Ken Fletcher - Biography

Biography

He was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia to parents Norm and Ethel Fletcher. He was educated at St Laurence's College and showed early promise as a championship tennis player there. His greatest success as a tennis player came in 1963, when he became the only man to win a calendar year Grand Slam in mixed doubles, partnering fellow Australian Margaret Court. He reached the final of the Australian Open in 1963, losing to Roy Emerson.

After this achievement, he went on to record mixed doubles championships in the Australian Open in 1964, French Open in 1964 and 1965, and Wimbledon in 1965, 1966, and 1968. All of his mixed doubles Grand Slam titles were in partnership with Smith Court.

He also achieved a Grand Slam title in men's doubles in the 1964 French Open, playing with Roy Emerson. At the Wimbledon men's doubles championship, he was a finalist with Robert Hewitt in 1965, the champion in 1966 partnering John Newcombe, and a finalist again in 1967 with Roy Emerson. In total Fletcher won 27 international tennis titles.

Ken was a larrikin by nature, and many of his exploits feature in Hugh Lunn's books, especially "Over the Top with Jim" and "Head Over Heels'. In later years he was instrumental in gaining significant funding for medical research in Australia, through his association with Chuck Feeney. In 2008 Hugh Lunn published a book on Ken's remarkable life around the globe,The Great Fletch with ABC Books.

Fletcher died of cancer at the age of 65 and was buried at the Mount Gravatt Lawn Cemetery, Brisbane.

In January 2012 Ken Fletcher was inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame.