian team traveled to the United States under the guidance of Harry Hopman. As a preparation for his first U.S. Championships he played the Meadow Club Invitational (Southampton), Eastern Grass Court Championships (South Orange), and Newport Invitational before teaming up with Rosewall to reach the semifinal of the U.S. National Doubles Championships in Brookline. Hoad was the eighth seeded foreign player at the U.S. Championships. He won four matches to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal but due in part to making 64 errors could not overcome his countryman Frank Sedgman who would win the tournament without losing a set. With Thelma Coyne Long he reached the final of the mixed doubles event, the first Grand Slam final of his career, but they lost in straight sets to Doris Hart and Frank Sedgman. An early loss at the Pacific Southwest Championships in September concluded his first overseas tour. At the end of the year he was jointly ranked No. 10 in the world with Rosewall.

Hoad started 1953 poorly in the singles with a second round exit against Clive Wilderspin at the Australian Championships in Melbourne after playing an uncharacteristic baseline game. He was more successful in doubles when he and Rosewall became the youngest team to win the Australian doubles title after a victory in the final against Mervyn Rose and Don Candy. In March he successfully defended his singles title Australian Hardcourt Championships, defeating 34-year-old John Bromwich in the final. In the semifinal he had survived six matchpoints against Rosewall. Two weeks later Hoad lost the final of the N.S.W. Hardcourt Championships against Mervyn Rose. Hoad's second overseas tour started in late April and after an exhibition in Cairo at the Gezira Sporting Club he entered the Italian Championships in Rome. He reached the final, losing to Drobný in straight sets but won the doubles title with Rosewall. At the 1953 French Championships in May Hoad was seeded fourth and made it to the quarterfinal which he lost to Vic Seixas due to overhitting and an unreliable serve. Hoad and Rosewall followed up their Australian title with a win at the French Championships after a convincing three-set win in the final against countrymen Rose and Wilderspin. In June Hoad's attacking serve-and-volley game proved too good for Wimbledon favorite Rosewall in the final of the Queen's Club Championship and he won the tournament without losing a set. At Wimbledon Hoad was seeded sixth and as at the French Vic Seixas defeated him in the quarterfinal, this time in a close five-set match that ended 7–9 in the final set on a Hoad double fault. In an all-Australian doubles final Hoad and Rosewall defeated Hartwig and Rose to win their Grand Slam doubles title of the year. Hoad lost to Enrique Morea in the final of the Dutch Championships in mid July. Hoad won his first title on U.S. soil in South Orange at the Eastern Grass Court Championships in mid August, defeating compatriot Rex Hartwig in the final. In the semifinal against Rosewall he pulled a back muscle, the first sign of the back problems that would later plague his career. Hoad and Rosewall's hopes of winning the doubles Grand Slam, two years after fellow Australians Ken McGregor and Frank Sedgman had first achieved that feat, were dashed when they lost surprisingly in the third round of the U.S. Doubles Championships.

Hoad was one of the favorites for the singles title at the 1953 U.S. Championships and was the second-seeded foreign player. Hoad won four matches to reach the semifinal where for the third time in 1953 he lost in a Grand Slam event to Vic Seixas. Following the defeat of Hoad, and Rosewall in the other semifinal, there was criticism in the press that both 18-year-old players were physically and mentally worn out due to the intensive schedule imposed by coach Harry Hopman. In September Seixas again beat Hoad, this time in the semifinal of the Pacific Southwest Championships in Los Angeles. Hoad was rested a few weeks upon his return to Australia. He entered the Queensland Championships in early November and won the singles title in a 41-minute final against Rex Hartwig. Two weeks later Hoad won the N.S.W. Championships after a four-set victory in the final over Rosewall in front of a 10,000 Sydney crowd but had trouble with a sore right elbow. His good form continued in early December at the Victorian Championships when he again defeated Rosewall in the final. The much anticipated 1953 Davis Cup challenge round match against defendants United States took place at the Kooyong Stadium in Melbourne from 28–31 December. Surprisingly Hartwig was selected to partner Hoad in the doubles instead of Rosewall, a decision widely criticized in the press. Hoad and Hartwig lost the doubles match against Seixas and Trabert and Australia trailed 1–2 at the start of the final day. Hoad is often remembered for his match as a 19-year-old amateur against the United States champion Tony Trabert. In a titanic struggle in front of a 17,000 crowd, Hoad defeated Trabert by a score of 13–11, 6–3, 3–6, 2–6, 7–5 to help his country retain the Cup. It was seen as one of the best Davis Cup matches in history. Directly following the final Hoad received his call-up papers for National Service. Hoad ended 1953 ranked No. 5 in the world.

