Stan Smith

American former tennis player Stan Smith was born on December 14, 1946 in Pasadena, California. He is a two-time Grand Slam Champion in singles and was also half of one of the best doubles tandems in tennis history. Together with Bob Lutz, Smith defeated opponents to win numerous doubles titles all over the world. In singles, Smith won the title in the 1971 US Open, defeating Jan Kodes, and followed this up with a victory in 1972 in Wimbledon.

Smith played tennis while attending the University of Southern California where he was coached by George Holey. He was a three-time All American and won the NCAA singles championship as well as the 1967 and the 1968 titles in doubles. Famous tennis promoter Jack Kramer named Smith as one of the 21 best tennis players of all time and he was listed by TENNIS magazine in its top 50 Greatest Players of the TENNIS era. He was inducted in the Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.

After retiring from competitive tennis, Smith switched to coaching for the United States Tennis Association. He is also known for his line of tennis shoes, the Adidas Stan Smith, which has a following among retro tennis fans. He also established his tennis academy with Billy Stearn in California. Smith lives in Hilton Head with his wife and children, all of whom played collegiate tennis.