Rodney Heath

Rodney Wilfred Heath (15 June 1884 – 26 October 1936) was an Australian tennis player.

For the football player, see Rodney Heath (American football).

Rodney Heath
Full nameRodney Wilfred Heath
Country (sports) Australia
Born15 June 1884
Melbourne, Australia
Died26 October 1936(1936-10-26) (aged 52)
Melbourne, Australia
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record133–61 (68.5%)[1]
Career titles9[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian OpenW (1905, 1910)
French Open1R (1925)
WimbledonQF (1911)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian OpenW (1906, 1911)
WimbledonF (1919)
Team competitions
Davis CupW (1911)

Personal

Heath was the second son of F. W. Heath who was the official timekeeper at the Victorian Racing Club and Victorian Amateur Turf Club. Rodney's brother C. V. Heath won the South Australian men's singles title in 1902.[2] In June 1915 Heath left Australia to join the Royal Flying Corps in England. He was promoted to the rank of major two years later.[3][4] In 1916 Heath was injured when he crash-landed his plane after flying into a snowstorm en route from England to France.[5]

Tennis career

Heath was the Men's Singles champion at the inaugural Australasian Championships in 1905 defeating Albert Curtis in four sets. He won again it five years later, in 1910, after a victory in the final against Horace Rice in three straight sets.[6][7][8]

In 1911 he played in the Davis Cup challenge round in New Zealand against the United States and defeated William Larned in four sets.[9]

In 1919 he reached the final of the Wimbledon Men's Doubles tournament with Randolph Lycett.

Death

On 26 October 1936, 9 months before his 53rd birthday, Heath was found dead in the bedroom of his sister's home in Melbourne, Australia. It is said that Heath died from melanoma in his stomach.

Grand Slam finals

Singles
Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Win1905Australasian ChampionshipsGrass Arthur Curtis4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4[10]
Win1910Australasian ChampionshipsGrass Horace Rice6–4, 6–3, 6–2[10]

Doubles: 5 (3 titles, 2 runners-up)
Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win1906Australasian ChampionshipsGrass Anthony Wilding Cecil C. Cox
Harry Parker		6–2, 6–4, 6–2[11]
Loss1910Australasian ChampionshipsGrass James O'Day Ashley Campbell
Horace Rice		3–6, 3–6, 2–6[12]
Win1911Australasian ChampionshipsGrass Randolph Lycett John Addison
Norman Brookes		6–2, 7–5, 6–0[13]
Win1914Australasian ChampionshipsGrass Arthur O'Hara Wood Ashley Campbell
Gerald Patterson		5–7, 6–3, 3–6, 3–6[12]
Loss1919WimbledonGrass Randolph Lycett Pat O'Hara-Wood
Ronald Thomas		4–6, 2–6, 6–4, 2–6[14]
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References
  1. "Rodney Heath: Career match record". thetennisbase.com. Tennismem SAL. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  2. "Rodney Heath". www.tennis.co.nf.
  3. "Death of MR. R. W. Heath". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 27 October 1936. p. 9.
  4. "Personal". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 23 June 1915. p. 8.
  5. "Rod. Heath's Accident". The Farmer & Settler. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 20 April 1916. p. 4.
  6. Collins, Bud (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. pp. 355, 357, 692, 693. ISBN 978-0942257700.
  7. "Inter-state Tennis. Australasian Championship". The Age. 27 November 1905. Retrieved 23 February 2011 – via Google News Archive.
  8. "Player Profiles – Rodney Heath". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  9. "Davis Cup Player Profile – Rodney Heath". International Tennis Federation (ITF). Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  10. "Australian Open Results Archive / Men's Singles". Australian Open official website. Archived from the original on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  11. "Australian Open Results Archive / 1906 Men's Doubles". Australian Open official website. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  12. "Australian Open Results Archive / Men's Doubles". Australian Open official website. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  13. "Australian Open Results Archive / 1911 Men's Doubles". Australian Open official website. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  14. "Wimbledon Rolls of Honour / Gentlemen's Doubles". Wimbledon official tournament website. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
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