Elwood Cooke

Elwood Thomas Cooke (July 5, 1913 – April 16, 2004) was an amateur American tennis player in the 1930s and 1940s.

Elwood Cooke
Cook at the 1939 Wimbledon Championships
Full nameElwood Thomas Cooke
Country (sports) United States
BornJuly 5, 1913
Ogden, Utah, U.S.
DiedApril 16, 2004(2004-04-16) (aged 90)
Apopka, Florida, U.S.
Turned pro1947 (amateur tour from 1935)
Retired1949
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Highest rankingNo. 8 (1939, Gordon Lowe)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
French OpenSF (1939)
WimbledonF (1939)
US OpenSF (1945)
Other tournaments
US ProQF (1947, 1948, 1949)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
WimbledonW (1939)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French OpenW (1939)
WimbledonSF (1939)

Tennis career

Elwood Cooke started playing tennis before his junior year at Benson Polytechnic High School. He played for the school team in the Portland Interscholastic League, never losing in singles matches and finishing with the team in 2nd place in his junior and senior years.[2]

Cooke was ranked in Top 10 in the United States in 1938 (ranked No. 7), 1939 (No. 6), 1940 (No. 9), and 1945 (No. 4), whilst reaching as high as World No. 8 in Gordon Lowe's amateur rankings for 1939.[1]

At Wimbledon, Cooke reached the singles final in 1939 (beating Bunny Austin and Henner Henkel before falling to Bobby Riggs), but won the doubles title that year with Riggs. He was the U.S. Indoor Doubles champion with Riggs in 1940. Cooke reached the semifinals of the French Championships in 1939 (losing to Don McNeill)[3] and the U.S. National Championships in 1945 (losing to Frank Parker).[4]. He reached the U. S. quarterfinals in 1940 and 1943.

At the Cincinnati Masters, he reached both the singles and the doubles final in 1945. He lost the singles final to future International Tennis Hall of Fame enshrinee Bill Talbert.[5] In the Oregon State Tournament, he won the singles title in 1936.[5] In the Pacific Northwest Sectional, he won the singles title in 1935 and 1936.[5] He was a naval officer during World War II, and was married to International Tennis Hall of Famer Sarah Palfrey Cooke.[6]

After he retired from tournament play, he was the head tennis professional at Sunningdale Country Club in Scarsdale, New York from 1961–1981.

Personal life

He was married to tennis star Sarah Palfrey from 1940 to 1949.

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References
  1. United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 412-425.
  2. "Elwood Cooke (1932)". Portland Interscholastic League Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2017-10-04.
  3. "French Open 1939". www.tennis.co.nf.
  4. "U.S. Open 1945". www.tennis.co.nf.
  5. "Elwood Thomas Cooke". www.tennisarchives.com.
  6. "Sarah Palfrey". www.tennisfame.com.


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