Rod Laver
Chronology
| 1938 | Born August 9 in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia, to Roy Stanley and Melba Laver |
| 1944 | From the age of six Laver begins competing against his older brothers in tennis matches |
| 1951 | Loses to his older brother Bon in the Central Queensland junior final |
| 1953 | Quits school to devote full time to tennis, coached by Harry |
| 1956 | Wins the U.S. junior championship |
| 1957 | Serves in the Australian Army |
| 1958 | Upsets American Barry MacKay in the second round of Queen's Club Tournament and gains international notice |
| 1959 | Playing with the Australian Davis Cup team, Laver helps to beat the United States |
| 1959 | Loses in the finals of the U.S. singles championship at Forest Hills |
| 1960 | Wins his first Australian singles title |
| 1961 | Wins his first Wimbledon singles title, but loses at Forest Hills in the finals |
| 1961 | Offered $33,000 to join Jack Kramer's pro tour, but refuses |
| 1962 | Scores his first Grand Slam, winning the singles championships in Australia, France, England, and the United States, the first tennis player to do so since America's Don Budge in 1938 |
| 1962 | Turns professional, signing a three-year, $110,000 contract, and is thus barred for the next five years from participation in amateur championships |
| 1964 | Wins U.S. Pro singles title |
| 1966-70 | Wins 19 consecutive titles in the U.S. Pro circuit |
| 1968 | With advent of Open era in tennis, Laver resumes play in Grand Slam tournaments, winning Wimbledon in a final lasting less than an hour |
| 1969 | Wins his second Grand Slam, a record no other tennis player has equaled |
| 1971 | Earns a record $292,000, boosting his overall tennis earnings to over a million, the highest of any tennis player |
| 1972 | Plays in finals of first World Championship of Tennis |
| 1973 | Allowed to play Davis Cup again, helping Australia to win the cup away from the United States |
| 1976 | Signs with World Team Tennis and named Rookie of the Year at age 38 |
| 1978 | Retires from tennis |
| 1981 | Inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame |
| 1999 | Suffers a stroke and has to re-learn how to play tennis |
| 2000 | Center court at Australia's Melbourne Park, home of the Australian Open, is named Rod Laver Court in his honor |
Additional topics
Famous Sports StarsTennisRod Laver - An Aussie Upbringing, Chronology, Amateur Years, Lead Up To First Grand Slam, Related Biography: Tennis Player/coach Harry Hopman - CONTACT INFORMATION, SELECTED WRITINGS BY LAVER: