Australian tennis player Rod Laver is the only person to win the Grand Slam twice (1962, 1969). He won 11 Grand Slam singles and was Wimbledon champion four times. In 1971 he became the first professional tennis player to pass the $1 million mark in total earnings.
The main stadium and centre court of Melbourne Park, where the Australian Open is played in January, is the Rod Laver Arena named in his honor.
Winning the Grand Slam is one of the highest distinctions in the world of international tennis. To win it twice is Rod Laver's unsurpassed record to the present time.
The Grand Slam
To win the Grand Slam, a tennis player must win the singles title in the same calendar year in four of the world's premier tennis tournaments: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open.
None has won it twice, before or since Rod Laver.
Queenslander
Rod Laver was born on August 9, 1938, in Rockhampton, Queensland, 640 kilometres north of Brisbane.
First international win
His first international triumph was winning the US Junior Championship at the age of 17.
Hall of Fame
In 1981, Rod Laver was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, in Newport, Rhode Island.
Australia Post honored Rod Laver, together with fellow Australian tennis star Margaret Court, with an Australia Post Legends Award which placed his picture on an Australian stamp.
Stroke
Rod Laver suffered a major stroke in 1998 while being interviewed for an ESPN series on the greatest athletes of the 20th century. He has recovered from that stroke.
