Vines, Ellsworth, Jr.

▪ 1995

      U.S. tennis player and golfer (b. Sept. 28/29, 1911, Los Angeles, Calif.—d. March 17, 1994, La Quinta, Calif.), delivered blinding service aces and rapid-fire forehand shots that were marvels of precision and power, and he was hailed as one of the greatest tennis players of all time because of his hard-hitting accuracy and his ability to make sensational comebacks after teetering on the brink of defeat. Vines's lanky 1.88-m (6-ft 2-in), 65-kg (143-lb) frame belied his whipcordlike muscle strength. A versatile athlete, he attended the University of Southern California on a basketball scholarship before making his tennis debut on grass courts. He gained a reputation after beating Frank Shields and Frank Hunter twice each. In 1931 he won 11 tournaments, including the U.S. singles championship, and the following year he captured the title again and the Wimbledon singles in possibly the most one-sided final in the history of that event. Vines, who wore long trousers and favoured a small wooden racket, was an all-out player. In 1940 he abandoned tennis for amateur golf. Vines turned professional in 1942 and, though he never won a Professional Golfers Association tournament, usually ranked high among the money winners during his 15-year career. In 1962 Vines was inducted into the National Lawn (now International) Tennis Hall of Fame.

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