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LARNED, WILLIAM 1872-1926

TENNIS CHAMPION

The Century's First Champion

William Larned ranks as the twentieth century's first great tennis champion. From 1901 to 1902 and from 1907 to 1911 he captured the United States Lawn Tennis Association (USLTA) men's singles title seven times, equaling the record established by Richard Sears in the 1880s. Only Bill Tilden, during the 1920s, has matched the record shared by Sears and Larned. The son of a wealthy New York landowner and lawyer, Larned attended but did not graduate from Cornell University. In 1890 he won the intercollegiate tennis singles championship.

A Complete Player

Larned's game was characterized by precise footwork, balance, ease, and grace, except when nervousness or annoyance marred his concentration. His service and volleys were powerful and accurate. Larned frustrated his opponents with forehands and backhands to the corners. Although easily distracted throughout the 1890s, his temperament and concentration improved throughout the 1900s, and from 1907 to 1911 he dominated the major events. Besides his seven USLTA triumphs, Larned won most of the prestigious northeastern tournaments and ten of his fifteen Davis Cup matches. He also reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals twice. Plagued by rheumatoid arthritis, Larned retired after the 1911 Davis Cup.

Outdoorsman

Independently wealthy, Larned devoted his time to outdoor recreation, sports, travel, and adventure. He pitched on his high school baseball team, captained a New York ice hockey team, golfed, shot rifles, rode horses, and eventually piloted airplanes. In 1898 he served in the Spanish-American War as one of Roosevelt's Rough Riders. In Cuba he contracted the rheumatic fever that was to recur in later years and hamper his tennis game. He served on the executive committee of the USLTA from 1899 to 1916 and, during World War I, commanded Army Air Force personnel in England. After the war he gained a seat on the New York Stock Exchange.

Deteriorating Health

Larned's health declined through the 1920s, and he relinquished his New York Stock Exchange seat in 1922. That year he also formed the Dayton Steel Racquet Company to manufacture a steel tennis racket that he designed. In 1924 Larned suffered a nervous breakdown and contracted spinal meningitis, which left him partially paralyzed. Unable to endure his disability, he committed suicide in 1926 at the New York Knickerbocker Club. In 1927 a tablet was placed in his honor at the tennis stadium in Forest Hills, New York, which read: "Modest—courageous—a True Sportsman—ever loyal to the highest ideals."