Pierre Darmon


Pierre Darmon is a French former tennis player. He was ranked No.8 in the world in 1963, and also reached the top ten in 1958 and 1964.

Early life

Darmon was born in Tunis, Tunisia. He moved to France at 17 years of age.

Tennis career

Darmon was French national junior champion in 1950. He was France's top-ranked tennis player from 1957 to 1969, and won the national title nine times in that period. He also won the French national doubles championship in 1957, 1958, 1961, and 1966.
In 1963, Darmon was the runner-up in singles at the French Open, where he beat Manuel Santana in five sets in the semi-finals before losing to Roy Emerson in the final in four sets. Also in 1963, he reached the finals at Wimbledon in doubles, along with partner Jean Claude Barclay.
He was international veterans mixed doubles champion with his wife Rosie Darmon in 1961, and in 1968 and 1975 with Gail Chanfreau.

Davis Cup

Darmon was a member of France's Davis Cup Team from 1956 to 1967, winning 44 of the 68 matches in which he participated. Darmon holds France's record for the most wins and most singles victories. He played in 34 Davis Cup ties for France, second only to compatriot François Jauffret who played one more. He holds the record for most singles victories by a French Davis Cup player, having had a record of 44-17.

Honors

In 1997, he was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. In 2002, he received the Davis Cup Award of Excellence. In 2019, the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the International Tennis Federation presented Darmon with The Golden Achievement Award.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 runner-up)

Doubles (1 runner-up)