Jack Kramer
John Albert Kramer was an American tennis player of the 1940s and 1950s, and a pioneer promoter who helped drive the sport towards professionalism at the elite level. Kramer also ushered in the serve-and-volley era in tennis, a playing style with which he won three Grand Slam tournaments. He also led the U.S. Davis Cup tennis team to victory in the 1946 and 1947 Davis Cup finals.
Kramer won the U.S. Pro Championship at Forest Hills in 1948 and the Wembley Pro Championships in 1949. He won world professional championship 2-man tours in 1948, 1949/50, 1950/51, and 1953.
Kramer was ranked world no. 1 amateur player for 1946 by Pierre Gillou, Harry Hopman and Ned Potter. He was ranked world no. 1 amateur player for 1947 by John Olliff, Pierre Gillou and Ned Potter. In 1948 he was ranked the U.S. no. 1 professional in the USPLTA contemporary rankings for U.S. pro tennis play. Some recent tennis writers have considered Kramer to be the world no. 1 player from 1946 to 1953, spanning his last amateur years and early pro years.
He was the leading promoter of professional tennis tours in the 1950s and 1960s, signing many of the most accomplished tennis players of the era to professional contracts. Kramer played an important role in the establishment of modern men's Open-era tennis.
Tennis career
Amateur player
Kramer began his tennis career by taking lessons from renowned teaching professional, Dick Skeen. Within a year, he was playing junior tournaments. He played on the Montebello High School tennis team with George Richards. Because of his obvious ability and his family's lack of money, he came under the guidance of Perry T. Jones. at the Los Angeles Tennis Club. Jones was the President of the Southern California Tennis Association. Kramer traveled many hours each day from his home in Montebello, California, to play tennis at the LATC and the Beverly Hills Tennis Club. He was able to play against such great players as Ellsworth Vines, Bobby Riggs, and Bill Tilden. Kramer was the National Boys' Champion in 1936, and the winner of the 1938 National Juniors Interscholastics. He competed occasionally in men's tournaments on grass courts in the East. He won matches against nationally ranked men such as Elwood Cooke. Kramer also played with high school teammate George Richards, who later was nationally ranked.Kramer competed at the U.S. National Championships seven times from 1938 through 1947. He lost his first match in 1938 in straight sets, winning only two games. At the 1939 U.S. Championships he was beaten in the second round by 11th-seeded and fellow Californian Joe Hunt. In 1940 Kramer defeated fourth-seeded Frank Parker in a five-set quarterfinal but lost to second-seeded and eventual champion Don McNeill in the semifinal. At the 1941 Championships, he was seeded for the first time, at no. 11, and reached the quarterfinal where third-seeded Frank Kovacs proved too strong. In 1942, Kramer won the men's singles in the Ojai Tennis Tournament. Kramer received a leave from his duties in the United States Coast Guard to compete at the 1943 Championships. Seeded second, he reached the final, despite being weakened by food poisoning, but lost it to Joe Hunt in four sets. During World War II, he continued to win prizes in the United States as the war had effectively put an end to international tennis, but did not compete in the U.S. Championships in 1944 and 1945.
The first Grand Slam tournament Kramer entered after the war was the 1946 Wimbledon Championships where he was seeded second but was upset in by Jaroslav Drobný in a five-set fourth round match. At the 1946 U.S. Championships, he was seeded third but managed to win his first Major singles title after a straight-set victory in the final against Tom Brown, losing just a single set in the tournament. He was ranked world no. 1 amateur in 1946 by Pierre Gillou, Harry Hopman and Ned Potter.
At the 1947 Wimbledon Championships, Kramer was seeded first and justified it by winning the title after another straight-sets win against Brown in a final that lasted only 48 minutes. At 1947 U.S. Championships, number one seed Kramer faced Frank Parker in the final. Parker won the first two sets as Kramer struggled to find form. Then, Kramer "changed suddenly from a stumbling novice to a raging perfectionist" and went on to win in five sets to retain his title. Kramer was ranked world no. 1 amateur in 1947 by John Olliff, Pierre Gillou and Ned Potter.
