Tennis Star William Larned

 

William Larned dominated the court in the early 1900s, winning the U.S. National Championships (now the U.S. Open) seven times—a record that stood until Bill Tilden and later Pete Sampras and Roger Federer came along. But while his forehand was a thing of beauty, his personal life was a rougher game, marked by tragedy, military service, and a restless, sometimes tortured, soul.

Born in 1872, Larned served in the Spanish-American War, which meant that between matches, he was dodging bullets in Cuba. He came back from the war and did what any self-respecting adrenaline junkie would do—he won his first U.S. National Championship in 1901.

Then, to keep things interesting, he skipped defending his title in 1902 to go on a safari in Africa.

Larned was a tactician. He played an attacking, serve-and-volley game that was considered aggressive even by modern standards. Opponents feared him, fans loved him, and the sport of tennis hadn’t seen many players who could move with such agility while still packing that much power.

Between 1901 and 1911, Larned won the U.S. Nationals seven times, a record that wouldn’t be matched until the days of tuxedos and wooden rackets were long gone. The man seemed unstoppable—except when it came to his own health.

In the early 1900s, Larned started showing signs of multiple sclerosis, a disease that would eventually take a brutal toll on his body. By 1912, the writing was on the wall—he couldn’t keep up physically, and he retired from competitive tennis.

In 1926, at the age of 53, Larned took his own life with a gunshot to the head at his home in Stamford, Connecticut.

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