Littleton Rogers, George

George Littleton-Rogers was born in 1906 in County Kildare. He was the third and last son in the family of Francis William and Hester May Rogers. Two of his older brothers, Francis and Richard, died on the fronts of the First World War . George's father died at the beginning of 1916 ^[3] .

George Rogers tennis career began on the courts of the prestigious Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club in Dublin. In 1928, he won his first Irish title ^[3] ; his debut in the French championship and Wimbledon tournament took place the same year ^[4] .

In 1929, Rogers first appeared on the court as part of the Ireland national team in the Davis Cup , for which the next decade spent 49 games in 17 matches. In singles he scored 18 victories over 15 years with 15 defeats, in doubles - 6 victories with 10 defeats ^[5] . On his account were victories, including over Jack Crawford in 1930 and over Gottfried von Kramm in 1932 ^[3] . In 1930, the Irishman became the winner of the international championship of Canada , and also made it to the quarterfinals of the French championship and the fourth round of the US championship (in the latter case, after defeating Ellsworth Vines ) ^[4] .

In the early 1930s, Rogers repeatedly won ground competitions in the French and Italian Riviera ^[3] . In 1932, he again became the quarter-finalist of the French championship, defeating Christian Bussu ^[4] , in 1933 reached the fourth round in singles, and two years later - to the quarter-finals paired with New Zealander Buster Andrews ^[6] .

In 1936 and 1937, Rogers twice won the championship of Ireland in singles. In 1932 and 1936, he also became the champion of the country in mixed pairs , and in 1936 and 1938 - in the men's. Thus, in 1936, Rogers became the absolute champion of Ireland, having won the title in all three categories ^[3] .

In 1939 or in 1940, shortly after the outbreak of a new war in Europe, Littleton Rogers emigrated to the United States. Since 1940, he regularly performed in tournaments on American soil. After the United States entered the war, he took part in demonstration tennis matches for US troops. In 1945 he became a professional ^[3] and became president of the World Professional Tennis Association founded in the same year ^[7] .

In the mid-1940s, Littleton Rogers married American June Sears. In this marriage, one daughter was born. Rogers died in November 1962 in Los Angeles at the age of 56 years ^[3] .

George Littleton-Rogers, whose growth reached two meters, was the highest of the world-class players in his time. The large reach of the hands was one of his advantages on the court, combined with a powerful serve and a strong backhand - playing with a closed racket. At the same time, he was extremely gambling on the court, and this sometimes negatively affected the accuracy of his game. As a result, being among the leading players in the world, he never entered directly into the elite ^[3] .

• George Littleton-Rogers - Singles Results at Tennis Archives
• Profile on the Davis Cup website