Paul Avis (tennis)
| Full name | Paul John Avis |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  South Africa |
| Born | 14 April 1958 Springs, Transvaal |
| Died | December 2006 (aged 48) Durbanville, Western Cape |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 3–6 |
| Highest ranking | No. 179 (14 June 1976) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Wimbledon | Q1 (1976) |
Paul John Avis (1958 — 2006) was a South African psychologist and professional tennis player.[1]
Born in Transvaal, Avis was a Junior Springbok and national closed singles champion.[2] He competed on the international tennis tour in the 1970s and 1980s, ranking amongst the world's top 200. During his career he had a third round appearance at the 1975 South African Open and featured in qualifying for the 1976 Wimbledon Championships.[3]
Avis was known as 'The King of the Portuguese Hall' when he dominated the vibrant tennis tournaments played at this venue in Turffontein during the 1980s and was at his peak considered one of the best players in the country. He was often referred to as ''The Quiet Man'' of South African Tennis because of his reserved manner. However his game was nothing less than explosive. Avis played in one of the first televised Tennis matches in South Africa, the South African open at Ellis park[4]
Avis retired from tennis at an early age and in 1994 completed a doctorate in Sports Psychology. He then became a lecturer in the Psychology Department at the Daveyton Campus of Vista University, but continued his tennis coaching and had a private practice as Clinical Psychologist in Benoni. He was also involved as Sport Psychologist at the ITF Academy at Ellis Park. At the time of his death, from lung cancer in 2006, he had been a professor of Sport Psychology at the University of the Western Cape.[5]
References[]
- ^ Barron, Chris (10 December 2006). "Professional tennis player". Sunday Times.
- ^ "Former SA tennis star dies". News24. 7 December 2006.
- ^ "Ashe Upset in S. Africa". The New York Times. 22 November 1975.
- ^ "Tennis: Quiet man remembered". News24. 7 December 2006.
- ^ "Tennis: Quiet man remembered". News24. 8 December 2006.
External links[]
- Paul Avis at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Paul Avis at the International Tennis Federation
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- 1958 births
- 2006 deaths
- South African male tennis players
- South African psychologists
- University of the Western Cape faculty
- Deaths from lung cancer
- Sportspeople from Gauteng
- People from Springs, Gauteng
- African tennis biography stubs
- South African sportspeople stubs