Ken Rosewall
Kenneth Robert Rosewall is a former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player from Australia. He won a record 23 tennis Majors, including 8 Grand Slam singles titles and, before the Open Era, a record 15 Pro Slam titles; overall, he reached a record 35 Major finals. He won the Pro Grand Slam in 1963. Rosewall won 9 slams in doubles with a career doubles grand slam. He had a renowned backhand and enjoyed a long career at the highest levels from the early 1950s to the early 1970s. Rosewall was world No. 1 player for a number of years in the early 1960s in some rankings. Rosewall was first ranked in the top 20 in 1952 and last ranked in the top 20 in 1977. Rosewall is the only player to have simultaneously held Pro Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces. At the 1971 Australian Open he became the first male player during the open era to win a Grand Slam tournament without dropping a set. Rosewall won world professional championship tours in 1963, 1964, and the WCT titles in 1971 and 1972.
A natural left-hander, he was taught by his father to play right-handed. He developed a powerful and effective backhand but never had anything more than an accurate but relatively soft serve. He was tall, weighed and was ironically nicknamed "Muscles" by his fellow-players because of his lack of them. He was, however, fast, agile, and tireless, with a deadly volley.
The father of two and grandfather of five, Rosewall now lives in northern Sydney.
Early life and tennis
Rosewall was born on 2 November 1934 in Hurstville, Sydney. His father, Robert Rosewall, was a grocer at Penshurst, New South Wales and when Ken was one year old they moved to the Rockdale where his father bought three clay tennis courts. Ken started playing tennis at age three with a shortened racket and using both hands for forehand and backhand shots. They practiced early in the morning, focusing on playing one type of shot for a period of weeks. He was a natural left-hander but was taught to play right-handed by his father. He played his first tournament when he was nine and lost to the eventual winner. At age eleven Rosewall won the Metropolitan Hardcourt Championships for under fourteen. In 1949 at age 14 he became the junior champion at the Australian Hardcourt Championships in Sydney, the youngest player to win an Australian title.Tennis career
Amateur career: 1950 through 1956
;1950In September 1950 at the age of 15 and still a junior player, Rosewall reached the final of the 1950 New South Wales Metropolitan hard court championships, where he lost to Jim Gilchrist.. In October, Rosewall reached the semifinals of the 1950 New South Wales Metropolitan grass court Championships, where he was defeated by the world-class adult player Ken McGregor.
;1951
Rosewall won his first men's tournament in Manly in January against Gilchrist and was "the youngest player ever to capture the seaside title. It was also Rosewall's first important win in a tennis tournament. Rosewall played almost flawless ground shots. When he did come into the net he made no mistake about volleying his winners. Rosewall's only weakness was his smash. He seemed to hurry this shot and in the second set he missed eight consecutive smashes." Rosewall beat Adrian Quist in the semi final of the Brisbane exhibition tournament in August, but he lost the final to Lew Hoad. Ken lost in the final of Metropolitan Hardcourt championships at Naremburn to George Worthington in September. In the New South Wales championships in November, Rosewall pushed reigning Australian and Wimbledon champion Dick Savitt to four close sets.
;1952
In 1952, still only 17, Rosewall reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Championships, upsetting the top-seeded Vic Seixas in the fourth round in five sets before losing to Gardnar Mulloy in five sets. In his end-of-year rankings, the British tennis expert Lance Tingay ranked Rosewall and Lew Hoad, his equally youthful doubles partner, jointly as the tenth best amateur players in the world.
;1953
Rosewall was only 18 years old when, in 1953, he won his first singles title at a Grand Slam event after defeating American Vic Seixas in the semi finals and Australian compatriot Mervyn Rose in the final of the Australian Championships. He also won the French Championships beating Seixas in the final in four sets, when "the young Australian's mastery in all phases of the game disheartened Seixas as Rosewall beat him repeatedly with perfectly placed shots". Rosewall was the top seed at Wimbledon but lost the quarterfinal match to Kurt Nielsen. Rosewall reached the semifinals at the U.S. Championships, where he was defeated by Tony Trabert in straight sets. At the Pacific Southwest Championships Rosewall beat Trabert in the semi finals and Seixas in the final in five sets and in the end "Rosewall's superior backhand probably decided the match." Rosewall lost to Trabert in the Challenge Round of the Davis Cup in Melbourne in three sets. Rosewall, however, won the fifth and deciding rubber of that tie, defeating Seixas in four sets. In early September, Tingay placed Trabert first and Rosewall second in his annual amateur rankings.
;1954
In 1954, Rosewall lost in the semi finals of the Australian championships to Rose. Rosewall played "a fine net game" in beating Mal Anderson in the final of the Darling Downs tournament in April. He defeated Trabert in a five-set semifinal at Wimbledon but lost the final to crowd-favorite Jaroslav Drobný in four sets. At the U. S. Championships, Rosewall lost in the semi finals to Rex Hartwig. At the Victorian championships in December, Rosewall won the title beating Seixas in the final.
