The All England Lawn Tennis Club was deeply saddened to hear of the death of Fred Stolle AO, on Wednesday 5 March, aged 86. 

Part of the golden generation of Australian players who dominated tennis from the mid-1950s to the 1970s, Stolle won two Grand Slam singles titles, as well as 10 men’s doubles and seven mixed doubles titles. He was also a proud member of three victorious Australian Davis Cup teams between 1964 and 1966.

Although he never won a Wimbledon singles title, his record at The Championships was outstanding. He was a singles finalist for three consecutive years between 1963 and 1965 and he won five doubles titles, three in gentlemen’s and two in mixed. His total of 149 matches played at The Championships is the ninth most of any male player. For his contribution to The Championships, he was made an Honorary Member of the All England Club in 1986.

Given the ironic nickname of ‘Fiery’, in the same way that his compatriot Rod Laver was known as ‘Rocket’ due to his lack of pace, Stolle was a popular player who valued the camaraderie of the tennis tour in the amateur era and the lasting friendships he made through tennis.

Frederick Sydney Stolle was born in Hornsby, New South Wales, on 8 October 1938. He competed at The Championships for the first time in 1960 and it was at Wimbledon the following year that he won his first Grand Slam title, partnering Lesley Turner to victory in the mixed doubles. In 1962 he won the gentlemen’s doubles, alongside Bob Hewitt.

The following year, he reached the first of three successive gentlemen’s singles finals, losing to Chuck McKinley. In 1964 he gained revenge over McKinley in the semi-final before losing to fellow Australian Roy Emerson in the final, although there was some consolation when he regained both his doubles titles, again partnering Hewitt and Turner.

Wimbledon 1964 was Stolle’s third consecutive defeat in a Grand Slam final and, when he finished runner-up at the next two, in the US and Australia, he became the first (and still only) man ever to lose his first five Grand Slam finals. The last of the five was particularly painful, after he had led Emerson by two sets to love.

Redemption, however, came a few months later at Roland Garros, when Stolle defeated Tony Roche to win his first Grand Slam singles title. Although he once again finished runner-up to Emerson at The Championships that year, he would win a second Grand Slam title at the 1966 US Championships, beating another Australian, John Newcombe, in the final.

Stolle turned professional at the end of 1966, meaning he was unable to play in the Grand Slam tournaments, although he did take part in 1967’s eight-man Wimbledon Professional Championship, where he lost to Rod Laver in the quarter-finals.

However, with the advent of ‘Open’ tennis in 1968, Stolle was soon back in the Grand Slam fold, and back at Wimbledon. Although he never again got past the fourth round of the gentlemen’s singles, he continued to have success in doubles. He reached the final of the gentlemen’s doubles in 1968 and 1970 with his new partner, Ken Rosewall, and won the mixed doubles in 1969 with Great Britain’s Ann Jones, the same year that Jones memorably won the ladies’ singles title. His last appearance at The Championships came in 1983 when, aged 44, he and his partner Pam Shriver lost a close mixed doubles semi-final to the eventual champions, John Lloyd and Wendy Turnbull.

Stolle’s career doubles record was truly exceptional. The only Grand Slam doubles title he failed to win at least twice was the mixed doubles at Roland Garros, where his best effort was three runner-up finishes.

Stolle combined the final few years of his playing career with coaching the popular American player Vitas Gerulaitis. During this period, between 1977 and 1983, Gerulaitis won the Australian Open, and reached the finals of the US Open and Roland Garros and the semi-finals of Wimbledon. Stolle then embarked on a long and successful career as a commentator, for ESPN in the US as well as Fox Sports and Channel Nine in his native Australia.

Stolle is survived by his wife Pat, his daughters Monique and Nadine and his son, Sandon, who was also a professional tennis player. Sandon’s victory in the men’s doubles at the 1998 US Open means that he and Fred are the only father and son to both win a Grand Slam title.