Anthony Wilding

Anthony Wilding's story tightens my chest a little. Born in Christchurch in 1883 and hailed as tennis's first true superstar, he was also a Cambridge-educated barrister, a military officer and a cricketer, a breadth of talent that feels almost impossible now. Then 1915 came, and he was killed in action in the First World War at just thirty-one. There is something devastating about a sport's reigning idol being swallowed by that conflict. His 1978 Hall of Fame induction was overdue justice. To me he represents both the elegance and the fragility of an era when tennis was still a gentleman's pursuit, and I do not want that memory to fade.

Name (English)

Anthony Wilding

Name (Japanese)

アンソニー・ワイルディング

Reading

あんそにー・わいるでぃんぐ

Born

October 31, 1883 – May 9, 1915

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Scorpio / Goat

Origin

Christchurch, New Zealand

Height

187 cm

Occupation

tennis player / barrister / military officer / cricketer

University

University of Cambridge

Awards & achievements

• 1978 International Tennis Hall of Fame

Motto

Private

• Official sitehttps://www.anthonywilding.com/
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A2%E3%83%B3%E3%82%BD%E3%83%8B%E3%83%BC%E3%83%BB%E3%83%AF%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AB%E3%83%87%E3%82%A3%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B0

Tags

• tennis player
• barrister
• military officer

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.