;1955
Rosewall won the singles title at the Australian Championships for the second time in 1955, defeating Hoad in the final in three sets. Rosewall's "angled shots rattled Hoad and his returns of service were a match-winning factor. Hoad made 74 errors to Rosewall's 52." Ken did not play in the 1955 French Championships because it did not fit in the preparation of the Australian team for the Davis Cup. At Wimbledon, Rosewall lost in the semi finals to unseeded Kurt Nielsen. At the U.S. Championships, Trabert defeated Rosewall in the final in three sets.
;1956
In 1956, Rosewall and Hoad captured all the Grand Slam men's doubles titles except at the French Championships, from which Rosewall was absent. For several years in their youthful careers, Rosewall and Hoad were known as "The Gold Dust Twins." In singles, Rosewall lost to Hoad in the final of two Grand Slam tournaments. At the Australian Championships, Hoad defeated Rosewall in four sets and at Wimbledon, Hoad won in four sets. Rosewall, however, prevented Hoad from winning the Grand Slam when Rosewall won their final at the U.S. Championships in four sets. "Rosewall owner of the best backhand in the game, ripped the lines with his passing shots, sent trickly lobs into the swirling winds and caught Hoad flat-footed with stop volleys and drop shots. Frequently Hoad would stop and shake his head in disbelief at some of Rosewall's returns."
During his amateur career, Rosewall helped Australia win three Davis Cup Challenge Rounds. Rosewall won 15 of the 17 Davis Cup singles rubbers he played those years, including the last 14 in a row.
Professional career: 1957 through March 1968
Promoter and former tennis great Jack Kramer tried unsuccessfully to sign the "Whiz Kids" to professional contracts in late 1955. But one year later, Rosewall accepted Kramer's offer on 30 December 1956. Rosewall, during the Challenge Round of the Davis Cup, tried to convince his partner Hoad to do the same, but he rejected the proposition.1957
Rosewall played his first professional match on 14 January 1957, at Kooyong Stadium in Melbourne against the reigning king of professional tennis, Pancho Gonzales who won after a close five-set match. The following day Rosewall defeated Gonzales in straight sets. Rosewall explained later that there was a huge gap between the amateur level and the professional level. In their series of head-to-head matches in Australia and the U.S., Gonzales won 50 matches to Rosewall's 26. During this period, Rosewall also entered two tournaments, the Ampol White City Tournament of Champions at Sydney in February and the U.S. Pro in Cleveland, Ohio in April. At both events he was defeated in the semifinal in straight sets; by Frank Sedgman and Pancho Segura, respectively. At the Forest Hills Tournament of Champions, a round robin event held in New York, Rosewall defeated Segura and Hoad but lost to Gonzales, Sedgman and Trabert to finish in joint third place.In September, Rosewall won the Wembley Pro title, beating Segura in a five-set final. This was a significant victory for Rosewall because, of the top professional players, only Sedgman and Tony Trabert did not play. At the end of the year, Rosewall won an Australian tour featuring Lew Hoad, Sedgman, and Segura.
Rosewall was offered an undercard position against Trabert for the 1958 world championship tour, but declined.
1958
At the Kooyong Tournament of Champions at Kooyong in January, the richest tournament of the era, Rosewall finished in fourth place, beating Trabert and Segura, but losing to Sedgman, Hoad, and Gonzales.Rosewall was the runner-up at the Forest Hills Tournament of Champions in June. Both he and Gonzales won five round robin matches and lost one but Gonzales claimed the title as he won their head-to-head encounter. Rosewall tied for second behind an undefeated Segura in the Masters Round Robin Pro in Los Angeles in July. Those tournaments were among the most important of the year. Kramer designated Forest Hills, Kooyong, Sydney, and Los Angeles as the four major pro tennis tournaments. In September, Rosewall had the opportunity to show that he was still one of the best players on clay. The previous year, no French Professional Championships had been held. This tournament returned in 1958, and Rosewall beat Jack Kramer, Frank Sedgman to reach the final in which he defeated an injured Lew Hoad in four sets to claim the title. At the Wembley Pro, Rosewall lost a close five set semi-final to Trabert.
