Bob Hewitt

Robert Anthony John Hewitt (born 12 January 1940) is a former professional tennis player from Australia, and convicted rapist. In 1967, after marrying a South African, he became a South African citizen.[2] He has won 15 major titles and a career Grand Slam in both men's and mixed doubles.

Bob Hewitt

Bob Hewitt (1967)
Full name	Robert Anthony John Hewitt
Country (sports)	Australia  South Africa (pre-1994)
Residence	Eastern Cape, South Africa
Born	(1940-01-12) 12 January 1940 Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Turned pro	1970 (amateur tour from 1958)
Retired	1983
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money	$613,837 (Open era)
Int. Tennis HoF	1992 (suspended in 2012) (expelled in 2016)
Singles
Career record	243–170 (Open era)
Career titles	7
Highest ranking	No. 6 (1967, Lance Tingay)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	SF (1960, 1962, 1963)
French Open	4R (1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967)
Wimbledon	QF (1962, 1964, 1966)
US Open	QF (1967)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	RR (1972)
Doubles
Career record	481–124
Career titles	65
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	W (1963, 1964)
French Open	W (1972)
Wimbledon	W (1962, 1964, 1967, 1972, 1978)
US Open	W (1977)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour Finals	W (1977)
Mixed doubles
Career titles	6
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open	W (1961)
French Open	W (1970, 1979)
Wimbledon	W (1977, 1979)
US Open	W (1979)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	W (1974)

Convicted in 2015 of rape and sexual assault of minors (girls he was coaching in the 1980s and 1990s), Hewitt was sentenced to an effective six years in jail, and was subsequently permanently expelled from the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Early life

Hewitt was born and grew up in Dubbo, Australia, 400 kilometres west of Sydney.[3][4] In the 1970s, he and his South African wife Dalaille (née Nicholas) moved to Johannesburg, South Africa.[4][5][6][7] He is now a South African citizen.[8][9]

Career

Hewitt's most significant accomplishment was winning all Grand Slam doubles titles, both in men's and mixed doubles (US Open, Wimbledon, Australian Open, French Open)[2] and being central to South Africa's only Davis Cup title in 1974. That victory was controversial, with India's boycotting the final on the orders of its government due to South Africa's apartheid policies, which were affecting the ethnic Indian community of the country.

Hewitt achieved seven titles in singles and 65 in doubles.[2] He was ranked World No. 6 in 1967 by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph.[10] In 1992, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, but in 2012, he was suspended, and in 2016, he was expelled from the Tennis Hall of Fame for his convictions of rape and sexual assault.[2][11][12]

Grand Slam Doubles finals

Doubles (9 titles, 4 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1961	Wimbledon	Fred Stolle	Roy Emerson Neale Fraser	4–6, 8–6, 4–6, 8–6, 6–8
Loss	1962	Australian Championships	Fred Stolle	Roy Emerson Neale Fraser	6–4, 6–4, 1–6, 4–6, 9–11
Win	1962	Wimbledon	Fred Stolle	Boro Jovanović Nikola Pilić	6–2, 5–7, 6–2, 6–4
Win	1963	Australian Championships	Fred Stolle	Ken Fletcher John Newcombe	6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3
Win	1964	Australian Championships	Fred Stolle	Roy Emerson Ken Fletcher	6–4, 7–5, 3–6, 4–6, 14–12
Win	1964	Wimbledon (2)	Fred Stolle	Roy Emerson Ken Fletcher	7–5, 11–9, 6–4
Loss	1965	French Championships	Ken Fletcher	Roy Emerson Fred Stolle	8–6, 3–6, 6–8, 2–6
Loss	1965	Wimbledon	Ken Fletcher	John Newcombe Tony Roche	5–7, 3–6, 4–6
Win	1967	Wimbledon (3)	Frew McMillan	Roy Emerson Ken Fletcher	6–2, 6–3, 6–4
Win	1972	French Open	Frew McMillan	Patricio Cornejo Jaime Fillol	6–3, 8–6, 3–6, 6–1
Win	1972	Wimbledon (4)	Frew McMillan	Stan Smith Erik van Dillen	6–2, 6–2, 9–7
Win	1977	US Open	Frew McMillan	Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez	6–4, 6–0
Winner	1978	Wimbledon (5)	Frew McMillan	Peter Fleming John McEnroe	6–1, 6–4, 6–2

