Cliff Drysdale

Eric Clifford “Cliff” Drysdale is a known announcer who used to be a top-ranked professional player in the 1960s and 1970s circa of tennis. He was born on May 26, 1941 in Neispruit, South Africa, but he is currently residing in Miami, Florida, United States. During his time, he was one of the eight professional tennis players that were dubbed as “The Handsome Eight”, which Lamar Hunt signed for the World Championship Tennis tour.

Although he used to be a South African national, he has already transferred nationality to American around the time he retired from playing tennis. He currently works as a tennis commentator for the known sports channel, ESPN. In addition to being a tennis announcer, Drysdale is also the founder of Cliff Drysdale Tennis. The company specializes in hotel, resort, and club tennis management together with Tom Brownhill and Don Henderson.

A respected voice in tennis, Drysdale is also noted as one of the founders of the ATP, and was even the first president of the said organization.

Over the course of his tennis playing career, Drysdale managed to capture 5 career titles, having an overall record of 308-186 in singles. His highest ranking achieved was at No. 13, which he achieved on May 10, 1974. For doubles, Drysdale had a record of 189-160, along with six career titles and one Grand Slam win for the U.S. Open in 1972 together with Roger Taylor. He plays right handed with a two handed backhand. Drysdale turned pro on 1965, and retired from the game in 1988.

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