The main draw of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships will be underway at the All England Lawn Tennis Club this Monday. Regarded by many as the most prestigious tournament, ITA Hall of Fame members have been among those still standing on the final days of the event, including the world renowned champion and icon Stan Smith.
Before his time on the professional tour, the Pasadena, California native played under Coach George Toley at the University of Southern California (USC) where he was a three-time All-American. As a Trojan, he won the 1968 NCAA Division I Singles Championship and the NCAA Doubles Championship titles in 1967 and 1968 alongside Bob Lutz. Following his time at USC, Smith headed to the professional tour.
During his thirteen years on tour, Smith was known for his calm and even-tempered demeanor that led him to win a combined 1,209 singles and doubles matches. Among those wins, Smith collected a grand total of 37 career singles championships and 53 in doubles, five in major championships with longtime partner Bob Lutz.
Winning their first major at the 1968 US Open, Smith and Lutz defeated Arthur Ashe and Andres Gimeno, 11-9, 6-1, 7-5. Their second title came at the 1970 Australian Open, followed by winning three more U.S. Open titles (1974, 1978, 1980). Although Smith and Lutz never took home the Wimbledon Gentlemen Doubles title, the pair were three-time runner-ups at the All England Lawn Tennis Club (1974, 1980, 1981).
Smith reached his first major singles final at the 1971 Wimbledon Championships, falling to John Newcombe. Smith quickly rebounded with his next two trips to a Grand Slam singles final ending in victory, capturing the 1971 U.S. Open and 1972 Wimbledon singles titles. Winning nine of his 37 singles titles 1972, Smith rose to World No. 1. He added eight more the following year with wins over notable players such as Laver, Ashe, Newcome and Jimmy Connors.
Smith was also a member of the U.S. Davis Cup Team for 11 years, helping the team win seven Davis Cup Championships (1968-72, 1979, 1981).
Following the tour, Smith has become widely known for his contributions to the world of tennis, becoming a coach for the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and owning his own tennis academy on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina alongside Billy Stearns.
Over the years, Smith has worked closely with the ITA. In 2015, Smith and his wife, Margie, endowed the ITA Achievement Award in honor of David A Benjamin, Chairman Emeritus and former President and Executive Director of the ITA. This award pays tribute each year to past participants in the world of varsity tennis who have achieved excellence in their chosen careers. This spirit of the award honors both professional success and contributions to society, made either as a direct result of a career, or through humanitarian efforts.
Smith was inducted into the ITA Men’s Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame in 1984 and the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2011, Smith was elected as the International Tennis Hall of Fame President, succeeding Tony Trabert in the role. In 2021, Smith announced his retirement from the position. As President, Smith served as the sportsperson for the International Tennis Hall of Fame, emphasizing international outreach and development of digital programming to enable the sharing of tennis history with fans around the globe.
About the ITA Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association Men’s and Women’s Halls of Fame aspire to preserve and celebrate the history and further the development of intercollegiate tennis through the collection of historic memorabilia and with inductions of notable players, coaches, and contributors.
About the ITA – The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) is the governing body and coaches association of college tennis, both an advocate and an authority for the sport and its members. Comprised of 1,260 colleges and universities, 20,000 student-athletes, 1,700 varsity programs, 3,000 coaches, and 1,350 college tennis officials, the ITA empowers college tennis coaches at all levels to deliver vibrant tennis programs that are vital to their college communities and transformational to their student-athletes. Follow the 2023-24 college tennis season on the ITA website and ITA social channels on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.
