Pierre Pellizza

Pierre Pellizza (10 July 1917 – 8 June 1974) was a French tennis player in the years before and after World War 2. In 1948 he settled in America. His younger brother was tennis and badminton player Henri Pellizza. Allison Danzig of The New York Times said of Pierre Pellizza: "Pellizza was a bulldog for tenacity. He showed a forehand that rivalled Petra's...and a backhand that excelled his countryman's".[1] The best results of Pierre Pellizza's career came at Monte Carlo, where he won the title in 1939 and 1946 (beating Yvon Petra in both finals).[2] Pellizza played Davis Cup from 1938 to 1947.

Pierre Pellizza
Country (sports) France
 United States
Born10 July 1917
Lourdes, France
Died8 June 1974 (aged 56)
Louisville, Kentucky, United States
Turned pro1948 (amateur tour from 1935)
Retired1964
Singles
Grand Slam singles results
French OpenQF (1946, 1947)
WimbledonQF (1946)
US Open4R (1936, 1946)
Professional majors
US ProLast 16 (1948, 1949, 1950)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
WimbledonQF (1946, 1947)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Wimbledon4R (1946)

At the French Championships, Pellizza reached the quarter-finals in 1946 (where he lost to Tom Brown) and 1947 (where he beat 8th seed Enrique Morea before losing to Tom Brown).[3] At Wimbledon his best performance was in 1946, when he reached the quarterfinals (he came from two sets down to beat Dragutin Mitić before losing to Jaroslav Drobný).[4] At the U.S. Championships, Pellizza's best results were the last 16 in 1936 (where he lost to Bitsy Grant) and 1946 (where he lost a five set match to former champion Don McNeill)[5] He turned professional in 1948. Like Paul Féret and Henri Cochet, Pellizza was later reinstated as an amateur. He played the French Championships for the last time in 1957, when he lost in the first round to Andrés Gimeno.[6]

References
  1. "Pierre Pellizza, tennis star, ex-French Champion, is dead". New York Times. AP. 9 June 1974. p. 59.
  2. Allan Little (2014). The Golden Days of Tennis on the French Riviera, 1874-1939. London: Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum. pp. 298, 416. ISBN 978-0906741542.
  3. "French Open 1947". www.tennis.co.nf.
  4. "Player archive – Pierre Pelizza". Wimbledon. AELTC.
  5. Talbert, Bill (1967). Tennis Observed. Boston: Barre Publishers. p. 122. OCLC 172306.
  6. "French Open 1957". www.tennis.co.nf.


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