Hoad played just one tournament in early January before entering his National Service training. At the South Australian Championships in Adelaide Hoad reached the final but sub-par play allowed Trabert to defeat him in straight sets and take revenge for his Davis Cup defeat. On 13 January Hoad joined the 13th National Service Training battalion in Ingleburn for a period of 98 days and commented that "It will be a welcome break from tennis". As a consequence Hoad was unable to participate in the 1954 Australian Championships. At the end of February Hoad received a leave from service to play in the Australian team in the third test match against South Africa in front of the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh. He played a singles match, a doubles match with Rosewall and a mixed doubles match with his girlfriend Jenny Staley. When Hoad returned to service he was bitten by a spider while on maneuvers which caused him to become ill and hospitalized him for ten days. He spent two days in coma but this was not made public. Hoad left the National Service at the end of April and his third overseas tour with an Australian team started on 5 May 1954. For the first time in his career Hoad was seeded first at a Grand Slam tournament when he entered the French Championships but he failed to live up to expectation when he lost in the fourth round to 41-year-old Gardnar Mulloy. Hoad reached the doubles final with Rosewall but the pair were soundly beaten by Seixas and Trabert in a 56-minute final. Partnering Maureen Connolly, who had won the women's singles title, Hoad won the mixed doubles event after a win in the final against Jacqueline Patorni and Rex Hartwig. In June Hoad overcame countryman Rose in the final of the Queen's Club Championship to successfully defend his 1953 singles title. Hoad was one of the favorites for the Wimbledon Championships and was seeded second behind Trabert. In the fourth round Hoad avenged his loss to Mulloy at the French Championships, defeating the veteran in four sets. However, in the quarterfinal the powerful service and excellent returns of 33-year-old Jaroslav Drobný proved too much for Hoad and he was beaten in straight sets within the hour. Hoad and Rosewall were unable to defend their 1953 Wimbledon doubles title after losing in fives sets in the semifinal to Seixas and Trabert. A surprise loss against Roger Becker in the semifinal at the Midlands Counties Championships in Birmingham was followed in mid-July by winning the singles title at the Swiss Championships in Gstaad. As in the previous year Hoad met Rosewall in the Eastern Grass Court Championships in August, this time in the final, and again the titleholder was victorious, overpowering Rosewall to win the singles title in three straight sets. At Newport in mid August Hoad was beaten by 17-year-old compatriot Roy Emerson who won the deciding set 8–6. For the third time in 1954 Seixas and Trabert defeated Hoad and Rosewall at a Grand Slam doubles event, winning the U.S. Doubles Championships in Brookline.

