Strawberry resident Vic Seixas won Wimbledon during the amateur era of tennis
Updated: Jul 17
trawberry resident Vic Seixas, a Wimbledon winner and hall-of-fame tennis player who was the oldest living Grand Slam champion, died of natural causes at his Harbor Point apartment July 5. He was 100.
Seixas was a dominant name during the sport’s amateur era, winning 15 major tennis tournaments during his career, including the men’s singles trophies at Wimbledon in 1953 and the U.S. National Championships, now known as the U.S. Open, in 1954. The latter was part of a streak of 28 appearances at the U.S. Nationals between 1940 and 1969, with a record 24 straight. Seixas (pronounced SAY-shuss) was also part of the U.S. team that won the 1954 Davis Cup, men’s tennis’ top international-team tournament.
He was a storied doubles player as well and was part of five winning partnerships in men’s doubles and eight in mixed doubles, including a 1953-1956 stretch in which Seixas won four straight at Wimbledon.
“Seixas’ nimble form of athleticism made him a natural on the slick grass that was prevalent in his time,” historian Joel Drucker wrote in a July 5 obituary for the International Tennis Hall of Fame, into which Seixas was inducted in 1971. “Perhaps indeed, Wimbledon and Seixas were meant for one another.”
He was known on the court for his serve-and-volley style of play, running to the net as fast as possible to return serves, and for his endurance, perhaps best exemplified in the 1966 Philadelphia Grass Championship, when a 42-year-old Seixas played 94 games over four hours to beat 22-year-old Bill Bowrey, 32-34, 6-4, 10-8. That same year, he beat a 19-year-old Stan Smith, a future Wimbledon champion, in an opening-round match at the U.S. Championships.
A World War II veteran and Marin resident since 1989, Seixas was a familiar face at The Club at Harbor Point, where he had previously coached tennis and tended bar.
In an Ark interview ahead of his 100th birthday last August, Seixas said he was satisfied with his tennis career.
“I did pretty much what I wanted to accomplish, and I’m very happy about that,” he said. “And I’m not looking for anything special, but I’m glad I did what I did because it meant something to me, and that obviously means something to some people who want to read about tennis.”
Elias Victor Seixas Jr. was born Aug. 30, 1923, in Philadelphia, the only child of Elias Seixas Sr., a native of the Dominican Republic who owned a plumbing-supply company, and Anna Victoria Moon. Seixas was introduced to tennis by his father and began playing it at a small community club in his hometown.
He grew to enjoy the sport, and people around him took notice as “one thing led to another and they said, ‘Hey, he’s got pretty good pretty early,’” he recalled. “I just kept getting better and better, and I liked it and I stayed with it.”
Seixas participated in his first U.S. Championships when he was still a teen, but his tennis career was interrupted by World War II in 1944. He shipped out on New Year’s Eve under the Golden Gate Bridge to New Guinea, where he served as a test pilot and maintenance officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He recalled building and test-flying airplanes that were shipped to New Guinea for action in the Pacific Theater.
“I really rather enjoyed it in the sense that I didn’t want to be in the service, particularly — I wanted to get out, like everybody,” he said. “I was fortunate, I think, doing something that I enjoyed doing and it was interesting, interesting work.”
When he returned to the states following the war, Seixas played tennis for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating in 1949. He went 63-3 for the Tar Heels, was named an all-American player and received the Patterson Medal, the school’s highest athletic honor, upon graduating,
After finishing school, Seixas continued playing on the amateur circuit, having his best year in 1953, when, as a singles player, he was a semifinalist at the Australian Championship and a finalist at both the U.S. and French Championships.
But the July 3, 1953, win at Wimbledon against Danish opponent Kurt Nielsen immortalized Seixas in the pantheon of champions in the sport’s oldest tournament; Rod Laver, Björn Borg, John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are among the other men’s singles champions since Spencer Gore won the first tournament in 1877.
“As far as tennis players go, I think if you asked any tennis player what’s the one tournament they want to win, it would be Wimbledon,” Seixas said in the August Ark article. “And I feel fortunate to have been one of the ones that did it.”
His prize for winning in 1953 was a voucher for 25 British pounds — about $1,100 today — as the sport was still in its amateur era. This year’s men’s and women’s singles winners will each earn 2.7 million pounds, or roughly $3.46 million.
Though Seixas missed out on the prize money now associated with tournaments, he said his expenses were covered as he traveled worldwide to play tennis. It cost nothing, but he got nothing, Seixas said.
“I’m not complaining because I lived like a king, and even though I didn’t make any money, I still enjoyed all the things that the guys would make doing now that they’re making money for,” he said. “It would’ve been nice to make some money, but I don’t feel like I’ve been unjustly treated or anything like that.”
Outside of the sport, Sexias worked as a stockbroker in Philadelphia for 17 years beginning in 1958, according to the Associated Press. He later taught tennis at clubs and hotels in New Orleans and West Virginia. He also wrote a book, “Prime Time Tennis: Tennis for Players Over 40,” which offered insights into making the most of one’s tennis game when entering middle age.
Seixas was married and divorced twice, first to Dolly Ann Dunaway and then to Toni Seixas, with whom he had one daughter, Tori Seixas.
Tori said in a July 8 phone interview her father was a great dad and a wonderful person.
“It seems like he was loved by many people, because I’m getting so much outpouring from all different people, not just tennis fans,” she said.
Born after her father’s heyday as a tennis player, Tori said her dad was always sharp, as the two played card games together and he completed puzzles and did the USA Today crossword puzzle until his eyes became “too bad to see.”
She also said he loved to watch his alma mater’s basketball program.
When he was able to travel, he did, Tori said, noting he was honored by Wimbledon tournament organizers in 2013 for the 60th anniversary of his win. However, she said, as he got older he stayed around Harbor Point, where he had worked as a tennis instructor and bartender up until 2005, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“Harbor Point was definitely just his community, all of his friends and everything,” she said, adding that he enjoyed being around like-minded people who shared a love of tennis.
The community also showed support for Seixas with a GoFundMe launched in 2019 to help him cover medical expenses, the Chronicle reported, and one-time opponent Stan Smith — the namesake of Adidas’ popular shoe — encouraged the apparel company to sign Seixas to an ambassador role. He received $2,000 monthly from Adidas for the rest of his life.
“He was a tennis guy through and through,” Tori said.
Seixas is survived by his daughter. Plans for a memorial service are still pending, but Tori Seixas said a service will likely be held at The Club at Harbor Point.
Reach Tiburon reporter Francisco Martinez at 415-944-4634.
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