Kramer made his debut for the US Davis Cup team in 1939 in the final of the World Group against Australia. He and Joe Hunt lost the doubles match against John Bromwich and Adrian Quist. In 1946 and 1947 he was part of the winning US team, defeating Australia in both finals and winning all four of his singles matches. After 1947 he became ineligible to play for the Davis Cup on account of becoming a professional player. He compiled a Davis Cup match record of seven wins and two losses.
Professional player
;1947Kramer turned professional in November 1947, signing a $50,000 per year contract with promoter Jack Harris, the largest pro contract offer ever made to that point in the history of tennis. He made his pro debut against Bobby Riggs on December 26, 1947, at Madison Square Garden. 15,114 people showed up for the match in one of the worst snow storms in New York history to watch Riggs win.
;1948
Kramer trailed Riggs on January 16 by an 8 to 6 edge, however Kramer had already begun to win more often by adopting a net-rushing style of play. The two players were tied at 14 to 14, and then Kramer took control as Riggs weakened, going on to win the tour against Riggs 69 to 20. Kramer beat Riggs in the final of the US Professional Championships at Forest Hills NY in June 1948 in four sets. Riggs "blew a 5-3 lead in that all-telling opening set, and after that he was licked, showing obvious fatigue even though he did manage to rally to win the third set". Kramer was awarded $1,450 for winning the singles, and $412 for winning the doubles. Kramer also won tours of South America and Australasia in 1948.
Kramer was ranked the no. 1 pro in the U.S. for 1948 by the USPLTA. The USPLTA no. 1 professional ranking was described as encompassing official recognition as the best professional player "in the United States", rather than a world no. 1 ranking. The professional rankings of the USPLTA and later of the PTPA were based on major professional tournament play in the United States. Those rankings apparently did not include consideration of the world pro tours, which were not inclusive events but restricted to a small group of usually two players. Some recent tennis writers have considered Kramer to be world no. 1 for the 1948 period with the observation on that period in one article that "in those days ranking systems were less organized and credible than today's computer-driven listings." Kramer was referred to as "world professional tennis champion" after the tour with Riggs was concluded.
;1949
In early June 1949, Kramer won the Wembley Professional Championships in London, England, edging Segura in a close five-set semifinal, and defeating Riggs in the final. "Riggs set a fast pace in the first set, but he appeared to burn himself out in the early stages of the match". Kramer did not defend his U.S. Pro Championships title at Forest Hills N.Y., where Riggs defeated Budge in the final. However, Kramer won the Slazenger Pro at Scarborough, England in July 1949 beating Segura in the semifinal and Budge in the final. In early 1950, Kramer was described as "world champion in 1949". Kramer was not ranked by the USPLTA for 1949 due to insufficient play within the United States. Kramer did not play at Forest Hills or at the Philadelphia Indoor. Some recent tennis writers have considered Kramer to be world no. 1 for the 1949 period.
;1950
In 1949–50, Kramer beat Pancho Gonzales 94 matches to 29 in the World Series. Kramer lost the final of the U.S. Pro Indoor at Philadelphia to Gonzales. At the U.S. Pro in June 1950 played at Cleveland on clay, Kramer lost a close five-set semifinal to Segura. Kramer was ranked U.S. no. 2 professional behind Segura for 1950 by the USPLTA. Some recent tennis writers have considered Kramer to be world no. 1 for the 1950 period. Kramer was described as "world professional champion" throughout 1950.
;1951
In the 1950–51 World Series, Kramer beat Pancho Segura 64 matches to 28. Kramer won the Philadelphia U.S. Pro Indoor round robin event in March 1951, defeating Gonzales in the final.
At the Philadelphia U.S. Pro Indoor, the service "drives" of a number of players were electronically measured and compared to Tilden's reported service "drive" speed of 151 mph made by stopwatch and film in 1931. The service speeds were measured at the net, and not at the racquet face, as is currently the standard practice. Gonzales was recorded as hitting the fastest serve, 112.88 mph, followed by Kramer at 107.8, and Van Horn at 104. Kovacs, who possessed a big serve, played in the Philadelphia tournament but did not participate in the service speed measurements. Segura and Riggs participated in the test, but their results were not reported.
