Australian Tennis Great Fred Stolle has Died at Age 86
Fred Stolle, a two-time major winner and member of three Davis Cup-winning teams, has died, Tennis Australia said Thursday. He was 86.
Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley described Stolle as an 'iconic figure' in tennis as a player and later as a commentator for Australia's Nine Network and for CBS and Fox Sports. Tiley did not provide a cause of death, The Associated Press reported.
Tiley said Stolle was part of Australia's successful era in the 1960s as tennis progressed from an amateur to a professional sport.
'His legacy is one of excellence, dedication, and a profound love for tennis," Tiley said. "His impact on the sport will be remembered and cherished by all who had the privilege to witness his contributions.
'A star member of Australia's Davis Cup team, Fred made significant contributions to the sport following his decorated career, as a coach and astute commentator."
Stolle lost the first five Grand Slam singles finals he reached — including four times to fellow Australian Roy Emerson — before beating Tony Roche to win the 1965 French Open. He won the US Open in 1966, beating John Newcombe in the final, and held the No. 1 ranking.
He won 10 men's doubles titles at Grand Slams from 1962-69. He also won seven mixed doubles at the majors.
Stolle was born in Sydney but lived in the United States after his playing career.
Tennis Australia said Stolle is survived by his wife, Pat, his son Sandon — a former tennis professional — and daughters Monique and Nadine.
Rod Laver, an Australian who won 11 major titles including the calendar-year Grand Slams in 1962 and 1969, posted a tribute to Stolle on X.
'As I wrote in my book on the Golden Era of Aussie tennis, Fred Stolle was too nice a guy to hold a grudge. He won many Grand Slams and was in the finals of many more. It took the best to beat the best,' Laver posted. 'We never tired of reliving the past as we travelled the world looking into the future with an enduring love of the sport.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asharq Al-Awsat
a day ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Wimbledon Announces Record $73M Prize Fund, $4M for Singles Champions
Wimbledon's prize money has risen to a record 53.5 million pounds (about $73 million) and the singles champions will each earn three million pounds ($4 million), All England Club officials announced on Thursday. The total amount is 3.5 million pounds ($6.8 million) more than last year, an increase of 7% — and exactly twice the pot handed out to competitors at the grass-court Grand Slam 10 years ago. 'We're immensely proud of the fact that if you look back 10 years, you can see the increase over that period and 7% this year,' All England chair Deborah Jevans said. 'And we have listened to the players, we have engaged with the players.' The 2025 winners' checks represent an 11.1% jump on last year's prizes for the men's and women's singles champions and comes amid growing player demands for a bigger share of grand slam profits. Players who lose in the first round of singles will get 66,000 pounds, up 10% year on year, The Associated Press reported. 'The focus on just the prize money at four events, the Grand Slams, does not get to the heart of what the challenge is for tennis,' Jevans added. 'The challenge with tennis is the fact that the players don't have an offseason which they want, they have increasing injuries that they're speaking about, and we've always said that we as Wimbledon are willing to engage and talk with the tours to try and find solutions, and that door remains open.' Wimbledon starts on June 30 and runs until July 13. For the first time in the oldest Grand Slam, line judges will be replaced with electronic line-calling.
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 days ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Alcaraz Produces Another Major Comeback to Win French Open
Bad starts in Grand Slam finals are nothing new for Carlos Alcaraz, and each time it's happened he has won the tournament anyway. But not in such dramatic style as Sunday's French Open final, when the Spaniard rallied from two sets down and saved three match points to beat top-ranked Jannik Sinner 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2) for his fifth major title in as many finals. It was Alcaraz's second straight French Open title with a comeback, after trailing 2-1 in sets to Alexander Zverev in last year's final, and a third major title from behind, following his five-set win against Novak Djokovic in the 2023 Wimbledon final, The Associated Press reported. 'When the situations are against you, then you have to keep fighting. It's a Grand Slam final, it's no time to be tired, no time to give up,' Alcaraz said. 'Do I enjoy that? The real champions are made in those situations." In producing one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the clay-court tournament on Sunday, he emulated Djokovic's feat from the 2021 final at Roland-Garros — when the now 24-time major winner fought back from two sets down to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas. 