1959
In the Ampol Open Trophy points standings for February, part of a fifteen tournament world series, Rosewall was second with 12 points behind Hoad with 13. For the first time since he turned professional, Rosewall had a favourable 6–4 win-loss record against Pancho Gonzales for the year. Rosewall won both editions of the Queensland Pro Championships in Brisbane, both included in the Ampol Open Trophy series, defeating Tony Trabert in the January final in five sets and Gonzales in the December final in four sets. At the Forest Hills Tournament of Champions, Rosewall lost a close semi-final to Hoad in four sets, and beat Trabert to win third place. At the Roland Garros World Professional Championships, Rosewall lost in the semi-final to Trabert, and was beaten by Hoad in the third place match. At the White City Tournament of Champions in Sydney in early December, Rosewall lost in the semi-final to Gonzales in three straight sets. In the final Ampol tournament in the world series, played at Kooyong from December 26, 1959 to January 2, 1960, Rosewall finished runner-up to Hoad, losing the deciding match to Hoad in four long sets. Kramer acclaimed this match as one of the greatest ever played. Rosewall finished third on the Ampol Open Trophy world series with 41 bonus points, behind Hoad in first place, and Gonzales in second place. Rosewall's winning percentage on the 1959 Ampol series was 62%. Rosewall was 2 wins and 6 losses against Hoad on the Ampol Open Trophy world series, and 3 wins and 1 loss against Gonzales on the series.1960
The following year Rosewall was incorporated in a new World Pro tour, from January to May, featuring Gonzales, Segura and new recruit Alex Olmedo. This tour was perhaps the peak of Gonzales's entire career. The finals standings were: 1) Gonzales 49 matches won – 8 lost, 2) Rosewall 32–25, 3) Segura 22–28, 4) Olmedo 11–44. Rosewall was therefore far behind Gonzales on this tour, the American having won almost all their direct confrontations.Rosewall began the tour slowly, dropping briefly in early February to fourth place in the overall standings behind Segura and Olmedo, and rising to second place in early March. Halfway through the North American part of the tour the standings were Gonzales 23–1, Segura 8-9, Rosewall 11–13. British Lawn Tennis reported, “While Kenny hasn’t yet nailed Pancho, he has come within a couple of points several times. Rosewall has finally got his serve working better and he is now the tough little player he was last year. He’ll get some wins over Big Pancho before long.” As described in a later report, “Ken started very slowly against Gonzales, Segura and Olmedo but finished in second place behind Gonzales more than held his own the last 20 matches with him, after getting over a physical problem.”
Just after Gonzales played and won a minor tournament on 16 May 1960 he decided to retire. In the absence of Gonzales, Rosewall became the leader, winning six tournaments including the two main tournaments of the year, the French Pro at Roland Garros, defeating Hoad in the final in four sets, and Wembley Pro, defeating Segura. Hoad won four tournaments in 1960, defeating Rosewall in all four finals.
1961
After ten years of World touring, Rosewall decided to take several long breaks in order to spend time with his family and entered no competitions in the first half of 1961, withdrawing from Kramer's World Series tour. He trained his long-time friend Hoad when the pros toured in Australia where Gonzales, back to the courts after a -month retirement, won another World tour featuring Hoad, Olmedo, Gimeno and the two new recruits MacKay and Buchholz.In the summer Rosewall returned to the circuit and won the two biggest tournaments : the French Pro and Wembley Pro. At the French he captured the title by beating Gonzales in the final in four sets, and at Wembley he defeated Hoad in the final. In the summer Rosewall won a short head-to-head tour of France over Gonzales 4-2 and had a 7-4 edge over Gonzales for the entire year.
Rosewall teamed with Hoad to win the inaugural Kramer Cup trophy in South Africa. Rosewall lost to Trabert in the first rubber, but defeated MacKay to set up the fifth and deciding rubber between Hoad and Trabert. After having won on clay and on wood Rosewall ended the season by winning on grass at the New South Wales Pro Championships in Sydney, defeating Butch Buchholz in the final, cementing his status as the best all-court player that year.
Although Gonzales had won Kramer's 1961 World Series tour, later in the year Rosewall won both Wembley Pro and French Pro, where Gonzales was reported in one source to lose his title. The USPLTA reported Rosewall as the world No. 1 ranked pro followed by Gonzales and Trabert. Robert Roy of L'Équipe, Kléber Haedens and Philippe Chatrier of Tennis de France, Michel Sutter, Peter Rowley, Robert Geist and also the New York Times and World Tennis magazine considered Rosewall as the new No. 1 in the world.
1962
In 1962 Rosewall was the leading pro, winning most pro tournaments of all the players during the year. He retained his Wembley Pro and French Pro crowns and also won tournaments at Adelaide, Melbourne, Christchurch, Auckland, Geneva, Milan and Stockholm. There was no World Series in 1962 and many of the top pros did not play pro matches in America during the year.Per records found, Rosewall lost 7 matches in 1962 : Hoad, Gimeno, Ayala, Buchholz, Segura, Anderson and Robert Haillet.