Kramer did not play in the Cleveland International Pro. At the USPLTA U.S. Pro at Forest Hills N.Y., in 1951, Kramer withdrew with back trouble after a five-set win over Parker. Kramer was not ranked in the USPLTA professional ranking due to insufficient U.S. tournament play. Kramer was ranked U.S. no. 4 professional for 1951 behind Kovacs, Segura, and Gonzales by the PTPA. Some recent tennis writers have considered Kramer to be world no. 1 for the 1951 period. Kramer was described as "world champion" or "world's professional champion" throughout 1951.
;1952
At the Philadelphia Masters Indoor, Kramer lost both of his matches to Gonzales, who won the tournament. At the Roland Garros Round Robin Professional event in Paris, Kramer defeated Gonzales but lost to Segura, who won the tournament. At the 1952 Wembley Professional Championships, Kramer lost a close five-set final to Gonzales, regarded as one of the classic all-time matches. Kramer was not ranked in the 1952 U.S. professional rankings by the USPLTA or the PTPA, both of which ranked Segura professional no. 1 followed by Gonzales at no. 2. Kramer did not play at the U. S. Pro, which was won by Segura. Some recent tennis writers have considered Kramer to be world no. 1 for the 1952 period.
;1953
Kramer beat Frank Sedgman, 54–41, in the 1953 World Series and was referred to as "world champion" again. Kramer did not play in any of the larger tournaments in 1953. Kramer was ranked no. 3 professional for 1953 by the Players' Committee of the Cleveland World Pro in June behind Gonzales and Segura. Kramer was given a world no. 1 professional tennis player reference by The Sacramento Bee newspaper for 1953. He was ranked world no. 1 pro by Frank Sedgman in October 1953. Kramer was ranked behind the World no. 1 ranked Sedgman in the 1953 Tennis de France full season rankings, which included the results from Europe, published by Philippe Chatrier. Some recent tennis writers have considered Kramer to be world no. 1 for the 1953 period. Kramer retired from competitive tennis in 1954 due to arthritic back problems and went on to promote his Pro Tour.
;1954 & 1956
Kramer played matches during an Asia tour in September and October 1954 with Pancho Gonzales, Frank Sedgman and Pancho Segura. In 1956, Kramer played a few undercard matches against Segura on the main tour. Kramer also played a South American tour in late June and early July 1956 with Gonzales, Sedgman and Trabert. Kramer played in the Masters at Los Angeles in July–August 1956, losing all of his matches.
;1957–1959
Kramer made a comeback on a four-man world tour with Hoad, Rosewall, Segura, and Sedgman in the fall of 1957. Kramer led Hoad for most of the tour, before being slightly edged by the new recruit 16 to 14. Hoad claimed that he had great trouble learning to read Kramer's service motion, which he found very deceptive.
Kramer beat Hoad at the Wembley tournament. "Kramer, as accurate as ever, seldom hit a loose shot and Hoad, closely confined by so much admirable lawn tennis, did not seem to have patience enough to fight his way out of his difficulties." Kramer lost his next match in the semifinals to Rosewall, but beat Gonzales in the third place match.
Gonzales and Hoad were the headliners for Kramer's upcoming world championship tour in 1958, in which Kramer substituted for some of the undercard matches in the New Zealand portion of the tour. Following his tour loss to Gonzales in 1957, Rosewall had requested to Kramer to be included in the 1958 championship tour, and Rosewall rejected Kramer's offer of an undercard position against Trabert. Kramer fared poorly against Rosewall in the 1957 series, and he lost again to Rosewall in the quarterfinals of the 1958 French Professional Championships. Trabert beat Kramer in the quarter-finals of the Wembley tournament in 1958. Kramer lost in the first round at the Wembley tournament in 1959 to Rosewall.