'Today it was all about the belief in myself,' Alcaraz said. He became just the ninth player to rally from two sets down and win a Grand Slam final in the Open Era, which began in 1968. The first was Bjorn Borg in 1974 against Manuel Orantes at the French Open, where Ivan Lendl and Andre Agassi achieved the same feat. Rafael Nadal also did so, at the Australian Open, and Sinner too. It was the first time that Sinner had lost a Grand Slam final, but the fifth time in succession he has now lost to Alcaraz, who clinched the 20th title of his career at the age of 22. Unending drama It was also the longest-ever French Open final — 5 hours, 29 minutes — in the Open Era. It was so tight that Sinner won 193 points, Alcaraz 192. It might not have been close to those numbers. For after 3 hours, 43 minutes, Sinner had his first match point. But with just over five hours since the match began, Alcaraz served for the title at 5-4 up. The drama was still not over. Sinner made a remarkable retrieve from yet another superb Alcaraz drop shot. At the very limit he could stretch to, Sinner glided the ball over the net, with the ball landing with the softness of an autumn leaf and out of Alcaraz's reach to make it 15-40. When Sinner won the game to make it 5-5, it was his turn to milk the applause and he was two points away from victory in the 12th game, with Alcaraz on serve and at 15-30 and at deuce. But Alcaraz made a staggering cross-court backhand to make it 6-6 and force a tiebreaker, with the crowd going wild when Alcaraz's cross-court winner made it 4-0. 'Just amazing the support you have given me today,' Alcaraz said. 'During the whole tournament.' Little sleep for Sinner Alcaraz won the match with a superb forehand pass down the line, fell onto his back to celebrate, then rushed over to dance and hug the team members in his box. 'I'm very happy for you, and you deserve it, so congrats,' the 23-year-old Sinner told Alcaraz. 'It's an amazing trophy, so I won't sleep tonight very well, but it's okay." Nightmare ninth Sinner may have nightmares about the ninth game of the fourth set. Serving to stay in the match at 5-3 down, Alcaraz trailed 0-40 to give Sinner three match points. On the second match point, and with Alcaraz on second serve, he hit a hurried backhand which landed just out. He then hit a forehand into the net for another unforced error, making it deuce. The crowd chanted 'Carlos, Carlos,' and roared when Alcaraz hit an ace, then gave him a standing ovation when his audacious forehand down the line went in — to win that game — and again when he broke Sinner's serve to level at 5-5. 'That's what the real champions have done in their whole careers. Not being afraid,' Alcaraz said. 'That's why I had my best tennis in crucial moments.' Sinner's sportsmanship Despite having just lost a chance to win another major, Sinner showed great sportsmanship to give Alcaraz the point for a 30-0 lead in the 11th game. Alcaraz's forehand landed at the back of the court and, as the chair umpire prepared to come down and inspect the mark, Sinner told her to go back because he saw the ball was in. The crowd applauded him politely, but the noise level erupted when Alcaraz won the fourth-set tiebreaker to level the match. By now, the fans had what they wanted — an Alcaraz comeback — and fans showed their unbridled delight when he won points with astounding drop shots from deep or leapt to bang cross-court forehand winners. Alcaraz hit 70 winners, compared to 53 for Sinner, who might have been feeling like it was a case of déjà vu. Alcaraz beat Sinner in the French Open semifinals last year, coming back from 2-1 down in sets. He beat Sinner last month in the Italian Open final — the tournament where Sinner returned from his doping ban. Alcaraz now owns a 22-1 record on clay this year. Celebrities watch a classic final On a warm day with a light breeze caressing Court Philippe-Chatrier, big names turned out. Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman, movie director Spike Lee, singer Pharrell Williams, Formula 1 driver George Russell and world rugby star Antoine Dupont watched what promised to be a tight contest. Sinner seemed on the way to victory, but No. 2-ranked Alcaraz fought back. After clinching the third set with a volley at the net, he stood in the middle of the court, shaking his fist in celebration. One of the greatest finals in French Open history was just getting started.
Asharq Al-Awsat
6 days ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Granollers and Zeballos Break Duck with French Open Men's Doubles Crown
Fifth seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos bagged their maiden Grand Slam trophy as a pair by battling past British duo Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski 6-0 6-7(5) 7-5 in the French Open men's doubles final on Saturday. Playing in a fourth Grand Slam final together, Granollers and Zeballos looked on track to quickly break their duck when they blanked their eighth-seeded opponents in the opening set before being dragged into a dogfight in the next, Reuters reported. Salisbury and Skupski, who won the only previous tour-level encounter between the two teams in the Rome quarter-finals last month, edged the second set tiebreak and were close to building a 4-3 lead in the decider before a moment of magic. Zeballos hit the shot of the match to level at deuce in the next game, chasing down a dipping ball and squeezing it around the post at ground level to draw loud cheers from a small crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier. Salisbury and Skupski, who became the first British men's doubles finalists at Roland Garros since 1936, were in no mood to fade away on the historic occasion as they fought on before being caught off guard in the 12th game. Granollers and Zeballos broke to love to secure victory and fell to the ground in celebration.
