Yvon Petra

Yvon Petra

Full name	Yvon Francois Marie Petra
Country (sports)	France
Born	8 March 1916 Cholon, French Indochina
Died	12 September 1984 (aged 68) Paris, France
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Turned pro	1948 (amateur tour from 1935)
Retired	1955
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF	2016
Singles
Career record	19–4
Highest ranking	No. 4 (1946, A. Wallis Myers)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open	SF (1946)
Wimbledon	W (1946)
US Open	4R (1936, 1937, 1938)
Professional majors
US Pro	1R (1950)
Doubles
Career record	0–1
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open	W (1938, 1946)
Wimbledon	QF (1947)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French Open	W (1937)
Wimbledon	F (1937)
US Open	F (1937)

Yvon Petra (French pronunciation: ​[ivɔ̃ petʁa]; 8 March 1916 – 12 September 1984) was a French male tennis player. He was born in Cholon, French Indochina. He is best remembered as the last Frenchman to win the Wimbledon championships men's singles title (in 1946), beating Geoff Brown in five sets in the final. In doubles he won the French championships twice, in 1938 with Bernard Destremau, defeating the best pair in the world Budge-Mako, and in 1946 with Marcel Bernard. In 1938 he won the singles and doubles title at the French Covered Court Championships.^[2] He was a prisoner of war in World War II and after his release won three French national titles from 1943 through 1945.^[3][4] He emigrated to the United States and worked as a tennis pro at the Saddle and Cycle Club in Chicago and a country club in Connecticut towards the end of his life. Petra was ranked World No. 4 for 1946 by A. Wallis Myers and World No. 8 for 1947 by Harry Hopman.^[1][5] He was the last man to wear long trousers in a Wimbledon final.

Petra joined the tour of professional players in 1948.^[6] He was inducted into International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2016.^[7]

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 title)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Opponent in final	Score in final
Winner	1946	Wimbledon	Geoff Brown	6–2, 6–4, 7–9, 5–7, 6–2

Doubles (2 titles)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Partner	Opponents in final	Score in final
Winner	1938	French Championships	Bernard Destremau	Don Budge Gene Mako	3–6, 6–3, 9–7, 6–1
Winner	1946	French Championships	Marcel Bernard	Enrique Morea Pancho Segura	7–5, 6–3, 0–6, 1–6, 10–8

Mixed doubles (1 title, 2 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Partner	Opponents in final	Score in final
Winner	1937	French Championships	Simonne Mathieu	Marie-Louise Horn Roland Journu	7–5, 7–5
Runner-up	1937	Wimbledon	Simonne Mathieu	Alice Marble Don Budge	4–6, 1–6
Runner-up	1937	U.S. Championships	Sylvie Jung Henrotin	Sarah Palfrey Don Budge	2–6, 10–8, 0–6

References

1. United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 425.
2. G.P. Hughes, ed. (1947). Dunlop Lawn Tennis Annual and Almanack 1947. London: Ed. J. Burrow & Co. Ltd. p. 281.
3. Harold Bubil (23 December 1974). "Petra: POW Camp to Wimbledon Champ". Sarasota Journal. pp. 1–D, 4–D.
4. Henry D. Fetter (6 June 2011). "The French Open During World War II: A Hidden History". The Atlantic.
5. "World's Best 10 in Tennis", The Courier-Mail, 3 February 1947.
6. McCauley, Joe (2000). The History of Professional Tennis. Windsor: The Short Run Book Company Limited. p. 47.
7. "Class of 2016". International Tennis Hall of Fame. March 7, 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-21.

External links

• Yvon Petra at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Yvon Petra at the International Tennis Federation
• Yvon Petra at the Davis Cup