Portal:Tennis/Selected biography archive
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[edit] June 1 to June 21, 2006
Image:Lacoste in USA 1926.jpg
Jean René Lacoste (July 2, 1904 - October 12, 1996) was a French tennis player and businessman, nicknamed the Crocodile by his fans and now known as the namesake of the apparel company Lacoste, the tennis shirt of which he introduced in 1929.
Lacoste was one of The Four Musketeers, France's tennis stars who dominated the game in the 1920s and early 1930s. He won seven Grand Slam singles titles, winning at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the United States Open, and three Grand Slam doubles titles; he was also a finalist in the mixed doubles tournaments in the 1926 and 1927 United States Opens. In the Games of the VIII Olympiad, Lacoste teamed with fellow Musketeer Jean Borotra to win the bronze medal in the men's doubles event; the other Muskeeters, Jacques Brugnon and Henri Cochet, won the silver. He also finished the 1926 and 1927 seasons ranked first in the world in rankings compiled by The Daily Telegraph. In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer, a longtime tennis promoter, included Lacoste in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time.
In 1929, Lacoste wed Simone de la Chaume, a champion golfer, with whom he produced four children, including a daughter, Catherine, who won the 1967 United States Women's Open Championship in golf.