Hoad, seeded first among the foreign players at the U.S. Championships, failed to live up to his seeding when he lost to Ham Richardson in a five-set quarterfinal. His lackluster form continued when he was defeated by unseeded Luis Ayala in the quarterfinal of the Pacific Southwest Championships in mid-September. After returning to Australia at the end of September Hoad scheduled extra practice to work on his serve and volley but subsequently lost to Don Candy in the semifinal of the Sydney Metropolitan Championships. In early November matters briefly improved as he consolidated the Queensland title in Brisbane. In the final he overcame a sunstroke and the loss of sets three and four by 0–6 to defeat Hartwig in five sets. In mid November he was upset by veteran John Bromwich who better exploited the windy conditions in the quarterfinal of the N.S.W. Championships. At the Victorian Championships, the last significant tournament before the Davis Cup Challenge Round, Hoad was defeated in straight sets in the semifinal by Seixas. As in the previous match against Sven Davidson he showed such poor form and at times an apparent lack of interest that he was jeered by the crowd and several left after he smashed a ball into the stands. The 1954 Davis Cup Challenge Round was played on 27–29 December on the grass courts at the White City Stadium in Sydney between title holders Australia and the United States. Hoad played the first rubber, in front of a record crowd of 25,000, which he lost to world No.1 Trabert in a high-quality four-set match. Rosewall also lost his singles match and the United States won back the cup after Seixas and Trabert defeated Hoad and Rosewall in four sets in the doubles rubber. At the end of an erratic and ultimately disappointing season Hoad's world ranking slipped to No.7. In a 1956 interview Hoad admitted that especially in 1954 he often got fed-up with tennis and didn't care whether he played or not.

Hoad started the 1955 season on a low note when he was unable to play the South Australian tennis championship in early January due to a torn ligament. To some surprise he entered the mixed doubles event at the 1955 Australian Championships with his girlfriend Jenny Staley and the pair finished as runner-ups to Thelma Coyne Long and George Worthington. In the singles event Hoad reached his first Grand Slam tournament final after solid wins over Seixas (quarterfinal) and Hartwig (semifinal). In the final Rosewall's accuracy and control, however, were too strong for him and he lost in three straight sets. Hoad did not participate in the 1955 French Championships as the Davis Cup team that he was part of only left for Europe at the end of May during the Championships. In the singles final of the Queen's Club Championship in mid-June Hoad, who had gotten married earlier that day, lost his service seven times and lost to Rosewall in two straight sets but won the doubles event with Hartwig. Hoad was the fourth-seeded player at the Wimbledon Championships at the end of June. In his quarterfinal match against seventh-seeded Budge Patty his game lacked accuracy and he conceded a break in each set resulting in a loss in straight sets. Hoad was the second-seeded foreign player at the U.S. Championships in September held on the muddy courts of Forest Hills. In the quarterfinal he lost his service three times in succession in the third set and suffered a straight sets defeat in 50 minutes against Trabert, the first-seeded U.S. player, and eventual champion. Having lost the Davis Cup in 1954 Australia had to play through the 1955 Davis Cup preliminary rounds to challenge holders United States. In July Australia defeated Mexico, Brazil and Canada to win the Americas Zone and subsequently beat Japan and Italy in the Inter-zone matches in August. In the Challenge Round, played at the West Side Tennis Club, Forest Hills from 26 – 28 August, Hoad defeated the French and Wimbledon champion Trabert in four sets in his first singles rubber and with Hartwig won the doubles match to reclaim the cup for Australia. In his first significant tournament after the Davis Cup Hoad won the New South Wales Championships in November after a win in the final against Rosewall. In December he added the singles title at the Victorian Championships after a tough five-sets final win over 19-year old Ashley Cooper. At the end of the year he was ranked No. 3 in the world.

Hoad started the year with a five-set defeat in the final of the South Australian Championships against countryman Neale Fraser. At the Manly tournament, which followed, the crowds overflowed the stands during the final hindering Rosewall's baseline game more than Hoad's, resulting in a straight sets win for Hoad in 35 minutes. At the 1956 Australian Championships, played at the end of January in Brisbane, Hoad overcame a two sets to one deficit against Mervyn Rose in the quarterfinal to reach the semifinal which he won against Neale Fraser to reach his second consecutive final. As in the previous edition his opponent was Ken Rosewall and this time Hoad overcame his rival and titleholder in four sets to win his first Grand Slam singles title. His success was completed by winning the doubles title with Rosewall against Don Candy and Mervyn Rose. At the beginning of March Hoad and his wife left for an overseas private tour, i.e. a tour sanctioned but not organized by the Australian tennis federation. First stop of the tour was Cairo where Hoad won the singles title at the Egyptian Championships against Sven Davidson followed by a tournament win in Alexandria over Fred Kovaleski. At Monte Carlo in late March he was surprisingly beaten by Tony Vincent in the quarterfinal. In the Australian ranking published in April and reflecting the season until the end of March Hoad overtook Rosewall as No.1. Singles titles at the Lebanese Championships and at the Connaught Club in Essex followed in April but the month ended with a semifinal loss to Ham Richardson at the British Hard Court Championships in Bournemouth.

