Gordon Forbes


Gordon Forbes is a former South African professional tennis player and author. During the 1950s and 1960s, he was the doubles partner of countryman Abe Segal. Together, they were considered one of the best doubles teams in the world.

Career

Forbes learnt to play tennis in his childhood on the family farm. At age 12 he played and won his first junior tournament in East London.
Forbes won the singles title of the South African Championships in 1959 and 1961 and was runner-up in 1955, 1962, 1963 and 1964. He played for the South African Davis Cup team in 14 ties in the period 1955 to 1963 and compiled a record of 20 wins and 11 losses.
After retiring from tennis, Forbes wrote three books about his experiences as a player, his contemporaries in the sport and other tennis topics.

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (1 runner-up)

Mixed doubles (1 title)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1955French ChampionshipsClay Darlene Hard Jenny Staley
Luis Ayala		5–7, 6–1, 6–2