Mixed Doubles (6 titles, 1 runner-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1961	Australian Championships	Jan Lehane O'Neill	Mary Carter Reitano John Pearce	9–7, 6–2
Loss	1963	Wimbledon	Darlene Hard	Margaret Court Ken Fletcher	9–11, 4–6
Win	1970	French Open	Billie Jean King	Françoise Dürr Jean-Claude Barclay	3–6, 6–4, 6–2
Win	1977	Wimbledon	Greer Stevens	Betty Stöve Frew McMillan	3–6, 7–5, 6–4
Win	1979	French Open (2)	Wendy Turnbull	Virginia Ruzici Ion Ţiriac	6–3, 2–6, 6–3
Win	1979	Wimbledon (2)	Greer Stevens	Betty Stöve Frew McMillan	7–5, 7–6^(9–7)
Win	1979	US Open	Greer Stevens	Betty Stöve Frew McMillan	6–3, 7–5

Open-era doubles finals

Wins (54)

Outcome	No.	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1.	1970	Washington, D.C., U.S.	Hard	Frew McMillan	Ilie Năstase Ion Ţiriac	7–5, 6–0
Runner-up	1.	1970	Cincinnati, U.S.	Clay	Frew McMillan	Ilie Năstase Ion Ţiriac	3–6, 4–6
Winner	2.	1970	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	Frew McMillan	Tom Okker Nikola Pilić	6–3, 7–5, 6–2
Winner	3.	1972	Bournemouth, England	Clay	Frew McMillan	Ilie Năstase Ion Ţiriac	7–5, 6–2
Winner	4.	1972	French Open, Paris	Clay	Frew McMillan	Patricio Cornejo Jaime Fillol	6–3, 8–6, 3–6, 6–1
Runner-up	2.	1972	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	Ion Ţiriac	Jan Kodeš Ilie Năstase	6–4, 0–6, 6–3, 2–6, 2–6
Winner	5.	1972	Bristol, England	Grass	Frew McMillan	Clark Graebner Lew Hoad	6–3, 6–2
Winner	6.	1972	Wimbledon, London	Grass	Frew McMillan	Stan Smith Erik van Dillen	6–2, 6–2, 9–7
Winner	7.	1972	Tanglewood, U.S.	Other	Andrew Pattison	Jim McManus Jim Osborne	6–4, 6–4
Winner	8.	1972	Cincinnati, U.S.	Clay	Frew McMillan	Paul Gerken Humphrey Hose	7–6, 6–4
Winner	9.	1972	Indianapolis, U.S.	Clay	Frew McMillan	Patricio Cornejo Jaime Fillol	6–2, 6–3
Winner	10.	1972	Albany, U.S.	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Ove Nils Bengtson Björn Borg	6–4, 6–2
Runner-up	3.	1974	Little Rock, U.S.	Carpet	Vitas Gerulaitis	Jürgen Fassbender Karl Meiler	0–6, 2–6
Winner	11.	1974	Washington WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Tom Okker Marty Riessen	7–6, 6–3
Winner	12.	1974	Rotterdam, Netherlands	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Pierre Barthès Ilie Năstase	3–6, 6–4, 6–3
Winner	13.	1974	Munich WCT, Germany	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Pierre Barthès Ilie Năstase	6–2, 7–6
Winner	14.	1974	Johannesburg WCT, South Africa	Hard	Frew McMillan	Jim McManus Andrew Pattison	6–2, 6–4, 7–6
Winner	15.	1974	World Doubles WCT, Montreal	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Owen Davidson John Newcombe	6–2, 6–7, 6–1, 6–2
Runner-up	4.	1974	Vienna, Austria	Hard (i)	Frew McMillan	Raymond Moore Andrew Pattison	4–6, 7–5, 4–6
Runner-up	5.	1974	Stockholm, Sweden	Hard (i)	Frew McMillan	Tom Okker Marty Riessen	6–2, 3–6, 4–6
Winner	16.	1974	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard	Frew McMillan	Tom Okker Marty Riessen	7–6, 6–4, 6–3
Winner	17.	1975	Rotterdam WCT, Netherlands	Carpet	Frew McMillan	José Higueras Balázs Taróczy	6–2, 6–2
Winner	18.	1975	Munich WCT, Germany	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Corrado Barazzutti Antonio Zugarelli	6–3, 6–4