Hoad won his first Italian Championships on the clay courts of the Foro Italico in Rome in early May when he outplayed Sven Davidson in straight sets. At the French Championships Hoad survived a five-set scare against Robert Abdesselam in the third round to reach the final which he won against Sven Davidson in straight sets to claim his second consecutive title at a Grand Slam event. Unknown to the public Hoad had stayed up the night previous to the final, invited by a Russian diplomat, and was drunk when he came home. An intensive workout by Rod Laver got him into a state that allowed him to play the final. In May Hoad won the International Golden Ball tournament in Wiesbaden, West Germany after a straight-sets victory in the final over Art Larsen but in the Trofeo Conde de Godó in Barcelona he lost in the quarterfinal to Bob Howe. As a preparation for Wimbledon Hoad elected to play the singles event at the Northern Championships in Manchester instead of the Queen's Club Championships. He reached the final but had to bow for 34-year old Jaroslav Drobný who won the deciding set 7–5. Hoad was seeded first for the Wimbledon Championships and was the pre-tournament favorite. He lost two sets along the way to reach the final, in which he faced Rosewall. In the first all-Australian final since 1922 Hoad was victorious in four sets to gain his first Wimbledon and third successive Grand Slam championship title. Hoad also won the doubles title with Rosewall, their third Wimbledon title, outclassing Orlando Sirola and Nicola Pietrangeli in the final in straight sets. Following his Wimbledon title he entered the Midlands tournament and was beaten in the semifinal by Mike Davies. In August Hoad won the singles title at the German Championships, held on the clay courts at Hamburg, after a four-set defeat of Orlando Sirola in the final.

Having won the first three stages of the Grand Slam Hoad was favoured to win the fourth and then turn professional for a lucrative contract offered by Jack Kramer. In an upset, however, he lost the final in four sets to Rosewall in the United States Championship at Forest Hills. Hoad and Rosewall won the doubles title against Trabert and Seixas. At the Pacific Southwest Championships in September, the last leg of his overseas tour before returning to Australia, Hoad was beaten by Alex Olmedo in the third round. In early November he lost the final of the Queensland Championships to Ashley Cooper in five sets and was hindered by numbness in the serving arm between the elbow and the wrist. The following week Hoad had to retire from the New South Wales Championships during his first round match against Ross Sherriff due to a sore arm. In mid December Hoad and Rosewall competed in the final of the Victorian Championships which was their last final as amateurs as Rosewall turned professional at the end of the month. The final started late due to rain and was stopped due to darkness at two sets to one for Hoad but the following day Rosewall won the last two sets and the title. In late December Hoad was part of the Australian Davis Cup team which successfully defended the cup in the Challenge Round against the United States who were weakened by the absence of Tony Trabert who had turned professional in the fall of 1955. In his last Davis Cup appearance Hoad won both his singles rubbers, against Herbie Flam and Seixas, as well as his doubles match with Rosewall to help Australia to a 5–0 victory. At the end of the year Hoad was ranked No. 1 in the world for the first time in his career.

Professional career: 1957 – 1966

Jack Kramer's first attempt to sign Hoad and Rosewall for his professional tour came in September 1954 when both players were in Los Angeles for the Pacific Coast Championships. Both signed a contract but later changed their minds and elected to remain amateurs. A renewed offer in October 1955 was also turned down. Fresh from his victory over Hoad at the 1956 U.S. Championships, it was Ken Rosewall who first signed the professional contract and went on to spend the new year as the regular victim of Pancho Gonzales on the pro tour. At a time when only amateur players were allowed to compete in the four national championships, Hoad finally turned professional in July 1957 after winning his second successive Wimbledon singles title, defeating Ashley Cooper in a straight-sets final that lasted 57 minutes. He signed a record contract with Kramer for a guarantee of $125,000 which included a $25,000 bonus for winning the 1957 Wimbledon singles title. In addition Hoad received 20% of the gate receipt with a 5% bonus if he won the match.

