Rod Laver

Following his 1978 retirement, Laver remained involved in tennis, playing on the senior tour. However, retirement from tennis did not mean an end to work for the Australian. For many years he worked for Nabisco Brands, acting as an ambassador for Nabisco's involvement in various worldwide sporting events. As such he ran tennis clinics, gave speeches, and shook a lot of hands. Three years after retirement from tennis, Laver was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Real retirement came later for Laver when he moved to Rancho Mirage, California, a suburb of Palm Springs, and took to playing golf as much as he did tennis. In 1999, during an interview, he suffered a stroke. Luckily the interviewer recognized the signs, and Laver was rushed to nearby UCLA Medical Center, getting immediate care. The stroke destroyed the sensory receptors on his right side. Laver, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, had to relearn how to play the game he loves. Tennis became, in fact, part of his therapy. Working with speech and physical therapists, Laver slowly recovered his speech and movement. "I still have a little way to go," Laver told a reporter for Sports Illustrated, "but I'm very happy with my performance. I feel I'm going to get all the way back." In 2000, Laver was honored by his native Australia when its tennis federation named center court at Melbourne Park, home of the Australian Open, after him. On hand for the naming ceremony, Laver said, "I am delighted to accept this wonderful honor. This is a crowning achievement to my tennis career."