Winner	19.	1975	Monte Carlo WCT, Monaco	Clay	Frew McMillan	Arthur Ashe Tom Okker	6–3, 6–2
Runner-up	6.	1975	Johannesburg WCT, South Africa	Hard	Frew McMillan	Arthur Ashe Tom Okker	3–6, 2–6
Runner-up	7.	1975	Tehran, Iran	Clay	Frew McMillan	Juan Gisbert Manuel Orantes	5–7, 7–6, 1–6, 4–6
Winner	20.	1975	Stockholm, Sweden	Hard (i)	Frew McMillan	Charlie Pasarell Roscoe Tanner	3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Winner	21.	1976	Columbus WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Arthur Ashe Tom Okker	7–6, 6–4
Winner	22.	1976	Baltimore WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Ilie Năstase Cliff Richey	3–6, 7–6, 6–4
Runner-up	8.	1976	Philadelphia WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Rod Laver Dennis Ralston	6–7, 6–7
Winner	23.	1976	Montreal, Canada	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	Juan Gisbert Manuel Orantes	6–2, 6–1
Runner-up	9.	1976	San Francisco, U.S.	Carpet	Brian Gottfried	Dick Stockton Roscoe Tanner	3–6, 4–6
Runner-up	10.	1976	Madrid, Spain	Clay	Frew McMillan	Wojtek Fibak Raúl Ramírez	6–4, 5–7, 3–6
Runner-up	11.	1976	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Frew McMillan	Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez	6–7, 4–6
Winner	24.	1976	Vienna, Austria	Hard (i)	Frew McMillan	Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez	6–4, 4–0 RET
Winner	25.	1976	Cologne, Germany	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Colin Dowdeswell Mike Estep	6–1, 3–6, 7–6
Winner	26.	1976	Stockholm, Sweden	Hard (i)	Frew McMillan	Tom Okker Marty Riessen	6–4, 4–6, 6–4
Winner	27.	1977	Philadelphia WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Wojtek Fibak Tom Okker	6–1, 1–6, 6–3
Runner-up	12.	1977	Little Rock, U.S.	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Colin Dibley Haroon Rahim	7–6, 3–6, 3–6
Winner	28.	1977	Springfield, U.S.	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Ion Ţiriac Guillermo Vilas	7–6, 6–2
Winner	29.	1977	San Jose, U.S.	Hard	Frew McMillan	Tom Gorman Geoff Masters	6–2, 6–3
Winner	30.	1977	Palm Springs, U.S.	Hard	Frew McMillan	Marty Riessen Roscoe Tanner	7–6, 7–6
Winner	31.	1977	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard	Frew McMillan	Charlie Pasarell Erik van Dillen	6–2, 6–0
Winner	32.	1977	La Costa, U.S.	Hard	Frew McMillan	Ray Ruffels Allan Stone	6–4, 6–2
Winner	33.	1977	Los Angeles PSW, U.S.	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Robert Lutz Stan Smith	6–3, 6–4
Winner	34.	1977	Jackson, U.S.	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Phil Dent Ken Rosewall	6–2, 7–6
Runner-up	13.	1977	Las Vegas, U.S.	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	Robert Lutz Stan Smith	3–6, 6–3, 4–6
Winner	35.	1977	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	Karl Meiler	Phil Dent Kim Warwick	3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4
Runner-up	14.	1977	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Colin Dowdeswell	Jürgen Fassbender Karl Meiler	4–6, 6–7
Runner-up	15.	1977	Cincinnati, U.S.	Clay	Roscoe Tanner	John Alexander Phil Dent	3–6, 6–7
