General Sammy
Giammalva sr
Male
United States of America
1934-08-01
Houston, TX, United States of America


About

Sammy Giammalva Sr. (born 1934), a native of Houston, would ride his bike as a child from his father’s grocery store to Houston’s public tennis center. It was there that he grew to love the game. He went on to play at the University of Texas, where he won three consecutive Southwest Conference singles titles (1955-1957).

Giammalva played on the U.S. Davis Cup team, winning 7 of 10 matches and contributing to the U.S. team’s 1957 and 1958 wins. He reached 4 finals at the Cincinnati Masters, twice in singles (1954 and 1958) and twice in doubles (1952 and 1958). Giammalva’s best Grand Slam singles result was reaching the quarterfinals of the 1955 U.S. National Championships, a precursor of the U.S. Open.

Giammalva coached at Rice Institute for 14 years from 1959 to 1972, leading the Owls to 10 Southwest Conference titles and second-place NCAA tournament finishes in 1968 and 1970. After leaving Rice, Giammalva opened and operated the Houston Metropolitan Racquet Club downtown for nearly 25 years. Giammalva’s sons, Tony and Sammy Jr., grew up to become professional tennis players.

In addition to the Texas Tennis Hall of Fame, Giammalva is also in the Italian Hall of Fame, Rice University Hall of Fame, University of Texas Hall of Fame and St. Thomas Hall of Fame. The Houston Chronicle voted him as the number one tennis player in the history of the Southwest Conference in January of 2000.



Media


Archive statistics 1952 - 1977
11
309
214


Tournament wins 1970 - USPTA Championships (Professional)
1969 - Houston Fall Festival (Open)
1967 - US Pro Championships (Professional)
1964 - USPTA Championships (Professional)
1963 - Florida Professional (Professional)
1959 - Southern Professionals (Professional)
1958 - Tulsa Invitation (Open)
1957 - Buccaneer Days (Open)
1956 - Championships of Nuremberg (Amateur)
1955 - Eastern Grass Court Championships (Amateur)
1954 - Buccaneer Days (Open)


Tournaments US Open - 1977 US Open - 1976 US Open - 1972 USPTA Championships - 1972 US Open - 1971 USPTA Championships - 1970 Atlanta Pro - 1970 Houston Fall Festival - 1969 US Open - 1968 US Pro Championships - 1967 Madison Square Garden Pro Championships - 1967 Birmingham Pro Classic - 1967 US Pro Grasscourt Championships - 1967 US Pro Grasscourt Championships - 1966 Hollywood Pro Challenge Cup - 1966 Hollywood Pro Challenge Cup b - 1966 Atlanta Pro - 1966 Orlando Professional Championships - 1965 New York Pro Tournament - 1965 US Pro Grasscourt Championships - 1965 US Pro Championships - 1964 USPTA Championships - 1964 Hollywood Pro Challenge Cup - 1964 Florida Professional - 1963 USPTA Championships - 1962 World Professional Tournament - 1961 World Professional Tournament - 1960 Tuscaloosa Professionals - 1960 Southern Professionals - 1959 Kramer Tournament of Champions - 1959 US Open - 1958 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1958 Tennessee Valley Invitation - 1958 Cincinnati - 1958 US Clay Courts - 1958 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1958 US International Indoor Championships - 1958 River Oaks Tournament - 1958 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) - 1958 Triple A - 1958 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1958 Westchester - 1958 Tulsa Invitation - 1958 Dallas Invitation - 1958 Southwest Open - 1958 US Open - 1957 Newport Casino - 1957 Sugar Bowl - 1957 Cincinnati - 1957 US Clay Courts - 1957 Western States Championships - 1957 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1957 River Oaks Tournament - 1957 Oklahoma State - 1957 Perth Amboy Invitation - 1957 University of Miami - 1957 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1957 Intercollegiate Championships - 1957 Buccaneer Days - 1957 Dallas Invitation - 1957 Houston Fall Festival - 1957 Tournament of Champions - 1957 Wimbledon - 1956 US Open - 1956 New South Wales Championships - 1956 Newport Casino - 1956 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1956 US Clay Courts - 1956 Western States Championships - 1956 Queens Club Tournament - 1956 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1956 US International Indoor Championships - 1956 Kent Championships - 1956 Northern Lawn Tennis Association Tournament - 1956 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1956 Championships of Nuremberg - 1956 South Australian b - 1956 US Open - 1955 Eastern Clay Court Championships - 1955 Newport Casino - 1955 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1955 Cincinnati - 1955 US Clay Courts - 1955 River Oaks Tournament - 1955 Texas Sectional Championships - 1955 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) - 1955 Oklahoma State - 1955 Perth Amboy Invitation - 1955 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1955 Westchester - 1955 US Open - 1954 Nassau Bowl - 1954 Newport Casino - 1954 Eastern Grass Court Championships - 1954 Sugar Bowl - 1954 Cincinnati - 1954 US Clay Courts - 1954 Western States Championships - 1954 River Oaks Tournament - 1954 Texas Sectional Championships - 1954 Louisiana State Championships - 1954 Southampton Invitation (Long Island) - 1954 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1954 Buccaneer Days - 1954 Southwest Open - 1954 Caswell Open - 1954 US Open - 1952

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