1963
In an Australasian tour played on grass for the Australian portion, Rosewall defeated Laver 11 matches to 2.A US tour followed with Rosewall defending his world pro title against Laver, Gimeno, Ayala and two Americans: Butch Buchholz and Barry MacKay. Rosewall entered as defending world pro titlist. In the first phase of this tour, lasting two and a half months, each player faced each other about eight times. Rosewall ended first, Buchholz, Gimeno, MacKay and Ayala ). In this round-robin phase Rosewall beat Laver in the first 5 meetings, ensuring thus a 13-match winning streak and Laver won the last 3. Then a second and final phase of the tour opposed the first and the second of the first phase to determine the final winner met the fourth ). In 18 matches Rosewall beat Laver 14 times to conquer the US tour first place and thus successfully defended his world pro title.
In mid-May the tournament season started. In those occasions Rosewall only beat Laver 4–3 and won 5 tournaments, but in particular he won the three main tournaments of the year 1963: chronologically the U.S. Pro at Forest Hills on grass where he defeated Laver in three straight sets, neither Rosewall nor Laver receiving any payment for the event. the French Pro at Coubertin on wood where his opponent in the final was again Laver who later praised his victor: "I played the finest tennis I believe I've ever produced, and he beat me", Rosewall won the Wembley Pro for the fourth consecutive time after a four-sets win against Hoad in the final. In those tournaments Rosewall won three times while Laver reached two finals and one quarterfinal. Rosewall then beat Laver 34 matches to 12.
Rosewall's gross earnings for the year were $45,000, or second among the pro players.
1964
In early 1964, Rosewall finished third behind Hoad and Laver in a 4-man 24-match tour of New Zealand.In 1964 Rosewall won one major pro tournament: the French Pro over Laver on an indoor wood surface. At the end of the South African tour, Rosewall also beat Laver in three straight sets in a Challenge Match considered by some as a World Championship match, on cement, held in Ellis Park, Johannesburg. In the official pro points rankings, Rosewall ended No. 1 in 1964 ahead of No. 2 Laver and No. 3 Gonzales.
The majority of tennis observers and the players themselves agreed with this points rankings for they considered Rosewall the number one in 1964. Rod Laver himself after his triumph over Rosewall at the Wembley Pro said "I’ve still plenty of ambitions left and would like to be the world's No. 1. Despite this win, I am not there yet – Ken is. I may have beaten him more often than he has beaten me this year but he has won the biggest tournaments except here. I’ve lost to other people but Ken hasn’t.".
Laver had a great season and could also claim the top rank. He captured two of the major pro tournaments, a) the U.S. Pro over Rosewall Wembley Pro over Rosewall in one of their best matches ever.
In 1964, Rosewall beat Gonzales 13 times out of 17, most of the matches taking place in Italy on clay, while Laver was beaten by Gonzales 7 times out of 12. In 1964 Laver had a leading win-loss record against Rosewall of 17–7.
1965
Next year until mid-September Rosewall and Laver were quite equal, the latter winning more tournaments including the US Pro Indoors at New York City and the Masters Pro at Los Angeles but Rosewall won the U.S. Pro on the Longwood C.C. grass courts crushing Gonzales in three sets and Laver in three sets in the last rounds and Rosewall again beat Laver in three sets in the French Pro final on the fast wooden courts at Coubertin.1966
Laver and Rosewall shared all the titles and the finals of the five greatest tournaments. Rosewall won the Madison Square Garden Pro and the French Pro tournaments over Laver, the latter capturing Forest Hills Pro, the U.S. Pro and Wembley Pro, with Rosewall finalist each time.1967
The 20 main tournaments of the year were shared by a) Laver, ten titles including the five biggest ones, all played on fast courts, Newport R.R., Johannesburg Ellis Park, Coubertin Pro in April Rosewall, six titles Gimeno, three titles Stolle, one tournament Laver 18 tournaments, plus two small tours, 2) Rosewall seven tournaments, 3) Stolle four tournaments and 4) Gimeno three tournaments. In head-to-head matches Rosewall trailed Laver 5–8 and was equal with Gimeno 7–7.Before 1967 Gimeno always trailed Rosewall in direct confrontations but that year they split their matches. Rosewall defeated Gimeno in Los Angeles, Madison Square Garden, St Louis, Newport, Johannesburg, Durban and Wembley whereas Gimeno won in Cincinnati, U.S. Pro, East London, Port Elizabeth, Johannesburg, Marseille, French Pro.
Forbidden to contest the greatest traditional events, Davis Cup and Grand Slams, during nearly eleven and a half years from 1957 to 30 March 1968, Rosewall reached his best level during this period, in particular from 1960 to 1966, by winning at least 62 tournaments and seven small tours.
Open-closed career: April 1968 through July 1972
1968
During the 1968 season several categories of players coexisted:- Amateur players, dependent on their national and international federations, allowed to play the amateur events and open events but forbidden to receive official prize money
- Registered players, also dependent on their national and international federations, eligible to play the Davis Cup and forbidden to play pro events as an amateur, but authorised to take prize money in the open events
- Professionals under contract with the National Tennis League
- Professionals under contract with the World Championship Tennis
- Freelance professionals.