Winner	36.	1977	Montreal, Canada	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart	6–4, 3–6, 6–2
Winner	37.	1977	U.S. Open, New York	Clay	Frew McMillan	Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez	6–4, 6–0
Runner-up	16.	1977	Tehran, Iran	Clay	Frew McMillan	Ion Ţiriac Guillermo Vilas	6–1, 1–6, 4–6
Winner	38.	1977	Madrid, Spain	Clay	Frew McMillan	Antonio Muñoz Manuel Orantes	6–7, 7–6, 6–3, 6–1
Runner-up	17.	1977	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Frew McMillan	Wojtek Fibak Jan Kodeš	0–6, 4–6
Winner	39.	1977	Vienna, Austria	Hard (i)	Frew McMillan	Wojtek Fibak Jan Kodeš	6–4, 6–3
Winner	40.	1977	Cologne, Germany	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart	6–3, 7–5
Winner	41.	1978	Philadelphia WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Vitas Gerulaitis Sandy Mayer	6–4, 6–4
Winner	42.	1978	Richmond WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Vitas Gerulaitis Sandy Mayer	6–3, 7–5
Winner	43.	1978	St. Louis WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Wojtek Fibak Tom Okker	6–3, 6–2
Runner-up	18.	1978	Palm Springs, U.S.	Hard	Frew McMillan	Raymond Moore Roscoe Tanner	4–6, 4–6
Winner	44.	1978	Denver, U.S.	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart	6–3, 6–2
Winner	45.	1978	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard	Frew McMillan	Colin Dibley Geoff Masters	7–5, 7–6
Runner-up	19.	1978	Las Vegas, U.S.	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	Álvaro Fillol Jaime Fillol	3–6, 6–7
Winner	46.	1978	London/Queen's Club, England	Grass	Frew McMillan	Fred McNair Raúl Ramírez	6–2, 7–5
Winner	47.	1978	Wimbledon, London	Grass	Frew McMillan	Peter Fleming John McEnroe	6–1, 6–4, 6–2
Runner-up	20.	1978	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Kim Warwick	Mark Edmondson Tom Okker	4–6, 6–1, 1–6, 4–6
Winner	48.	1978	Washington, D.C., U.S.	Clay	Arthur Ashe	Fred McNair Raúl Ramírez	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	21.	1978	Vienna, Austria	Hard (i)	Frew McMillan	Víctor Pecci Balázs Taróczy	3–6, 7–6, 4–6
Runner-up	22.	1978	Cologne, Germany	Hard (i)	Frew McMillan	Peter Fleming John McEnroe	3–6, 2–6
Runner-up	23.	1978	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard	Frew McMillan	Peter Fleming Raymond Moore	3–6, 6–7
Winner	49.	1979	Båstad, Sweden	Clay	Heinz Günthardt	Mark Edmondson John Marks	6–2, 6–2
Runner-up	24.	1979	Toronto, Canada	Hard	Heinz Günthardt	Peter Fleming John McEnroe	7–6, 6–7, 1–6
Winner	50.	1979	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Frew McMillan	Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez	6–3, 6–4
Winner	51.	1979	Vienna, Austria	Hard (i)	Frew McMillan	Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez	6–4, 3–6, 6–1
Winner	52.	1979	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard	Frew McMillan	Mike Cahill Buster Mottram	1–6, 6–1, 6–4
Winner	53.	1980	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard	Frew McMillan	Colin Dowdeswell Heinz Günthardt	6–4, 6–3
Winner	54.	1980	Munich, Germany	Clay	Heinz Günthardt	David Carter Chris Lewis	7–6, 6–1
Runner-up	25.	1980	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Frew McMillan	Kevin Curren Steve Denton	7–6, 4–6, 4–6

