But going further back, examining the most dominant players since the sport became a truly international affair, a sizable majority were at least 6ft, starting with “Big” Bill Tilden in the 1920s. Tilden was 6ft 2in in an era when the average height of an American man was close to 5ft 7in or 5ft 8in.
Following Tilden it was Don Budge and Fred Perry in the 1930s, both slightly taller than 6ft. There were several shorter players who were successful in the lead up to the second world war, including the notorious Bobby Riggs who was the epitome of an overachiever and won a trio of grand slam titles with his brilliant all-court play extracted from his 5ft 7in frame.
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