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Philippe Washer (French pronunciation: [filip waʃe]; 6 August 1924 – 27 November 2015) was a Belgian tennis player. He competed in the Davis Cup a number of times, from 1946 to 1961.[2] He was ranked world No. 8 in 1957.

Early life and family

Philippe Washer was born on 6 August 1924 in Brussels. He was the son of Jean Washer, another Belgian tennis player and textile industry mogul.[3] His mother, Simone van der Straeten, was the granddaughter of Ernest Solvay, founder of Solvay International Chemical Group.[3] Philippe had three brothers: Paul Washer, president of the Chemical Industry Federation of Belgium and director of the Solvay company; Jacques Washer, antiquarian who died in the Swissair Flight 316 crash; and Edouard.[3] They were also the cousins of famous sportscar racer Olivier Gendebien.[4] Philippe started playing tennis at the age of six.[5] He was coached by his father.[5] He won his first tournament on 9 May 1940 in La Rasante just one day before the Battle of Belgium during which he volunteered to join the Belgian Army.[5] In 1942, he won the French junior championships.[6]

Tennis career

Washer won the Belgian National Championships nine times between 1945–1954, the only exception being 1950 when he was forced to retire from the competition due to illness.[5] In 1952, he reached the semifinal of the Royal Belgian Tennis Federation Fiftieth Anniversary tournament.[6]

In 1953, Washer won the Coupe Albert Canet, defeating Władysław Skonecki in the close four set final.

In 1957, he reached the Inter-Zonal Zone Finals of the Davis Cup with the Belgium Davis Cup team.[5] The same year, he won the Lebanon international tennis championships by defeating Roger Becker, Ham Richardson, and Warren Woodcock.[7]

In 1967, he came back from retirement to win the Belgian National Covered Courts Championship doubles, partnering with Jacky Brichant.[5] Also after retirement, he won the Wimbledon Veterans’ Doubles with Jaroslav Drobný four times from 1968 to 1971.[8]

Golf career

Washer did not play in the 1960 Davis Cup match against Great Britain as he was competing in the Belgium Open golf championship.[9] Later in 1960 he played for the Rest of Europe against the British Isles in the St Andrews Trophy and for Belgium in the 1960 Eisenhower Trophy.[10][11] He represented Belgium again in the 1964 Eisenhower Trophy.[12]

Personal life

Washer retired from tennis in 1961 and moved to Switzerland.[13] In 1955, he lent his own Ferrari 250 Europa GT Pinin Farina Coupe car to Olivier Gendebien who drove it in the Liège–Rome–Liège rally and finished third.[4] After retiring, he served as the president of the Royal Léopold Club from 1983 to 1994, which his family saved from bankruptcy in 1948.[6][14] He remained its major shareholder afterwards.[14] Washer died on 27 November 2015 at the age of 91.[15]

Footnotes

  1. ^ “Around The World”. World Tennis. Vol. 5, no. 8. New York. January 1958. p. 50.
  2. ^ “Philippe Washer”. daviscup.com. Archived from the original on 2 December 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  3. ^ a b c Meuwissen 1992.
  4. ^ a b Chauvin 2010, p. 54.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Tasso 2002.
  6. ^ a b c Royal Léopold Club website.
  7. ^ Lebanon international tennis website.
  8. ^ The Telegraph, 2001.
  9. ^ “Hopes of British Lawn Tennis victories”. The Times. 9 June 1956. p. 20.
  10. ^ “British Golf supremacy over Rest of Europe”. The Times. 22 October 1956. p. 4.
  11. ^ “British Isles’ Big Win over Rest of Europe”. The Glasgow Herald. 22 October 1956. p. 4.
  12. ^ 1964 WAGTC.
  13. ^ Leonardi 1997.
  14. ^ a b MIG. T. 2007.
  15. ^ “Belgisch Davis Cup-icoon Philippe Washer overleden”. HLN (in Dutch).

Works cited