2013 Junior Ron Rathbone Local History Prize Ken Rosewall, Rockdale’s Sporting Hero By Teodora Bojanic St. George Girls High School Ken Rosewall, Rockdale’s Sporting Hero Contents Ken Rosewall – Page 3 Introduction – Page 4 Early Life – Page 5 Career – Page 6 Significant Achievements – Page 7 Where is he now? – Page 8 References – Page 9 Portrait of tennis player Ken Rosewall, as a 12 year old at White City, Sydney, 1946 2 | P a g e Ken Rosewall, Rockdale’s Sporting Hero Ken Rosewall I remember in 2008 when I was still attending Rockdale Public School and the many celebrations that took place in honour of our 125th anniversary. We were called out one day to attend a ‘ceremony’ at the school playground across the road. I had no idea what it was for or why we all had to go. Later on, we were introduced to a man named Ken Rosewall, someone we had no idea about. When giving his speech, he was talking about how he had attended our school and that he used to be a professional tennis player. Hard to believe because of his short height, but it intrigued me to find out more about who this man was. Our school playground was renamed the “Ken Rosewall Playground” in his honour. I used to play tennis, so I seem to think that researching about Ken Rosewall has been quite interesting. Ken Rosewall was definitely one of the best tennis players in the world during his time, and knowing that he came from the St. George area, so close to many of us, is quite captivating. He was, and still is a role model to many. It just goes to show that if you truly work for a goal, you can achieve it. “Ken Rosewall Playground” at Rockdale Public School 3 | P a g e Ken Rosewall, Rockdale’s Sporting Hero Introduction Known to Australia as being one of the greatest sporting heroes of all time, Kenneth “Ken” Rosewall, was born on the 2nd of November 1934 in the St George Area. He was renowned for his legendary backhand and was the winner of many championship titles during his amateur and professional career. This former world number one tennis player enjoyed a long career, with his professional years spanning from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. Ken Rosewall -­‐ also referred to as “muscles” by his friends in spite of his small figure -­‐
was born in the St. George area to a family who played and owned tennis courts. Even though he had been well known for a strong backhand, Rosewall was actually taught by his father to play with his right hand. This formed a strong foundation for his backhand, a skill that many players had weaknesses in during his time. By the end of Ken Rosewall’s career, he had won over 130 titles including many grand slams and world championships. These significant achievements have been acclaimed all over Australia, making this former world number one tennis player, perhaps the greatest this country has ever seen. Ken Rosewall with one of his many championship trophies whilst doing the SkyWalk on the Centre Point Tower in Sydney Ken Rosewall playing a tennis match 4 | P a g e Ken Rosewall, Rockdale’s Sporting Hero Early Life Ken Rosewall was born on the 2nd of November 1934 in the St. George Area to a family who played tennis and owned tennis courts. This gave Ken Rosewall a strong foundation for his professional playing years. Ken Rosewall attended Rockdale Public School for a short while. The school playground is now named after him. Later on, he continued his education at Kogarah High School from 1947 to 1949. His peers would refer him to as ‘muscles’ as a sarcastic nickname because of his small figure. By the age of 15, whilst still attending school, Ken Rosewall reached the semi-­‐finals of the 1950 New South Wales Metropolitan Championships. After these championships, Ken Rosewall left school to pursue a career in tennis. In 1951, when Rosewall was only 16, he won his first men’s tournament in Manly. A year later, when Rosewall was still only 17, he reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Championships. He even upset the top-­‐
Ken Rosewall playing a game of tennis as a teenager with his legendary backhand seeded player in the world, Vic Seixas in the fourth round, causing a worldwide stir around this young and talented player. Ken Rosewall was one of the youngest tennis players to ever reach the international stage of tennis. In 1953, when he was just 19 years old, Rosewall won the Australian singles and doubles, the French singles and doubles, and the Wimbledon doubles. He also entered the Davis Cup with Lew Hoad – surprisingly the pair was born 21 days apart. -­‐ in Melbourne, Australia, but was defeated by Tony Trabert. 