Rodney Heath

For the football player, see Rodney Heath (American football).
Rodney Heath
Full name Rodney Wilfred Heath
Country (sports)  Australia
Born 15 June 1884
Melbourne, Australia
Died 26 October 1936(1936-10-26) (aged 52)
Melbourne, Australia
Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Highest ranking No. 8 (1911, Karoly Mazak)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open W (1905, 1910)
French Open 1R (1925)
Wimbledon QF (1911)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open W (1906, 1911)
Wimbledon F (1919)
Team competitions
Davis Cup W (1911)

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

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. 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.[2][3] In 1916 Heath was injured when he crash-landed his plane after flying into a snowstorm en route from England to France.[4]

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.[5][6][7]

In 1911 he played in the Davis Cup challenge round in New Zealand against the United States and defeated William Larned in four sets.[8]

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

Death

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

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1905 Australasian Championships Grass Australia Arthur Curtis 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4 [9]
Winner 1910 Australasian Championships Grass Australia Horace Rice6–4, 6–3, 6–2 [9]

Doubles: 5 (3 titles, 2 runners-up)

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 1906 Australasian Championships Grass Australia Anthony Wilding Australia Cecil C. Cox
New Zealand Harry Parker 		6–2, 6–4, 6–2 [10]
Runner-up 1910 Australasian Championships Grass United Kingdom James O'Day Australia Ashley Campbell
Australia Horace Rice 		3–6, 3–6, 2–6 [11]
Winner 1911 Australasian Championships Grass United Kingdom Randolph Lycett Australia John Addison
Australia Norman Brookes 		6–2, 7–5, 6–0 [12]
Winner 1914 Australasian Championships Grass United Kingdom Arthur O'Hara Wood Australia Ashley Campbell
Australia Gerald Patterson 		5–7, 6–3, 3–6, 3–6 [11]
Runner-up 1919 Wimbledon Grass United Kingdom Randolph Lycett Australia Pat O'Hara-Wood
Australia Ronald Thomas 		4–6, 2–6, 6–4, 2–6 [13]

References

  1. ↑ Mazak, Karoly (2010). The Concise History of Tennis, p. 39.
  2. ↑ "Death of MR. R. W. Heath.". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 27 October 1936. p. 9.
  3. ↑ "PERSONAL.". The Argus. Melbourne: National Library of Australia. 23 June 1915. p. 8.
  4. ↑ "Rod. Heath's Accident.". The Farmer & Settler. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 20 April 1916. p. 4.
  5. ↑ Collins, Bud (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. pp. 355, 357, 692, 693. ISBN 978-0942257700.
  6. ↑ "Inter-state Tennis. Australasian Championship.". The Age. 27 November 1905. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  7. ↑ "Player Profiles – Rodney Heath". Tennis Australia. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
  8. ↑ "Davis Cup Player Profile – Rodney Heath". ITF. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  9. 1 2 "Australian Open Results Archive / Men's Singles". Australian Open official website. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
  10. ↑ "Australian Open Results Archive / 1906 Men's Doubles". Australian Open official website. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
  11. 1 2 "Australian Open Results Archive / Men's Doubles". Australian Open official website. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
  12. ↑ "Australian Open Results Archive / 1911 Men's Doubles". Australian Open official website. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
  13. ↑ "Wimbledon Rolls of Honour / Gentlemen's Doubles". Wimbledon official tournament website. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
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