Two tournaments were at the top in 1968: Wimbledon, and the US Open, both played on grass, where all the best players competed. Other notable tournaments that year were the Queen's Club tournament and the greatest pro tournaments where all the NTL and WCT pros competed as the U.S. Pro, the French Pro, the first Pacific Southwest Open in Los Angeles with all the best players present, the Jack Kramer Tournament of Champions at Wembley in November and the Madison Square Garden Pro in December with the four best pros of each organisation.
In this context Rosewall played almost all NTL pro tournaments in 1968, the four "NTL-WCT" tournaments and some open tournaments. He entered his first open tournament at 33 years old at Bournemouth on clay and defeated Gimeno and Laver, to win the first open tennis title. At the French Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the Open Era, Rosewall confirmed his status of best claycourt player in the world by defeating Laver in the final in four sets. Defeats followed against some of the upcoming 1967 amateur players. Rosewall was finalist to Laver at the Pacific Southwest Open, defeating the new US Open winner, Arthur Ashe, and in November captured the Wembley Pro tournament over WCT player, John Newcombe. At age 34 Rosewall was still ranked No. 3 in the world behind Laver and Ashe according to Lance Tingay and Bud Collins. Rino Tommasi ranked Rosewall 2 behind Laver.
1969
Rosewall was no longer the best claycourt player as Laver had taken his crown in the final of the French Open at Roland Garros. At Wimbledon, Rosewall lost in the third round to Bob Lutz and "confessed that for the first time in his career the fans disturbed his concentration". At the US Open, Rosewall lost in the quarter finals to Arthur Ashe. Rosewall was ranked No. 4 that year by Bud Collins and 6 by Rino Tommasi. He won three tournaments.1970
Being an NTL player at the beginning of 1970 he didn't play the Australian Open held at the White City Stadium in Sydney in January because NTL boss, George McCall, and his players thought that the prize money was too low for a Grand Slam tournament. In March, a tournament, sponsored by Dunlop, was organised at the same site, with a higher quality field because of better prize-money and a better date. Some of the same players as in the Australian Open were present and in addition not only the NTL pros participated but also some independent pros, such as Ilie Năstase, who usually did not make the trip to Australia. Laver won the tournament after defeating Rosewall in a five-set final watched by a crowd of 8,000. As both the NTL and the WCT boycotted the Roland Garros tournament because it refused to pay guarantees Rosewall also missed the second Grand Slam tournament of the year. All the best players met again at Wimbledon. This time a rested Rosewall reached the final and took Newcombe, his junior by -years, to five sets but ultimately succumbed. In July Rosewall became a WCT player after that organisation took over the NTL and its players. Two months later at the U.S. Open, one of the two 1970 Grand Slams with all the best players, Rosewall won over Newcombe in their semifinal match in three straight sets before defeating Tony Roche in the final to win his sixth Grand Slam tournament.To fight against the WCT and NTL promoters, who controlled their own players and did not allow them to compete where they wanted, Kramer introduced the Grand Prix tennis circuit in December 1969, open to all players. The first Grand Prix circuit was held in 1970 and comprised 20 tournaments from April to December. These tournaments gave points according to their categories and the players' performances with the top six ranked players invited to a season-ending tournament called the Masters. The amateurs and independent pros played in this circuit, while the contract pros firstly played their own circuit and eventually played in some Grand Prix tournaments. Rosewall and Laver performed well in both circuits. Rosewall was ranked third in the Grand Prix standings and finished third in the Masters behind winner Stan Smith and his 1970 nemesis Laver. Rosewall earned $140,455 in prize money.
After his 1967–1969 steady decline, 1970 saw a rejuvenated Rosewall who was just one set short of winning the Wimbledon and U.S. Open double. 1970 was a year where no player dominated the circuit, the seven leading tournaments were won by seven different players, and different arguments were given to designate the World No. 1. Rino Tommasi ranked Rosewall number 1 and Bud Collins ranked him 2 behind Newcombe. In his book Robert Geist ranked the three Australians Laver, Newcombe and Rosewall equal number ones.
