Lleyton Hewitt, the youngest male player to be ranked world number one, is set to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in the Class of 2021.
Key points:
- Hewitt described it as the “ultimate recognition”
- He was the youngest player achieve year-end number one status
- The Original Nine have also been elected into the International Tennis Hall of Fame
The Australian star won grand slam singles titles at the US Open in 2001 and Wimbledon in 2002 and in November 2001 reached the top of the rankings at the age of just 20 years.
Hewitt is also the youngest player to achieve year-end number one status, before going on to help Australia win two Davis Cups and 30 professional singles tournaments, including back-to-back Masters Cup titles.
“When you are competing, you’re so focused on training and your results that week or that year, you don’t really look ahead to something like this,” Hewitt, 40, said.
Hewitt was the only one of five nominees in the player category — the others being Juan Carlos Ferrero, Sergi Bruguera, Jonas Bjorkman and Lisa Raymond — who was voted in.
Original Nine inducted into International Tennis Hall of Fame
Billie Jean King and the other members of the Original Nine, who laid the groundwork for the women’s professional tour, are the first group elected together.
Last year marked the 50th anniversary of when King, elected to the Hall in 1987 for her accomplishments on the court, and eight other players — Peaches Bartkowicz, Rosie Casals, Judy Dalton, Julie Heldman, Kerry Melville Reid, Kristy Pigeon, Nancy Richey and Valerie Ziegenfuss — took a stand against the disparity in prize money between men and women in the sport at the time.
That set the stage for the Virginia Slims circuit and eventually today’s WTA Tour.
Now all four grand slam tournaments offer equal prize money to women and men.
The induction ceremony is scheduled for July 17 at the Hall in Newport, Rhode Island.
It will also honour the former players voted in as the Class of 2020, Goran Ivanisevic and Conchita Martinez, after last year’s festivities were called off because of the coronavirus pandemic.
AAP
