Bunny Austin

Bunny Austin was a professional tennis player from England. He is known for being the last male tennis player form the UK to have reached the finals of the Gentlemen’s Singles at Wimbledon. He achieved such a feat in 1938. The year before that, he was also reached the finals of the French Open. Austin was also considered as a vital member of the British team that played for the Davis Cup. He was a cup participant from 1933 to 1935.

Austin was born Henry Wilfred Austin on August 26, 1906, he died in 2000 at the age of 94. He grew up in South Northwood, London. He gained his nickname from the comic strip ‘Pip, Squeak and Wilfred’. At age six, Austin joined the Norhurst Tennis Club. He was encouraged by his father to pursue tennis.

While at Cambridge, Austin reached the semi-finals of the 1926 Wimbledon doubles event. By the 1930s, Austin was ranked as one of the top 10 players in the world. In 1932, he finished second at Wimbledon, he played against American player Ellsworth Vines. Throughout his career playing at Wimbledon, he managed to reach the quarter-finals or better a total of 10 times.

Austin is also noted for being the first tennis player to wear shorts to a pro game. In 1932, he decided that traditional tennis attire, cricket flannels, weighed him down. He was also a pioneer of modern tennis racquet design. He invented the ‘Streamline’, which is identifiable for its shaft that split into three segments and allow for much better aerodynamic flow.