Stanley Roger Smith (born December 14, 1946) is an American former professional tennis player. A world No. 1 player and two-time major singles champion (at the 1971 US Open and 1972 Wimbledon Championships), Smith also paired with Bob Lutz to create one of the most successful doubles teams of all time.
In 1970, Smith won the inaugural year-end championships title. In 1972, he was the year-end world No. 1 singles player. In 1973, he won his second and last year end championship title at the Dallas WCT Finals. In addition, he won four Grand Prix Championship Series titles.
Smith is a past President of the International Tennis Hall of Fame and an ITHF Life Trustee. Outside tennis circles, Smith is best known as the namesake of a line of tennis shoes made by Adidas.
Early life Smith was born in Pasadena, California on December 14, 1946. He was the youngest of three sons. When he was 15 he was sponsored by the Pasadena Tennis Patrons, an organization that helped junior tennis players. At the age of 16, in 1963 he saw Arthur Ashe, who was three years older than him, play at the Davis Cup, and, inspired, went home and wrote down a set of goals for himself, which included "be best in the world". In his later high school years he got sponsorship from the Southern California Tennis Association and at the urging of Perry T. Jones, the association's head, he began playing doubles with Bob Lutz. He was also coached by Pancho Segura on the public courts of Pasadena.
In 1964 at the age of 17 he won the U.S. Junior 18-and-under championships. From 1965 through 1968 he attended the University of Southern California where he was a three-time All-American. He won the 1968 NCAA Division I Singles title and in 1967 and 1968 the Doubles title with Bob Lutz.
On December 14, 1970, his 24th birthday, he got his draft notice and two days later was inducted into the U.S. Army. Recognizing him as a unique asset, the military allowed him to continue to compete in tournaments, and he spent time on recruitment speaking tours and gave clinics at military bases and inner-city areas. He served for two years.
Career In 1971 Smith was seeded fourth for Wimbledon. Smith didn’t drop a set in the first three rounds. He met Roy Emerson in the fourth round, defeating the Australian 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, 9-7. He beat the New Zealander Onny Parun in straight sets in the quarters, before beating fellow American Tony Gorman in the semi-finals. Smith lost in the Wimbledon final to Australian John Newcombe in five sets. One analyst stated “Although both men relied on power, there were relatively few errors despite the fierce struggle". Smith entered the US Open as the second seed. He eased through the first two rounds before beating Tom Leonard in the third round. Smith beat the Czech Milan Holecek in the fourth round after his opponent retired midway through the second set. Victories against Marty Riessen and Tom Okker followed as Smith set up a final against Jan Kodes. Smith beat Jan Kodeš in the final of the US championships in four sets, winning his first Grand Slam title. After losing the first set, Smith changed his tactics. "I decided I would hit slower but put more spin on my serve" said Smith afterwards and he also took charge at the net more. That year Smith and John Newcombe were joint recipients of The Martini and Rossi Award, voted for by 11 journalists and were co-ranked world No. 1 by Judith Elian.
In 1972 Smith reached the quarter finals of the French Open for a second consecutive year. He went into the 1972 Wimbledon Championship as top seed. The first two rounds saw him achieve straight sets victories over Hans Joachim Plotz and Hank Irvine. He beat American Sandy Mayer in the next round and then beat Australian Ian Fletcher to qualify for the quarter finals. He defeated Alex Metreveli in the quarters to face off against Jan Kodes in the semi-finals. In a rematch of the US Open final, Smith beat his opponent 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-5. Smith beat second seed Ilie Năstase in the Wimbledon final in five sets. "Old-timers at the Club, who've seen all the finals back to the 1930's, said the match was the best since Australia's Jack Crawford beat Ellsworth Vines of America, 6-4 in the fifth, to win in 1933." Smith went into the US Open as top seed hoping to defend his title. In the fourth round Smith beat Andres Gimeno in a five set thriller. However, he was unable to progress beyond the quarter-finals, losing to Arthur Ashe. Nastase won the title. That year Smith won the 'Martini and Rossi' Award, voted for by a panel of journalists and was ranked world No. 1 by Elian, Tingay, World Tennis, Collins, Frank Rostron and Rex Bellamy.The Times (London), 13 December 1972, p. 9
1973 saw Smith have a less successful year in the Grand Slams. After failing to progress beyond the fourth round of Roland Garros he missed Wimbledon in its "boycott year" when many leading tour players withdrew. Despite his disappointments in the biggest tournaments, Smith defeated the legendary Australian Rod Laver at both the Atlanta WCT and the St Louis WCT, as well as beating him in the Brussels WCT, marking three significant victories over one of the greatest players to play the game. He had a stronger showing at the US Open. Smith reached the quarter finals and beat Onny Parun to set up a match against Jan Kodes in the semi finals and beat. Smith was defeated by Kodes in four sets.