1971
After his runner-up finishes at Sydney and Wimbledon and his victory at the US Open in 1970, Rosewall continued his good performances in 1971 in the great grass court tournaments. One year after the first Dunlop Open was held in Sydney, Rosewall was back in Sydney in March, this time for the Australian open held on the White City Courts. Because it was sponsored by Dunlop in 1971, all the World Championship Tennis players entered as well as some independent pros. Only Stan Smith, Cliff Richey, Clark Graebner, and the clay specialist players Ilie Năstase and Jan Kodeš were missing. Rosewall won the tournament, his second consecutive Grand Slam win and his seventh overall Grand Slam title, without losing a set and defeated Roy Emerson and Okker before beating Ashe in the final in straight sets.Rosewall and most other WCT players did not play the French Open; yet, Rosewall still tried to reach his seventies goal by winning Wimbledon. In the quarterfinals, Rosewall needed about four hours to defeat Richey in five sets, whereas Newcombe quickly defeated Colin Dibley. In the semifinals, the older Rosewall was no match for the younger Newcombe and lost in straight sets. Later in the summer, Rosewall and some other WCT players did not play the US Open because of the growing conflict between the International Lawn Tennis Federation and the WCT. The illnesses of both his sons was an additional reason for Rosewall not playing this tournament.
As a contract pro, Rosewall was not allowed to play the Davis Cup and thus concentrated mainly on the WCT circuit organised similarly to the Grand Prix circuit which was the equivalent for the independent pros: 20 tournaments, each giving the same points amount. The top eight players in ranking points were invited to the WCT Finals, an eight-man tournament, equivalent of the Grand Prix Masters for the WCT players, played in November in Houston and Dallas, USA. When the WCT players were off they could play tournaments on the Grand Prix circuit. The war between the ILTF and WCT climaxed in a ban by the ILTF beginning on 1 January 1972, of the WCT players from the Grand Prix circuit.
Rosewall ended third on the 1971 WCT circuit behind Laver and Okker and qualified for the WCT Finals. He won the title, beating Newcombe in the quarterfinals, defeating Okker in the semifinals and beating Laver in a four-sets final in what was considered at the time as the best match, with their 1970 Sydney final, between the two rivals since their 1968 French Open final. As a WCT player Rosewall played few Grand Prix tournaments but he had earned enough points to play the Grand Prix Masters held about ten days after his WCT Finals. He refused the invitation as he was tired after a long season and took his holidays at the end of the year.
In 1971 Rosewall won eight tournaments and 76 out of 97 matches and in direct confrontations trailed Newcombe 1–3, Laver 2–3 but led Smith 1–0. Collins ranked Rosewall third after Newcombe and Smith. Tingay ranked Rosewall 4th, Rino Tommasi 1st. Geist ranked Rosewall co-No. 1 tied with Newcombe and Smith. That year, as in 1970, there was no clear undisputed World No. 1.
1972
1972 saw a return to separate circuits because all traditional ILTF events held from January to July were forbidden to the WCT players. This included the Davis Cup but also Roland Garros and Wimbledon. The 1972 Australian Open organisers used a trick to avoid the ban of the WCT players. They held the tournament from 27 December 1971, four days before the ban could be applied, to 3 January 1972. Thus all contract as well as independent pros could enter but few were interested because it was held during Christmas and New Year's Day period. The draw included only eight non-Australian players. Rosewall reached the final in which he defeated Mal Anderson to win his fourth Australian title and the eighth, and last, Grand Slam title of his career and became the oldest Grand Slam male singles champion in the open era.. A fragile agreement in the spring of 1972 let the WCT players come back to the traditional circuit in August. The US Open, won by Ilie Năstase, was the greatest event of the year as only in this tournament were all the best players present with the exception of Tony Roche who suffered from a tennis elbow. Later that year two other tournaments had good fields with WCT and independent pros: the Pacific Southwest Open at Los Angeles and, to a lesser extent, Stockholm, both won by Stan Smith.In many 1972 rankings there were six or seven WCT players in the world top 10 so the $100,000 season-ending WCT Finals held in May in Dallas were considered as one of the major events of the year. The final, played between Rosewall and Laver, was considered one of the two best matches played in 1972, the other being the Wimbledon final, and the best Rosewall-Laver match of the open era. It was broadcast nationally in the U.S., viewed by twenty-three million people, and became known as the "match that made tennis in the United States." Rosewall won the last major title of his long career by defeating Laver in an epic five-set match which was decided by a tiebreak..
Because of the ILTF's ban once again Rosewall could not enter Wimbledon.
Open career: August 1972 through 1980 (and 1982)
1972
From August 1972 players could enter almost all the tournaments they wanted. The Association of Tennis Professionals was created during the US Open. Rosewall won seven tournaments in 1972, including the depleted Australian Open. Rosewall was ranked 2 in 1972 by Bud Collins and number 1 by Rino Tommasi. He lost in the second round of the 1972 U.S. Open to Mark Cox. "Rosewall was the picture of dismay and frustration, often looking to the gray, leaden skies as if seeking help. He once pounded his fist on the rain-slicked grass after missing a shot, several times batting balls angrily away after Cox had scored a point."1973
At the 1973 Australian Open, top seeded Rosewall was defeated by "virtual unknown" German Karl Meiler in his first match in straight sets in a big upset. "It just wasn't the vintage Rosewall stuff we have come to expect from the Little Master. He seldom middled the ball, and was generally out-manoeuvred by the West German. Rosewall would not have said that he had been taking antibiotics for a throat infection unless he had been asked. Nor would he have admitted to feeling poorly when he played unless he had been asked." Between May 1972 and April 1973 Rosewall captured only two minor titles, Tokyo WCT and Brisbane where he was the only Top 20 player.Rosewall did not play Wimbledon that year as the edition was boycotted by the ATP players. After an absence of 17 years Rosewall returned to Davis Cup play in November when he played a doubles match with Rod Laver in the interzonal final against Czechoslovakia.
His best performances in 1973 were firstly his semifinal at the US Open and secondly his third place at the WCT Finals. He also won at Houston WCT, Cleveland WCT, Charlotte WCT, Osaka and Tokyo. He was still ranked in the top 10. Tommasi ranked Rosewall 4, Tingay 6, ATP 6 and Collins 5.
1974
1974 was the first year since 1952 that Rosewall did not win a single tournament. However, he entered nine tournaments and reached three finals including Wimbledon and US Open. At Wimbledon, Rosewall beat Newcombe in the quarter finals in four sets. In the semi finals against Stan Smith, Rosewall was 2 sets to 0 and 5-3 down. Rosewall was match point down at 6-5 in the third set tie break, but won three points in succession to take the set and went on to win in five sets to reach the final. This was his last Wimbledon final, at the age of 39. Despite the strong support of the crowd, who were eager to see him finally claim a Wimbledon title, he lost to the 18 years younger Jimmy Connors. He was ranked between second and seventh place by many tennis journalists. He ranked only 9th in the ATP rankings because he played too few tournaments due to playing World Team Tennis1975–1982
Rosewall still stayed in the Top 10 in 1975 winning 5 tournaments and his two singles in Davis Cup against New Zealand. Rosewall made his last attempt at Wimbledon, at over 40, and as in his first Wimbledon Open he lost in the same round and against the same player.In 1976 Rosewall dropped out of the Top 10 in the ATP rankings but stayed in the Top 20, as he won three tournaments: Brisbane, Jackson WCT and Hong Kong.
1977 was Rosewall's last year in the Top 20 in the ATP rankings, which means he was one of the best players for 26 years. In January he reached the semifinal of the 1977 Australian Open, losing in four sets to eventual champion Roscoe Tanner. He won his last two tournaments titles in Hong Kong and Tokyo respectively at the age of 43. Rosewall played in the Sydney Indoor Tournament in October 1977. Approaching his 43rd birthday he beat the No. 3 in the world Vitas Gerulaitis in a straight-sets semifinal and lost to Jimmy Connors in the final in three straight sets. The following year he lost in the semifinals at 44 years of age. Afterwards, he gradually retired. In October 1980 at the Melbourne indoor tournament, at nearly 46 years of age, Rosewall defeated American Butch Walts, ranked World No. 49, in the first round before losing to Paul McNamee. Rosewall made a very brief comeback at 47 years of age in a non-ATP tournament, the New South Wales Hardcourt Championships in Grafton in February 1982, where he reached the final, losing to Brett Edwards in two sets.
In 1972 Rosewall had been the second tennis pro to pass $1 million career earnings. In early 1978 his career earnings were $1,510,267.
Rivalries
Gonzales and Laver are the two players that Rosewall most often met. His meetings with Laver are better documented and detailed than those with Gonzales.Except the first year and the last year they played, the statistics of their meetings show a domination by Laver; but they are biased before when Rosewall was the better of the two Australians in 1963.
In the Open Era a match score of 23–9 in favour of Laver can be documented, overall a score of 80–64.
Including tournaments and one-night stands, Rosewall and Gonzales played at least 182 matches, all of them as professionals, with some results from the barnstorming pro tours either lost or partially recorded. A match score of 107–75 in favor of Gonzales can be documented.
Playing style and assessment
In his 1979 autobiography, Kramer wrote that "Rosewall was a backcourt player when he came into the pros, but he learned very quickly how to play the net. Eventually, for that matter, he became a master of it, as much out of physical preservation as for any other reason. I guarantee you that Kenny wouldn't have lasted into his forties as a world-class player if he hadn't learned to serve and volley." His sliced backhand was his strongest shot, and, along with the very different backhand of former player Don Budge, has generally been considered one of the best, if not the best, backhands yet seen.His one-handed backhand which he usually played with backspin was rated as one of the best backhand shots in the history of the game.
He is considered to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Kramer included the Australian in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time, albeit in the second echelon.
During his long playing career he remained virtually injury-free, something that helped him to still win tournaments at the age of 43 and remain ranked in the top 15 in the world. Although he was a finalist 4 times at Wimbledon, and also at the Wimbledon Pro in 1967, it was the one major tournament that eluded him.
