James Willard
Australian tennis player
title: "James Willard" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["australasian-championships-(tennis)-champions", "australian-male-tennis-players", "1893-births", "1968-deaths", "grand-slam-(tennis)-champions-in-mixed-doubles", "olympic-tennis-players-for-australia", "tennis-players-at-the-1924-summer-olympics", "professional-tennis-players-before-the-open-era", "tennis-players-from-new-south-wales", "sportsmen-from-new-south-wales", "20th-century-australian-sportsmen"] description: "Australian tennis player" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Willard" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Australian tennis player ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox tennis biography"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | James Willard |
| fullname | Arthur James Willard |
| image | TT3215 Jim Willard.png |
| caption | 1929 portrait by Reynolds |
| country | Australia |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Tambaroora, New South Wales |
| death_date | |
| height | |
| plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| AustralianOpenresult | F (1926) |
| FrenchOpenresult | 3R (1930) |
| Wimbledonresult | 2R (1924) |
| Othertournaments | yes |
| Olympicsresult | 3R (1924) |
| AustralianOpenDoublesresult | F (1928) |
| FrenchOpenDoublesresult | F (1930) |
| WimbledonDoublesresult | QF (1930) |
| OlympicsDoublesresult | 2R (1924) |
| Mixed | yes |
| AustralianOpenMixedresult | W (1924, 1925) |
| WimbledonMixedresult | 3R (1930) |
| :: |
| name = James Willard | fullname = Arthur James Willard | image = TT3215 Jim Willard.png | caption = 1929 portrait by Reynolds | country = Australia | birth_date = | birth_place = Tambaroora, New South Wales | death_date = | death_place = | height= | plays = Right-handed (one-handed backhand) | AustralianOpenresult = F (1926) | FrenchOpenresult = 3R (1930) | Wimbledonresult = 2R (1924) | USOpenresult = | Othertournaments = yes | Olympicsresult = 3R (1924) | AustralianOpenDoublesresult = F (1928) | FrenchOpenDoublesresult = F (1930) | WimbledonDoublesresult = QF (1930) | OthertournamentsDoubles = | OlympicsDoublesresult = 2R (1924) | Mixed = yes | AustralianOpenMixedresult = W (1924, 1925) | WimbledonMixedresult = 3R (1930)
Arthur James Willard (22 April 1893 – 10 June 1968), better known as Jim Willard, was an Australian tennis player.
Tennis career
Willard won two mixed doubles titles alongside Daphne Akhurst at the Australasian Championships, the future Australian Open, in 1924 and 1925. Willard also finished singles runner-up to John Hawkes in 1926 and reached the semifinals in 1927 and 1930. He was the mixed doubles runner-up in Australia in 1926 and 1927, and doubles runner-up at the Australian Championships in 1928 and at the French Championships in 1930. He participated in the 1924 Wimbledon Championships, losing in the second round of the singles event. He returned at the 1930 Championships where he lost in the first round of the singles event, reached the quarterfinal of the doubles with Harry Hopman and made it to the third round of the mixed doubles partnering Lolette Payot.
Willard competed in the singles and doubles event at the 1924 Summer Olympics. In the singles he made it to the third round before being defeated by Sydney Jacob. In the doubles event he teamed up with James Bayley and reached the second round in which they lost to eventual Olympic champions Vincent Richards and Frank Hunter.
Willard won the Sydney metropolitan championships in October 1929 after a victory in the final against Jack Crawford.
He became a professional player in February 1933.
From 1933 to 1941, Willard had an endorsement deal with the Alexander Patent Racket Company in Launceston, Tasmania, to produce a range of 'Jim Willard' tennis racquets.
Grand Slam finals
Singles (1 runner-up)
::data[format=table]
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1926 | Australasian Championships | Grass | AUS John Hawkes | 6–1, 6–3, 6–1 |
| :: |
Doubles (2 runners-up)
::data[format=table]
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1928 | Australian Championships | Grass | AUS Edgar Moon | FRA Jean Borotra | |
| FRA Jacques Brugnon | 2–6, 6–4, 4–6, 4–6 | |||||
| Loss | 1930 | French Championships | Clay | AUS Harry Hopman | FRA Henri Cochet | |
| FRA Jacques Brugnon | 3–6, 7–9, 3–6 | |||||
| :: |
Mixed doubles (2 titles, 2 runners-up)
::data[format=table]
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1924 | Australasian Championships | Grass | AUS Daphne Akhurst | AUS Esna Boyd Robertson | |
| AUS Gar Hone | 6–3, 6–4 | |||||
| Win | 1925 | Australasian Championships | Grass | AUS Daphne Akhurst | AUS Sylvia Lance Harper | |
| AUS Robert Schlesinger | 6–4, 6–4 | |||||
| Loss | 1926 | Australasian Championships | Grass | AUS Daphne Akhurst | AUS Esna Boyd Robertson | |
| AUS John Hawkes | 2–6, 4–6 | |||||
| Loss | 1927 | Australian Championships | Grass | AUS Youtha Anthony | AUS Esna Boyd Robertson | |
| AUS John Hawkes | 1–6, 3–6 | |||||
| :: |
References
References
- "Wimbledon players archive – James Willard". AELTC.
- "James Willard". Olympedia.
- "Jim Willard".
- "Anthony Willard – Olympic Results". Australian Olympic Committee.
- (28 October 1929). "Tennis.". [[The Northern Star]].
- (15 February 1933). "Tennis Pro.". [[The Sun (Sydney).
- Green, Christopher. (2011). "What a racket! : the illustrated story of the Alexander Patent Racket Co. Ltd., Launceston, Tasmania, Australia 1925-1961". Bokprint Pty. Ltd.
- (6 April 1933). "Advertising". Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate.
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