Yvon Petra

Yvon Petra
Full name Yvon Francois Marie Petra
Country (sports)  France
Born 8 March 1916
Cholon, French Indochina
Died 12 September 1984(1984-09-12) (aged 68)
Paris, France
Height 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Turned pro 1948 (amateur tour from 1935)
Retired 1955
Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF 2016 (member page)
Singles
Career record 179-65 (73.3%) [1]
Career titles 18 [1]
Highest ranking No. 4 (1946, A. Wallis Myers)[2]
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open SF (1946)
Wimbledon W (1946)
US Open 4R (1936, 1937, 1938)
Professional majors
US Pro 1R (1950)
Doubles
Career record 0–1
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open W (1938, 1946)
Wimbledon QF (1947)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French Open W (1937)
Wimbledon F (1937)
US Open F (1937)

Yvon Petra (French pronunciation: ​[ivɔ̃ petʁa]; 8 March 1916 – 12 September 1984) was a French male tennis player. He was born in Cholon, French Indochina. He is best remembered as the last Frenchman to win the Wimbledon championships men's singles title (in 1946), beating Geoff Brown in five sets in the final. In doubles he won the French championships twice, in 1938 with Bernard Destremau, defeating the best pair in the world Budge-Mako, and in 1946 with Marcel Bernard. In 1938 he won the singles and doubles title at the French Covered Court Championships.[3] He was a prisoner of war in World War II and after his release won three Tournoi de France titles from 1943 through 1945.[4][5] He emigrated to the United States and worked as a tennis pro at the Saddle and Cycle Club in Chicago and a country club in Connecticut towards the end of his life. Petra was ranked World No. 4 for 1946 by A. Wallis Myers and World No. 8 for 1947 by Harry Hopman.[2][6] He was the last man to wear long trousers in a Wimbledon final and was the last Frenchman to win the singles title.[7]

Petra joined the tour of professional players in 1948.[8] He was inducted into International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2016.[9]

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 title)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Winner1946WimbledonGrassAustralia Geoff Brown6–2, 6–4, 7–9, 5–7, 6–2

Doubles (2 titles)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner1938French ChampionshipsClayFrance Bernard DestremauUnited States Don Budge
United States Gene Mako		3–6, 6–3, 9–7, 6–1
Winner1946French ChampionshipsClayFrance Marcel BernardArgentina Enrique Morea
Ecuador Pancho Segura		7–5, 6–3, 0–6, 1–6, 10–8

Mixed doubles (1 title, 2 runners-up)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner1937French ChampionshipsClayFrance Simonne MathieuGermany Marie-Louise Horn
France Roland Journu		7–5, 7–5
Runner-up1937WimbledonGrassFrance Simonne MathieuUnited States Alice Marble
United States Don Budge		4–6, 1–6
Runner-up1937U.S. ChampionshipsGrassFrance Sylvie Jung HenrotinUnited States Sarah Palfrey
United States Don Budge		2–6, 10–8, 0–6

References

  1. 1 2 Garcia, Gabriel. "Yvon Petra: Career match record". thetennisbase.com. Madrid: Tennismem SL. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  2. 1 2 United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 425.
  3. ↑ G.P. Hughes, ed. (1947). Dunlop Lawn Tennis Annual and Almanack 1947. London: Ed. J. Burrow & Co. Ltd. p. 281.
  4. ↑ Harold Bubil (23 December 1974). "Petra: POW Camp to Wimbledon Champ". Sarasota Journal. pp. 1-D, 4-D.
  5. ↑ Henry D. Fetter (6 June 2011). "The French Open During World War II: A Hidden History". The Atlantic.
  6. ↑ "World's Best 10 in Tennis", The Courier-Mail, 3 February 1947.
  7. ↑ Paul Newman (15 July 2016). "Remembering Yvon Petra: Hall of Famer, WWII veteran and Wimbledon champion". www.wimbledon.com. AELTC.
  8. ↑ McCauley, Joe (2000). The History of Professional Tennis. Windsor: The Short Run Book Company Limited. p. 47.
  9. ↑ "Class of 2016". International Tennis Hall of Fame. March 7, 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-21.
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