In July 1957 Hoad won his debut match as a professional against Frank Sedgman at the Tournament of Champions in Forest Hills. After the round-robin tournament Hoad commented on the difference between amateur and professional tennis; "It's an entirely different league. These pros make mistakes but they don't make them on vital points. That's the difference." In 1958 a series of 100 head-to-head matches was planned between Hoad and the reigning champion of professional tennis, Pancho Gonzales. The series started in January in a number of Australian cities and at the end Hoad was leading 8–5. In February the series continued in the United States where Hoad won 18 of the first 27 matches, but after they played an outdoor match on 1 March on a chilly night in Palm Springs Hoad's back stiffened which affected him significantly for the rest of the series. From 9–18 Gonzales surged to a 26–23 lead and at the end of the series on 8 June he had defeated Hoad by 51 matches to 36. Hoad had to default the Wembley Pro tournament in September due to an arthritic back.

In February 1959 Hoad defeated Rosewall in three sets to win the South Australian Pro Championships in Adelaide. In the four-man 1959 Kramer Pro Tour, which ran from mid-February through May, Hoad won against Gonzales by 15 matches to 13 and also won his head-to-head's with newly turned pro Ashley Cooper (18–2) and Mal Anderson (9–5). With a win-loss record of 42–20 he finished second in the ranking behind Gonzales (47–15) and earned $28,250. At the Tournament of Champions in June Hoad defeated Rosewall in the semifinal and Gonzales in the final, both in four sets, to claim the title. According to tennis journalist and author Joe McCauley this was the zenith of Hoad's career. In August 1959 Hoad finished runner-up to Cooper at the Slazenger Professional Tournament in Eastbourne. At the end of 1959 Kramer placed Hoad in fifth place in his world professional ranking as did the French sportspaper L'Équipe, while Australian tennis agent Bob Barnes placed him in first spot. Hoad won the professional tournament in Zürich in September 1962 after a win in the final against Pancho Segura. He was voted the top tennis player of 1962 in a poll by 85 U.S. sports editors.

In January 1963 Hoad played a series of head-to-head matches in various Australian cities against Rod Laver, who had turned professional in December 1962. Hoad won the first eight matches but by the end of the year Laver had become the No. 2 professional player behind Rosewall. Back problems plagued Hoad throughout his career and forced his retirement from the tennis tour in 1967 but the advent of the open era enticed him to make sporadic comebacks.

Hoad participated in the 1967 Wimbledon Pro, a three-day tournament organized by the All-England Club as a trial for "open" tennis and as such the first Wimbledon tournament open to male professional tennis players. Hoad was one of the eight players invited for the singles event and despite being in semi-retirement he won his first match against 39-year-old Gonzales in three sets. With little energy left he lost the semifinal to Rosewall in two straight sets. Hoad reached the final of the Irish Championships at Dublin in July 1968 but lost to Tom Okker in straight sets, hampered by a thigh injury. In November 1969 Hoad won the Dewar Cup Aberavon singles title, part of the Dewar Cup indoor circuit, after defeating Bob Hewitt in the final in two sets. At the 1970 French Open he reached the fourth round before succumbing to eventual finalist Željko Franulović. In the spring of 1972 Hoad teamed up with Frew McMillan to play the doubles event at the Italian Open and reached the final against Ilie Năstase and Ion Ţiriac. They led 2–0 in sets but retired at 3–5 down in the fifth set in protest of the poor light conditions and the antics of the Rumanian pair. At the end of June at the age of 37 he made his final Wimbledon appearance, losing in four sets in the first round to Jürgen Fassbender.

From 1970 to 1974 Hoad was the coach of the Spanish Davis Cup team.

Playing style and assessment

Strength played an important part in Hoad's game, as he often drove for winners rather than rallying and waiting for the right opportunity. Although he assaulted his opponents, he also had the skill to win the French Championships on the slower clay court. Hoad played right-handed and had a powerful serve and groundstrokes but his game lacked consistency. At times Hoad had difficulty maintaining concentration. According to Kramer, "Hoad had the loosest game of any good kid I ever saw. There was absolutely no pattern to his game.... He was the only player I ever saw who could stand six or seven feet behind the baseline and snap the ball back hard, crosscourt. He'd try for winners off everything, off great serves, off tricky short balls, off low volleys. He hit hard overspin drives, and there was no way you could ever get him to temporise on important points." Kramer compares Hoad to another great player, Ellsworth Vines. "Both were very strong guys. Both succeeded at a very young age.... Also, both were very lazy guys. Vines lost interest in tennis (for golf) before he was thirty, and Hoad never appeared to be very interested. Despite their great natural ability, neither put up the outstanding records that they were capable of. Unfortunately, the latter was largely true because both had physical problems."

Gonzales, who is considered to be among the greatest tennis players of all time, always maintained that Hoad was the toughest, most skilful adversary that he had ever faced. "He was the only guy who, if I was playing my best tennis, could still beat me." said Gonzales in a 1995 New York Times interview. "I think his game was the best game ever. Better than mine. He was capable of making more shots than anybody. His two volleys were great. His overhead was enormous. He had the most natural tennis mind with the most natural tennis physique." In a 1970 interview he stated that "Hoad was probably the best and toughest player when he wanted to be. After the first two years on the tour, his back injury plagued him so much that he lost the desire to practice. He was the only man to beat me in a head-to-head tour, 15 to 13." Kramer, however, had mixed feelings about Hoad's ability. In spite of calling him one of the 21 best players of all time, he also writes that "when you sum Hoad up, you have to say that he was overrated. He might have been the best, but day-to-day, week-to-week, he was the most inconsistent of all the top players." In a 1963 article in World Tennis Rosewall judges Gonzales to be a notch above Hoad but stated that "...the latter is the greatest of all time when he is 'on'.", an opinion echoed by Frew McMillan.

With his movie-star good looks, powerful physique, and outgoing personality, Hoad became a tennis icon in the 1950s. As Kramer says, "Everybody loved Hoad, even Pancho Gonzales. They should put that on Lew's tombstone as the ultimate praise for the man.... Even when Hoad was clobbering Gonzales, Gorgo wanted his respect and friendship."

Personal life

Hoad proposed to his girlfriend, Australian tennis player Jenny Staley, on her 21st birthday party in March 1955 and they planned to announce their engagement in June in London while both were on an overseas tour. After arrival in London Jenny discovered that she was pregnant and the couple decided to get married straight away. The marriage took place the following day on 18 June 1955 at St Mary's Church, Wimbledon in London on the eve of Wimbledon fortnight. They have two daughters and a son.

After announcing his retirement in 1967, due to persistent back problems, Hoad moved to Fuengirola, Spain, near Málaga, where he and his wife operated a tennis resort, Lew Hoad's Campo de Tenis, for more than thirty years entertaining personal friends such as actors Sean Connery, Kirk Douglas, and saxophonist Stan Getz.

Hoad was diagnosed with an aggressive form of leukemia on 13 January 1994 and, in his weakened condition, he died of a heart attack on 3 July 1994 at the age of 59. A book co-written with Jack Pollard and titled My Game ("The Lew Hoad story" in the USA) was published in 1958. In 2002, Pollard teamed up with his widow, Jenny, to write My Life With Lew.

Hoad was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, in 1980 and this was followed in December 1985 by his induction into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. In January 1995 he was posthumously inducted into the Tennis Australia Hall of Fame together with friend and rival Ken Rosewall. The ITF organizes a seniors tournament in his honor called The Lew Hoad Memorial ITF Veterans Tournament.