Allegations and conviction of sexual assault and rape

Bob Hewitt
Born	Robert Anthony John Hewitt
Criminal status	Imprisoned
Conviction(s)	23 March 2015 (guilty plea)
Criminal charge	Child grooming Sexual activity with a minor
Penalty	6 years imprisonment

In 2011, a six-month investigation by The Boston Globe disclosed allegations from one adult woman who was coached as a girl by Hewitt's assistant coach.[13] The investigation was prompted by the revelations of a former student in March 2011,[14] She claimed that, beginning in the 1970s, Hewitt abused or harassed her when she was as young as 10 years old. Interviews with contemporaries in the United States and South Africa indicated that there had been no rumors about misconduct by Hewitt at the time of the alleged events. The South African Tennis Union investigated after 1992, but no legal action was taken against Hewitt.[13]

The Boston Globe's investigation and report of the victim prompted the request and was followed up by a letter signed by his alleged victim asking for his removal from the Hall of Fame. A November 2011 investigative piece by Mary Carillo of HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel includes interviews with the alleged victim and others who claim that Hewitt abused them. Hewitt did not agree to be interviewed for the piece.

In May 2012, Hewitt's one-time mixed doubles partner Billie Jean King spoke to the Washingtonian, saying "I don't feel good about Bob Hewitt. I played mixed with him. We won the French Open together in 1970. I'm not happy. I am very upset."[15] On 15 November 2012, after months of investigation, Hewitt lost his place in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. "His legacy ceases to exist in the Hall of Fame", said Mark Stenning, executive director of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. "As of today, his plaque will be removed from the Hall of Fame. His name will be removed from our website and all other materials, and from the perspective of the Hall of Fame, he is suspended from the Hall of Fame."[16][17] On 6 April 2016, Hewitt was permanently expelled from the Tennis Hall of Fame.[18]

Conviction

Hewitt was charged in June 2014 with rape of two underage students in the 1980s and 1990s, and went on trial in 2015.[19][20][21] On 23 March 2015, Hewitt was found guilty of two counts of rape and one of sexual assault of minors by the South Gauteng High Court in South Africa, and was sentenced in May to an effective six years in jail.[22][23][24] One of his victims, Theresa "Twiggy" Tolken, was 13 in 1980 when Hewitt, who was her tennis coach, raped her.[25] Heather Crowe Conner of West Newbury was a 14-year-old in 1975 when Hewitt began raping her.[25] Another victim, Suellen Sheehan, was 12 in 1982 when Hewitt assaulted her during a tennis lesson.[25]

Hewitt has been released on parole in April 2020. At the time Hewitt served three years, six months and 22 days of his six-year sentence.[26]

References

1. United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 428.
2. Grasso 2011, p. 135. sfn error: multiple targets (2×): CITEREFGrasso2011 (help)
3. South African Panorama. South African Information Service. 1973.
4. "Bob Hewitt sentenced to six years' jail for rape and sexual assault of underage girls in South Africa" - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
5. Bud Collins; Zander Hollander (1994). Bud Collins' Modern Encyclopedia of Tennis. Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-0-8103-9443-8.
6. World Tennis. CBS Publications. 1981.
7. "Ex-tennis champion Bob Hewitt jailed for rape in South Africa". ABC News. 18 May 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
8. John Grasso (2011). Historical Dictionary of Tennis. Scarecrow Press. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-8108-7237-0.
9. Huntsdale, Justin (17 March 2011). "Tennis great Bob Hewitt returns to Dubbo". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
10. Grasso, John (16 September 2011). Historical Dictionary of Tennis. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7237-0.
11. "Ex-tennis star Bob Hewitt guilty of raping girls in South Africa". Retrieved 23 March 2015.
12. "Tennis Hall of Fame removes Bob Hewitt - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
13. Hohler, Bob (28 August 2011). "Tennis star trailed by allegations of abuse". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
14. Solis, Jennifer (24 March 2011). "Ex-board member recounts sexual assaults". Daily News. Newburyport, Massachusetts. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
15. "A Conversation With Billie Jean King | Washingtonian (DC)". Washingtonian. 30 May 2012. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
16. Bob Hohler (15 November 2012). "Tennis Hall of Fame removes Bob Hewitt". The Boston Globe.
17. "Abuse claims cost former tennis champion Bob Hewitt his place in sport's Hall of Fame". The Australian. 16 November 2012.
18. "Ex-tennis champ Bob Hewitt's appeal on rape conviction rejected". USA TODAY. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
19. "Bob Hewitt found guilty of rape". News24. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
20. "Ex-tennis star charged with rape". BBC News. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
21. Laing, Aislinn (9 June 2016). "Tennis champion Bob Hewitt loses child rape appeal". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
22. Bob Hewitt found guilty of rape | News24
23. Bob Hewitt gets effective six years in jail
24. Tennis champion Bob Hewitt loses child rape appeal
25. Former tennis star Bob Hewitt ordered imprisoned - The Boston Globe
26. "Convicted rapist Bob Hewitt released on parole". News24. 24 April 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.

Reference bibliography

• Grasso, John (2011). "Hewitt, Robert Anthony John "Bob"". Historical Dictionary of Tennis. Historical Dictionaries of Sports. Scarecrow Press. pp. 135–136. ISBN 9780810872370.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Bob Hewitt at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Bob Hewitt at the International Tennis Federation
• Bob Hewitt at the Davis Cup
• Daily Liberal – City served him well
• Real Sports