Watson Washburn

---

title: "Watson Washburn" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["american-male-tennis-players", "sportspeople-from-manhattan", "tennis-players-from-new-york-city", "1894-births", "1973-deaths", "international-tennis-hall-of-fame-inductees", "olympic-tennis-players-for-the-united-states", "tennis-players-at-the-1924-summer-olympics", "harvard-crimson-men's-tennis-players", "columbia-law-school-alumni", "20th-century-american-sportsmen"] description: "American tennis player" topic_path: "law" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watson_Washburn" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American tennis player ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox tennis biography"]

Field	Value
name	Watson Washburn
image	Watson Washburn 1919.jpg
fullname	Watson McLean Washburn
country	United States
birth_date
birth_place	New York City, New York, United States
death_date
death_place	New York City, New York, United States
college	Harvard College
Columbia Law School
turnedpro	1910 (amateur tour
retired	1937
plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
tennishofyear	1965
tennishofid	watson-washburn
highestsinglesranking	No. 5 (U.S. ranking)
Wimbledonresult	QF (1924)
USOpenresult	QF (1911, 1912, 1913, 1916, 1920)
OthertournamentsDoubles	yes
WimbledonDoublesresult	F (1924)
USOpenDoublesresult	F (1921, 1923)
Mixed
Team	yes
DavisCupresult	W (1921)
::

|name = Watson Washburn |image = Watson Washburn 1919.jpg |caption = |fullname = Watson McLean Washburn |country = United States |residence = |birth_date = |birth_place = New York City, New York, United States |death_date = |death_place = New York City, New York, United States |height = |college = Harvard College Columbia Law School |turnedpro = 1910 (amateur tour |retired = 1937 |plays = Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |careerprizemoney = |tennishofyear = 1965 |tennishofid = watson-washburn |website = |singlesrecord = |singlestitles = |highestsinglesranking = No. 5 (U.S. ranking) |currentsinglesranking = |AustralianOpenresult = |AustralianOpenjuniorresult = |AustralianOpenseniorresult = |FrenchOpenresult = |FrenchOpenjuniorresult = |FrenchOpenseniorresult = |Wimbledonresult = QF (1924) |Wimbledonjuniorresult = |Wimbledonseniorresult = |USOpenresult = QF (1911, 1912, 1913, 1916, 1920) |OthertournamentsDoubles = yes |doublesrecord = |doublestitles = |highestdoublesranking = |currentdoublesranking = |grandslamsdoublesresults = |AustralianOpenDoublesresult = |FrenchOpenDoublesresult = |WimbledonDoublesresult = F (1924) |USOpenDoublesresult = F (1921, 1923) |OlympicsDoublesresult = |Mixed = |mixedrecord = |mixedtitles = |AustralianOpenMixedresult = |FrenchOpenMixedresult = |WimbledonMixedresult = |USOpenMixedresult = |OthertournamentsMixedDoubles = |OlympicMixedDoublesresult = |Team = yes |DavisCupresult = W (1921) ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Bundy,_McGloughlin,_Touchard,_Washburn.jpg" caption="[[Thomas Bundy]], [[Maurice Evans McLoughlin]], [[Gustave F. Touchard]] and Watson Washburn circa 1914-1915"] ::

Watson McLean Washburn (June 13, 1894 – December 2, 1973) was an American tennis player who was in the top 10 in the US seven times between 1914 and 1922. He was also one of the founders of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, to which he was inducted in 1965.

Biography

He was born in Manhattan on June 13, 1894.

He was primarily a doubles player and teamed with Richard Norris Williams to take the Davis Cup in 1921. Also with Williams, he reached two US Championship finals and one at Wimbledon. He won the US Intercollegiate Doubles Championship in 1913 and the Indoor Doubles Championship in 1915. In July 1915, Washburn and Williams won the doubles title at the Eastern Tennis Championship in Brookline defeating Irving C. Wright and Wallace F. Johnson in four sets.

In 1917, Washburn joined the American Expeditionary Forces and served during World War I in France as a captain in the artillery.

In 1921, Washburn defeated Richard Norris Williams in the final of the Newport Casino Invitational in five sets.

After his tennis career, he became an assistant state prosecutor.

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (3 runners-up)

::data[format=table]

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1921	U.S. National Championships	Grass	USA Richard Norris Williams	USA Vincent Richards
USA Bill Tilden	11–13, 10–12, 1–6
Loss	1923	U.S. National Championships	Grass	USA Richard Norris Williams	RSA Brian Norton
USA Bill Tilden	6–3, 2–6, 3–6, 7–5, 2–6
Loss	1924	Wimbledon	Grass	USA Richard Norris Williams	USA Frank Hunter
USA Vincent Richards	3–6, 6–3, 10–8, 6–8, 3–6
::

References

References

1. (December 3, 1973). "Watson Washburn, Tennis Star on Davis Cup Team in '20's, Dies". The New York Times.
2. "Watson Washburn".
3. "Watson Washburn". Olympedia.
4. (August 1, 1915). "Eastern Tennis Championship". The New York Times.
5. (January 21, 1919). "Watson Washburn Writes of Flourishing Tennis Prospects in European Lands". Washington Daily News.
6. Paul B. Williams. (1921). "United States Lawn Tennis Association and the World War". Robert Hamilton Company.
7. (August 7, 1921). "Washburn Victor in Tennis Final". The New York Times.
8. (December 3, 1973). "Watson Washburn, Tennis Star On Davis Cup Team in '20's, Dies". The New York Times.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::