Rosewall was a finalist at the 1974 US Open at 39 years 310 days old, making him the oldest player to participate in two Grand Slam finals in the same year. Before that, in 1972 Rosewall won the Australian Open final at age 37 and 2 months making him the oldest male player to win a Grand Slam singles title as of 2017.
In 1995 Pancho Gonzales said of him: "He became better as he got older, more of a complete player. With the exception of me and Frank Sedgman, he could handle everybody else. Just the way he played, he got under Hoad's skin, but he had a forehand weakness and a serve weakness." In 201 matches against Gonzales he won 85 and lost 116. In 135 matches against Lew Hoad he won 84 and lost 51.
In the 2012 Tennis Channel series "100 Greatest of All Time" Rosewall was ranked number 13 among all time male tennis players, with only two Australian tennis players ranked ahead of him, Laver and Emerson.
Career statistics
Grand Slam tournament finals
Singles: 16Pro-Slam tournament finals
* Singles : 15 titles, 4 runner-ups| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1957 | Wembley Championship | Indoor |  Pancho Segura | 1–6, 6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 1958 | French Pro Championship | Clay |  Lew Hoad | 3–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–0 |
| Win | 1960 | French Pro Championship | Clay | Lew Hoad | 6–2, 2–6, 6–2, 6–1 |
| Win | 1960 | Wembley Championship | Indoor | Pancho Segura | 5–7, 8–6, 6–1, 6–3 |
| Win | 1961 | French Pro Championship | Clay | Pancho Gonzales | 2–6, 6–4, 6–3, 8–6 |
| Win | 1961 | Wembley Championship | Indoor | Lew Hoad | 6–3, 3–6, 6–2, 6–3 |
| Win | 1962 | French Pro Championship | Clay |  Andrés Gimeno | 3–6, 6–2, 7–5, 6–2 |
| Win | 1962 | Wembley Championship | Indoor | Lew Hoad | 6–4, 5–7, 15–13, 7–5 |
| Win | 1963 | U.S. Pro Championship | Grass | Rod Laver | 6–4, 6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 1963 | French Pro Championship | Wood | Rod Laver | 6–8, 6–4, 5–7, 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 1963 | Wembley Championship | Indoor | Lew Hoad | 6–4, 6–2, 4–6, 6–3 |
| Win | 1964 | French Pro Championship | Wood | Rod Laver | 6–3, 7–5, 3–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1964 | Wembley Championship | Indoor | Rod Laver | 5–7, 6–4, 7–5, 6–8, 6–8 |
| Win | 1965 | U.S. Pro Championship | Grass | Rod Laver | 6–4, 6–3, 6–3 |
| Win | 1965 | French Pro Championship | Wood | Rod Laver | 6–3, 6–2, 6–4 |
| Win | 1966 | French Pro Championship | Wood | Rod Laver | 6–3, 6–2, 14–12 |
| Loss | 1966 | Wembley Championship | Indoor | Rod Laver | 2–6, 2–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 1966 | U.S. Pro Championship | Grass | Rod Laver | 4–6, 6–4, 2–6, 10–8, 3–6 |
| Loss | 1967 | Wembley Championship | Indoor | Rod Laver | 6–2, 1–6, 6–1, 6–8, 2–6 |
- * other events
Performance timeline
Records
All-time records
Open Era records
- These records were attained in Open Era of tennis.
| Championship | Years | Record accomplished | Player tied |
| Australian Open | 1971 | Won title without losing a set | Roger Federer |
| Australian Open | 1972 | Oldest singles champion | Stands alone |
| US Open | 1970 | Oldest singles champion | Stands alone |
| US Open | 1974 | Oldest player in a Grand Slam final | Stands alone |
| WCT Finals | 1971–1972 | 2 consecutive titles | John McEnroe |
| WCT Finals | 1971–1973 | 87.50% winning percentage | Stands alone |
Note: The draw of Pro majors was significantly smaller than the traditional Grand Slam tournaments; usually they only had 16 or even fewer professional players, this meant only four rounds of play instead of the modern six or seven rounds.
Personal life
Ken Rosewall married Wilma McIver at St. John's Cathedral, Brisbane, Queensland on 6 October 1956. It was described in press reports as Brisbane's society wedding of the year with over 2000 people in attendance outside the church, and 800 guests in the Cathedral. The couple then moved to Turramurra, New South Wales and have since lived in Queensland. His wife died on 27 April 2020.Ken Rosewall was a non Executive Director of the failed stockbroking firm BBY and his son, Glenn Rosewall, was the company's Executive Director.
Honours
In the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1971, he was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire. In the Australia Day Honours of 1979, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia. Rosewall was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1980. In 1985 he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. He is an Australian Living Treasure.The Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre's central court is the Ken Rosewall Arena, a covered arena.