5 | P a g e Ken Rosewall, Rockdale’s Sporting Hero Career Ken Rosewall lived through the amateur and professional tennis eras. This former world top-­‐ranking tennis player began his career as an amateur player and won his first men’s tournament in Manly at 17 in 1950. Ken Rosewall, whilst only 18 years old, had already won the singles titles at the Australia, French and Pacific Southwest Championships. Along with winning titles at the Australian and French tours, Rosewall also helped Australia win three Davis Cup competitions during his amateur career. Ken Rosewall transitioned to professional playing in 1957, with not receiving Ken Rosewall receiving a trophy for winning the U.S Open in 1956 enough money playing as an amateur player being one of the reasons. Ken Rosewall began his professional career in 1957, which extended all the way through to 1968. Rosewall played his first professional match in Melbourne against reigning champion of professional tennis, Pancho Gonzales. Rosewall thought that there was a huge gap between amateur and professional tennis playing. Ken Rosewall had a successful professional career and had won honourable titles including winning five of the six biggest tournaments (Adelaide, Melbourne, Geneva, Milan and Stockholm) in 1962. At this time, there were only small tours of lesser significance. Ken Rosewall also won many other competitions including the French Pro, U.S. Pro, Australian Open, French Open and the U.S. Open. During Ken Rosewall’s professional career, he mainly came across Pancho Gonzales and Rod Laver, whom were his main rivalries. Ken Rosewall’s professional career extended all the way to his early 40s. Stating in his interview with 2GB radio that by the time he was reaching his 40s he was “semi-­‐retired” and mainly participating in the Asian circuit of rounds. Rosewall played in Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan and other Asian countries before retiring. 6 | P a g e Ken Rosewall, Rockdale’s Sporting Hero Significant Achievements Ken Rosewall’s long career ended with him claiming over 130 titles including many grand slams and world championships. Within these titles, were some significant achievements that have been acclaimed and praised all throughout Australia. Ken Rosewall was only 18 years old when he became the top seeded tennis player of the whole world. Whilst only being 18, Rosewall had already won multiple grand slams and world championships including the Australian singles and doubles, the French singles and doubles, and the Pacific Southwest Championships. Ken Rosewall was the runner up at Wimbledon. Throughout Rosewall’s long-­‐lasting career, he was able to win 8 grand-­‐slam titles, many world championships, and other events all over the world. Ken Rosewall’s average winning rate was at 75% for most of his career, unlike many professional tennis players. This was a very high success rate. From his significant achievements throughout Ken Rosewall’s lengthy career, the centre court at Sydney’s Olympic Tennis Centre is now named Ken Rosewall Arena in his honour. In 2008, in celebration of Rockdale Public School’s 125th anniversary, the school playground was renamed the “Ken Rosewall Playground”. Ken Rosewall was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1980. In 1993, Rosewall was inducted into the Australian Hall of Fame for his outstanding contribution to Australian tennis. Ken Rosewall achieved many momentous achievements throughout his whole career, and they will surely all be remembered for generations to come. Ken Rosewall receiving a trophy for winning the U.S. Open in 1970 7 | P a g e Ken Rosewall, Rockdale’s Sporting Hero Where is he now? Ken Rosewall is now a grandfather of five and resides in northern Sydney. He still frequently plays tennis. In 2012, Ken Rosewall published a biography called ‘Muscles – The Story of Ken Rosewall’. This biography explores into the life and career of one of the greatest tennis players of all time. This biography, written by Richard Naughton, shows how Rosewall was an influential player who lived through the amateur and professional tennis eras. Ken Rosewall plays an important part in the city of Rockdale. Rosewall is very open about where he came from, stating in numerous interviews that he was raised in the St. George area. He is one that many will remember for future generations. Ken Rosewall, was, and still is, a role model to many people in the St. George area, and all around Australia. Biography of Ken Rosewall published in 2012. “Muscles: The Story of Ken Rosewall” Ken Rosewall interviewed in 2013 by “The Age” 8 | P a g e Ken Rosewall, Rockdale’s Sporting Hero References o Ken Rosewall National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-­‐vn4273756, 1946 o Australian Tennis Hall of Fame http://www.australianopen.com/en_AU/event_guide/history/hall_of_fame.html o Tennis Profiles: Ken Rosewall http://www.topendsports.com/sport/tennis/profiles/rosewall-­‐ken.htm Last modified: 22/07/13 o Player Profiles: Ken Rosewall http://www.tennis.com.au/player-­‐profiles/ken-­‐
rosewall 2013 o Ken Rosewall Profile http://tennis-­‐pronostics.com/player/ken-­‐rosewall o Ken Rosewall http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Rosewall Last modified: 09/07/13 o Ken Rosewall Newspaper Articles http://www.trove.nla.gov.au o Muscles: The Story of Ken Rosewall as told to Richard Naughton, 2012. o Newspaper Article: Rosewall backs Tomic http://www.theage.com.au/sport/tennis/rosewall-­‐backs-­‐tomic-­‐20130123-­‐
2d7g7.html January 24, 2013 o Ken Rosewall: Player Profile http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Ro/K/Ken-­‐R-­‐Rosewall.aspx Last modified: 2013 o Muscles – The Slattery Media Group http://www.slatterymedia.com/store/viewItem/muscles Last modified: 2012 o Ken Rosewall: Twenty Years at the Top, Peter Rowley with Ken Rosewall, 1976 9 | P a g e