Rodney Heath

Rodney Heath

Full name	Rodney Wilfred Heath
Country (sports)	Australia
Born	15 June 1884 Edgbaston, Great Britain
Died	26 October 1936 (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.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 2 titles

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

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

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