Rod Laver Age: Know His Height, Net Worth, and Wife
Rod Laver is a legendary tennis player from Australia who established himself repeatedly in the sport, both before and after the open era. This athlete gave up on his academic career to focus on tennis full-time. This renowned tennis player began competing in amateur tournaments when he was just twenty-one years old, under the tutelage of the famed instructor Harry Hopman. He won renowned championships such as the “Grand Slams,” “Australian Championships,” and “Wimbledon” because to his tremendous talent and devotion.
When was Rod Laver Born?
Dear Rodney, Roy and Melba Laver welcomed their son George into the world on August 9, 1938, in the Australian city of Rockhampton. Roy was a butcher by trade, and he was one of four children in his family.
Leaving school to focus on his tennis skills, the child showed promise as a player at an early age. The renowned Queensland tennis player Harry Hopman was his coach. Laver had already won the “US Junior” and “Australian” titles in 1957.
Career
In 1959, Rodney reached the Wimbledon finals as a mixed doubles player, winning the match against American Darlene Hard. But the Peruvian player Alex Olmedo beat him in the singles final, thus he couldn’t claim victory.
He challenged and defeated fellow Australian Neale Fraser in the five-set final match of the ‘Australian Championships’ the following year. Entering the ‘Wimbledon’ in 1961, he achieved his first singles title.
Laver won four Grand Slam tournaments and seventeen matches in 1962. Donnie Budge, a former professional player from the United States, accomplished this accomplishment earlier.
Notable among these competitions were the “Italian,” “French,” and “German” titles. The ‘French Championships,’ which he won after a tough battle with Roy Emerson of Australia, were not easy. In the same year that he had a terrific run at the US Championships and Wimbledon, he lost a pitiful number of matches.
As a member of the Australian squad, Rod won the ‘Davis Cup’ in December 1962. This solidified his position as a professional tennis player on the global stage, similar to that of Andrés Gimeno, Ken Rosewall, Pancho Gonzales, and Lew Hoad.
The ‘U.S. Pro Tennis Championships’ were won five times by this talent between 1963 and 1970. At the start of the same era, he firmly established himself as the world’s number two player.
Tournament victories for Rodney in 1964 included the ‘US Pro,’ in which he defeated Pancho Gonzales, and the ‘Wembley Championships,’ in which he defeated his pal Rosewall.
The following year, Laver won seventeen tennis championships, propelling her to the top of the international rankings.
He tasted victory once again in 1967, with nineteen tournament wins, and the year after that he won sixteen championships. The ‘US Pro Championships,’ the ‘Wembley Pro,’ the ‘Wimbledon,’ and the ‘French Pro’ were among these titles gained. With scores of6-2,6-2, 12-10, he won the ‘Wimbledon’ final against fellow Australian Rosewall.
After years of prohibition, the ‘Open Era’ of professional tennis players competing in amateur events finally came to an end in 1968. The ‘Open Era’ claimed that tennis would be a full-time profession for all players since they would be free to compete in whatever tournament they wanted.
He became the first individual to win the ‘Open Era’ championship at the ‘Wimbledon’ in the same year he joined the ‘Grand Slam’ matches. The final match was a straight sets victory for Rodney over Tony Roche of Australia.
In 1968, he achieved the feat of winning the ‘US Professional Championships’ on grass courts and the ‘French Pro Championships’ on clay courts, effectively securing the world no. 1 ranking.
In 1969, Laver won all four Grand Slam titles after competing in many events that year. The ‘South African Open,’ the ‘Philadelphia US Pro Indoor,’ the ‘US Professional Championships,’ and the ‘Wembley British Indoor’ were won by him as well. So, 106 of the 132 matches he participated in ended in victories for him.
‘The National Tennis League’ (NTL) and ‘World Championship Tennis’ (WCT) were both tours that Rod signed contracts with at the same time. As a result, he missed out on five ‘Grand Slam tournaments in two years.
The ‘Davis Cup’ was one of many titles he took home in 1973. His world ranking plummeted to No. 4 after he won just six tournaments the year after. A tennis league, “World Team Tennis,” signed him three years later.
Laver Rod’s Wife
They had a son together after Laver wed Mary Benson in 1966. Mary, who was 84 years old when she died in 2012, was a longtime resident of Carlsbad, California, where they eventually resided after moving to the United States.
Rod Laver Height and Weight
At 5 feet 8 inches tall and 68 kg heavy, Rod Laver is a formidable opponent.
Rod Laver’s Net Worth
As of right now, Rod Laver is worth $20 million. The great tennis player and athlete’s extraordinary performance on the court has allowed him to accumulate a fortune that befits his age of 85.
Earning the nickname “Rocket Rod,” Laver’s fortune is a reflection of his impressive professional accomplishments. Laver was the first player in tennis history to win the calendar-year Grand Slam twice, and his 11 Grand Slam singles championships are still a record.