R. N. Williams

Williams was born in Geneva, Switzerland, the son of Philadelphia parents Charles Duane Williams, a direct descendant from Benjamin Franklin, and Lydia Biddle White. He was tutored privately at a Swiss boarding school and spoke fluent French and German. He starting playing tennis at age 12, mainly under the guidance of his father.
In 1911 Williams won the Swiss Championship. A year later he entered Harvard and became the intercollegiate tennis champion in singles (1913, 1915) and doubles (1914, 1915).

He is best known for his two men's singles titles at the U.S. Championships in 1914 and 1916. He was also on the victorious American Davis Cup team twice: in 1925 and 1926 and was considered a fine doubles player. He also had a reputation in singles of always hitting as hard as possible and always trying to hit winners near the lines. This made him an extremely erratic player, but when his game was sporadically "on", he was considered unbeatable.

Williams was probably ranked World No. 2 for 1916 and World No. 4 in 1923 by The Daily Telegraph.

During the 1924 Olympics, at the age of 33 (and with a sprained ankle), Richard Norris Williams became a Gold Medalist in the mixed doubles, partnering Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman. He went on to captain several winning Davis Cup teams from 1921 through 1926 as well as the 1934 team. At age 44 he retired from Championship Tennis.

Richard Norris was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame 1957.