1974 saw Smith once again advance to the latter stages of Wimbledon. At the semi-finals stage he was beaten by the Australian Ken Rosewall. He reached the quarter-finals at the US open for a fifth consecutive year, but suffered defeat to unseeded American Roscoe Tanner in the quarters. This would be the last time Smith reached the latter stages of a Grand Slam singles tournament. He won the Doubles event of the tournament with fellow American Bob Lutz. In 1973 Smith won the World Championship Tennis Finals, beating Arthur Ashe in the final in four sets.
In 1975, Smith win the Australian Indoor Championships, but had to wait two years to win his next tournament, The Pacific Southwest Open in 1977. 1978 saw him lose to Jimmy Connors in the final of the Denver Open. He managed to win the US Open doubles titles in 1978 with partner Bob Lutz as they continued their impressive partnership. He won his last Singles title by beating Johan Kriek in the final of the Frankfurt Grand Prix in 1980. 1980 saw him return his US Open doubles crown, again being partnered by Lutz. Smith’s last appearance at a Grand Slam doubles event final came in 1981, where he and Lutz finished runners-up at Wimbledon.
Legacy In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, ranked Smith as one of the 21 best players of all time.Kramer considered the best player ever to have been either Don Budge (for consistent play) or Ellsworth Vines (at the height of his game). The next four best were, chronologically, Bill Tilden, Fred Perry, Bobby Riggs, and Pancho Gonzales. After these six came the "second echelon" of Rod Laver, Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall, Gottfried von Cramm, Ted Schroeder, Jack Crawford, Pancho Segura, Frank Sedgman, Tony Trabert, John Newcombe, Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Björn Borg, and Jimmy Connors. He felt unable to rank Henri Cochet and René Lacoste accurately but felt they were among the very best.
Smith was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.
In 2005, TENNIS magazine ranked Smith as 35th in its "40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS Era".
Following his playing career, Smith became active as a coach for the United States Tennis Association. He has his own tennis academy with Billy Stearns, located on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
Smith is the subject of the 2024 documentary film Who is Stan Smith?, by filmmaker Danny Lee. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a rating of 100%, based on five reviews.
Tennis shoes To the general public, Stan Smith is probably best known for the line of tennis shoes which Adidas renamed after him in 1978. Although the Adidas Stan Smith shoe is not recommended for modern tennis playing, it continues to be a widely available iconic fashion brand.Tennis.com – Blog – The Pro Shop by Bill Gray – My Adidas
Personal life In 1974, Smith married Princeton University tennis player, Marjory Gengler. They later mentored South African tennis player Mark Mathabane, helping increase pressure on the South African government to end apartheid. Smith lives in Hilton Head with his wife and four children, all of whom competed in collegiate tennis.
Grand Slam finals Singles: 3 (2 titles, 1 runner-up) ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 1971 Wimbledon Grass John Newcombe 3–6, 7–5, 6–2, 4–6, 4–6Win 1971 US Open Grass Jan Kodeš 3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 7–6(5–3)Win 1972 Wimbledon Grass Ilie Năstase 4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 4–6, 7–5
Doubles: 13 (5 titles, 8 runners-up) ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1968 US Open Grass Bob Lutz Arthur Ashe Andrés Gimeno 11–9, 6–1, 7–5Win 1970 Australian Open Grass Bob Lutz John Alexander Phil Dent 6–3, 8–6, 6–3Loss 1971 French Open Clay Tom Gorman Arthur Ashe Marty Riessen 6–4, 3–6, 4–6, 9–11Loss 1971 US Open Grass Erik van Dillen John Newcombe Roger Taylor 7–6, 3–6, 6–7, 6–4, 6–7Loss 1972 Wimbledon Grass Erik van Dillen Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan 2–6, 2–6, 7–9Loss 1974 French Open Clay Bob Lutz Dick Crealy Onny Parun 3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 7–5, 1–6Loss 1974 Wimbledon Grass Bob Lutz John Newcombe Tony Roche 6–8, 4–6, 4–6Win 1974 US Open Grass Bob Lutz Patricio Cornejo Jaime Fillol 6–3, 6–3Win 1978 US Open Hard Bob Lutz Marty Riessen Sherwood Stewart 1–6, 7–5, 6–3Loss 1979 US Open Hard Bob Lutz Peter Fleming John McEnroe 2–6, 4–6Loss 1980 Wimbledon Grass Bob Lutz Peter McNamara Paul McNamee 6–7, 3–6, 7–6, 4–6Win 1980 US Open Hard Bob Lutz Peter Fleming John McEnroe 7–6, 3–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–3Loss 1981 Wimbledon Grass Bob Lutz Peter Fleming John McEnroe 4–6, 4–6, 4–6
Career finals Note: Smith won 10 titles before the Open Era
Singles: 95 (64 titles, 31 runners-up)