Legends
Our Hall of Fame sources
Learn from the best
These are the origins of much of our knowledge. Their wisdom was pure and straight from the source of the sport. This page will continue to grow as time goes by, as we have other coaches and players we would like to honor and thank. There are many that have contributed their knowledge to the great sport that we love, and in time they will show up here. Thank you to all the men and women who have helped others and shared their time and talent to make others better. As this is a gift that transcends time itself.
Winningest Player of All Time
Bill Tilden
Besides his 93.6% match win rate as an amateur, Tilden is the first American to win Wimbledon and he holds 22 Professional Tennis records to this day, including 51 consecutive match wins across the majors he played, and a 98 match win streak. He was world number 1 from 1920 to 1925, and again 1931 to 1933.
The Tennis Genius and Inventor
Rene Lacoste
He dethroned the great Bill Tilden to become world number 1 in 1926 and 1927, having begun tennis only 5 years earlier at the age of 15. The inventor of the metal tennis racket, the ball machine, and modern sportswear Rene Lacoste holds 30 patents in all. He is still to this day, the youngest player to win 2 titles at 3 different Majors.
Top Ten in both Pro Tennis and Golf
Ellsworth Vines
One of the greatest athletes ever, Vines won his first US Tennis Major at age 19, while playing basketball for the University of Southern California on a basketball scholarship. He was the tennis world number 1 in 1932, and 1934 to 1938, before finishing 3rd in the 1951 PGA championship. According to Don Budge and Jack Kramer, when Vines was on, he was the greatest player of all time and unbeatable.
Coached 4 Players into the Hall of Fame
Pancho Segura
User of a 2 handed forehand due to a childhood illness, he overcame that hardship, and made this shot, according to Jack Kramer and Ellsworth Vines, the greatest shot in tennis history. Segura won the US Major from 1950 to 1952 on 3 different surfaces. He coached Jimmy Connors, Tracy Austin, Charlie Pasarell, and Stan Smith, making him the only coach ever to have 4 students in the Hall of Fame. His drills & knowledge are unrivaled.