Jack Kramer

Jack Kramer was an American tennis player of the 1940s and 1950s who later became the leading promoter of professional tennis. Born in 1921 and raised in Southern California, he won the U.S. Championships in 1946 and 1947 and Wimbledon in 1947, and he led the United States Davis Cup team to victory in both of those years. His serve-and-volley game ushered in a new style of play. After turning professional he won the U.S. Pro Championship in 1948 and the Wembley Pro Championships in 1949, and he took the world professional two-man tours of 1948, 1949 to 1950, 1950 to 1951 and 1953 against Bobby Riggs, Pancho Gonzales, Pancho Segura and Frank Sedgman. Through the 1950s and 1960s he signed many of the best players to professional contracts, and he played an important part in the creation of modern Open-era men's tennis.