Malcolm Whitman

Fascinated by the history of tennis, Malcolm Whitman’s Tennis Origins and Mysteries was published in 1932, more than three decades after he had written himself into other historical accounts of the sport.

He graduated from The Roxbury Latin School, where he is celebrated as one of its greatest athletes. Whitman was American intercollegiate singles tennis champion in 1896 and doubles champion in 1897 and 1898 as a student at Harvard University. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1899 and received his bachelor in law degree in 1902.
Whitman is best known for this hat-trick of singles titles at the U.S. National Championships. Between 1898 and 1900, he stayed undefeated there. In 1901 he did not compete and in the 1902 Championships he lost in the All-Comers final to Englishman Reginald Doherty.
According to the Doherty brothers Malcolm Whitman and Bill Larned were at the time the best American singles players.
He played on the inaugural American Davis Cup squad, and in the 1900 and 1902 Challenge Rounds against Great Britain, he was unbeaten in that storied team competition. The 6’2” Whitman used his height and reach to take control at the net.

Whitman married his first wife, Janet McCook in 1907. She died in December 1909 after the birth of their second child. In July 1912 Whitman married Miss Jennie Crocker but they divorced in 1924. In 1926, Whitman married Lucilla Mara de Vescovi, known as the Countess Mara. In December 1931 his daughter Mary, 16, from his second marriage, died of pneumonia.
On December 28, 1932 Whitman committed suicide by jumping off an apartment building after a nervous breakdown.

Whitman retired from tennis in 1902 at the age of 25. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the U.S. National Lawn Tennis Association (USNLTA) and held management positions in several companies

Malcolm was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1955.