Arthur Gore

Arthur Gore, born on January 2, 1868, was a professional tennis player who is perhaps best known for winning gold in men’s singles and doubles at the 1908 London Olympics. He died in 1928 but was inducted to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006.

Gore started to play tennis on the sand courts of Brittany when he was young. In 1908, he participated in the indoor tennis matches of the London Olympics held at the Queen’s Club, which also happened to be the same venue for the English championships. He grabbed his first gold by beating Josiah Ritchie in the first match and moving on to claim victory over George Caridia after straight sets. His next gold came in doubles with partner Roper Barrett. This win solidified Gore’s and Barrett’s reputations as one of the strongest doubles teams of the day. The Gore-Barret tandem reached Wimbledon in 1899 for the Wimbledon All-Comers, and they won the Challenge Round in 1909, the same year when they bagged the British Covered Courts title.

Gore also played on the Davis Cup with Barrett. Both won the 1907 Challenge round over Norman Brooks and Tony Wilding with a final score of 13-11 in the final set. Gore was named Captain of the British Davis team in 1900 after defeating Laurie Doherty in Dublin, Beckenham and London. He won three singles titles in Wimbledon a year later.

Gore’s career at Wimbledon spanned an impressive 39 years. He also became the oldest winner of a Wimbledon singles title when he won at the age of 41 in 1909, as well as the oldest player to be a Wimbledon singles finalist at the age of 44 in 1912.