József Asbóth

József Asbóth (Hungarian: [ˈjoːʒɛf ˈɒʒboːt]; 18 September 1917 – 22 September 1986) was a Hungarian tennis player. Born to a family of railway workers,[3] he is best remembered for being the first Hungarian and first player from Eastern Europe to win a Grand Slam singles title, at the 1947 French Open (where as the fifth seed he beat Yvon Petra, Tom Brown and Eric Sturgess).[4] He remains the only Hungarian male player to win a Grand Slam singles title. Asbóth was a clay court specialist who was good at keeping the ball in play.[5]

The native form of this personal name is Asbóth József. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.
József Asbóth
Country (sports) Hungary
Born(1917-09-18)18 September 1917
Szombathely, Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary
Died22 September 1986(1986-09-22) (aged 69)
München, West Germany
Turned pro1939 (amateur tour)
Retired1957
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record219–71 (75.5%)[1]
Career titles48[1]
Highest rankingNo. 8 (1948, John Olliff)[2]
Grand Slam singles results
French OpenW (1947)
WimbledonSF (1948)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
French OpenSF (1947)
Commemorative plaque in Budapest District XI, Bartók Béla Street No 75.

Asbóth also reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 1948 (beating Sturgess and Brown, then losing to John Bromwich).[6] Hungary's Communist government had let him leave the country only after the personal warrant of the Swedish King Gustaf V that Asbóth would return to his homeland and wasn't going to emigrate.[3] In 1941, he was a member of the Hungarian team that won the Central European Cup.

Asboth won the Open de Nice Côte d'Azur or Nice French Riviera Open tournament in 1947 defeating Bob Falkenburg and again in 1948 defeating Budge Patty and Jaroslav Drobný in the semifinal and final. He won the Monte-Carlo Masters tournament in 1948 defeating Patty in the semifinal in five sets.

Asbóth was ranked World No. 8 by John Olliff of The Daily Telegraph in 1948 (and No. 9 in 1947).[2]

His Davis Cup record was 24 wins and 17 losses. He won the Hungarian National Tennis Championships 13 times.[7]

After his career, he became responsible for the next generation of tennis players at the Belgian Tennis Federation. He later became a trainer in Munich.

In 1993 a street was named after Asbóth in Szombathely, the city where he was born.[8]

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 title)
Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Winner1947French ChampionshipsClaySouth Africa Eric Sturgess8–6, 7–5, 6–4

References
  1. "Players: Asboth, Jozef". The Tennis Base. Madrid: Tennismem SL. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  2. United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 426.
  3. Lass, Gábor (2011-06-29). "A magyar tenisz végvára" [Last resort of Hungarian tennis]. demokrata.hu (in Hungarian). Budapest, Hungary: Magyar Demokrata. Archived from the original on 2013-07-28. Retrieved 2012-02-01.
  4. "French Open 1947". www.tennis.co.nf.
  5. "Jozsef Asboth". www.tennis.co.nf.
  6. "Wimbledon 1948". www.tennis.co.nf.
  7. Árvay, Sándor (2009-01-05). "Bajnokaink" [Our champions] (in Hungarian). Budapest, Hungary: Magyar Tenisz Szövetség [Hungarian Tennis Association]. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2010.
  8. "Asbóth József" (in Hungarian). Webpage of the city of Szombathely, Hungary. Archived from the original on 2007-12-09. Retrieved 2008-03-02.


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