(1920-09-08)September 8, 1920 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died
September 17, 2014(2014-09-17) (aged 94) West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
Turned pro
1942 (amateur from 1938)
Retired
1951
Plays
Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Highest ranking
No. 5 (1946, Pro – PPA ranking)
Grand Slam singles results
US Open
F (1939)
Professional majors
US Pro
W (1945)
Wembley Pro
F (1950)
Sidney Welby Van Horn (September 8, 1920 - September 17, 2014)[1] was an American professional tennis player and tennis coach.
As a 19-year-old player, Van Horn reached the finals of the 1939 U.S. Championships beating John Bromwich[2] only to lose to Bobby Riggs in just 56 minutes (6–4, 6–2, 6–4). One of the high points of his career was a 6–0, 6–2, 6–1 defeat of the great Bill Tilden at a match between U.S. and British Empire service teams at Wimbledon in July 1945, supposedly the worst losses of Tilden's career — Tilden, however, was 52 years old at the time while Van Horn was 25. Van Horn also won the United States Pro Championship in 1945. He was ranked as high as World No. 5 in the professional ranks (the Professional Players Association, instated by Bill Tilden) in 1946. Gordon Lowe ranked Van Horn as World No. 9 for 1939 in his amateur rankings.[3]
He lived briefly in Atlanta, Ga., where he had been hired as Head Tennis Professional at the Piedmont Driving Club. In 1951, he moved to Puerto Rico as a coach at the Caribe Hilton Swim and Tennis Club, where he worked with many promising juniors, the most notable being Charlie Pasarell who was ranked No.1 in the U.S. in 1967 who he continued to coach on the main tour, another notable junior was Manuel Diaz, later to become a star on the University of Georgia tennis team and UGA coach.
His career as a coach spawned institutions such as the Welby Van Horn Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, Florida, and Welby Van Horn Tennis programs in a number of locations.[4]
^"Sidney VAN HORN Obituary (1920 - 2014) - West Palm Beach, FL - The Palm Beach Post". Legacy.com.
^Talbert, Bill (1967). Tennis Observed. Boston: Barre Publishers. p. 117. OCLC 172306.
^United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 425.
Sidney WelbyVanHorn (September 8, 1920 - September 17, 2014) was an American professional tennis player and tennis coach. As a 19-year-old player, Van Horn...
of the last year of World War II, although missing Frank Kovacs and WelbyVanHorn.[citation needed] The Australian Pro was a men's professional tournament...
Gonzales also won the tournament at Wembley, beating Don Budge and WelbyVanHorn. He did not play in the 1950 U. S. Professional Championships in Cleveland...
the triple win, then went on to win the U.S. Championships (beating WelbyvanHorn in the final), earning the world No. 1 amateur ranking for 1939. He...
much of the year and was not ranked for 1939. 1940 In May, Kovacs beat WelbyVanHorn to win the California State Championships for the third year in a row...
Hollywood, Frank Parker of Hollywood, Bobbie Riggs of Los Angeles, WelbyVanHorn of New York City, Carl Earn of Los Angeles and Bob Rogers of Los Angeles...
hit the fastest, at 112.88 mph, followed by Jack Kramer at 107.8 and WelbyVanHorn at 104. In the 1980s, Ivan Lendl was famous [according to whom?] for...
Fred Perry, Bobby Riggs, Karel Kozeluh, Vinnie Richards, Frank Kovacs, WelbyVanHorn, Bruce Barnes, Wayne Sabin, and Lester Stoefen. Skeen also was a tennis...
USA American Men's Singles Championship – Bobby Riggs (USA) defeats WelbyVanHorn (USA) 6–4, 6–2, 6–4 American Women's Singles Championship – Alice Marble...
euthanised. Lorna Thomas, 96, Australian cricket player and manager. WelbyVanHorn, 94, American tennis player and coach. Peter von Bagh, 71, Finnish film...
quarterfinals at the U.S. National Championships where he was defeated by WelbyVanHorn and Don McNeill respectively. Sabin was ranked No. 6 among the U.S....
– Nov 17 P.P.A.T. 18 tournaments Bobby Riggs Don Budge Frank Kovacs WelbyVanHorn Carl Earn Wayne Sabin John Faunce Jack Jossi Fred Perry Bill Tilden...
Pasarell was a very stylish player, and was coached by the celebrated WelbyVanHorn (the runner-up in the 1939 U.S. Championships) at the Caribe Hilton...
In 1943 he lost the final to Bruce Barnes in five sets and in 1944 WelbyVanHorn defeated him in straight sets. After his active playing career had ended...
Murphy Jack Tidball 6-8, 6-1, 6-1, 9-7 1940 Indianapolis Bobby Riggs WelbyVanHorn 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 1941 Indianapolis Bobby Riggs (2) Don McNeill 7-5, 3-6...
17 September 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2021 – via Newspapers.com. "VanHorn Tops Tennis Pros". The Cincinnati Post. 30 July 1945. p. 11. Archived from...
Don Budge (2) Fred Perry 6-2 6-2 6–1 1950 Quebec City Frank Kovacs WelbyVanHorn 7-5 6-3 6-8 9–7. 1951 Quebec City Pancho Segura Frank Kovacs 6-3 10-12...
badminton. He won the U.S. Junior Tennis Championship in 1938, defeating WelbyVanHorn in the final, and with Bill Talbert was the runner-up in U.S. men's...
Year Championship Surface Opponent Score Win 1950 Wembley Pro Indoor WelbyVanHorn 6–3, 6–3, 6–2 Loss 1951 US Pro Grass Pancho Segura 0–6, 6–8, 1–6 Win...
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