|
|
Pancho Pix
|
Pancho Gonzalez inducted to Court of Champions
Every year, former champions of the US Open and U.S. Championships are honored for their achievements with a spot in the Court of Champions Plaza on the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. This year’s deserving inductee was a legendary singles champion known for his intense and fiery spirit on the court.
Pancho Gonzalez, the winner of back-to-back U.S. Championships in 1948 and 1949, now joins the likes of Bill Tilden, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Ken Rosewall, Arthur Ashe, Margaret Court and others to be honored on the Court of Champions Plaza, located between the South Plaza and Courts 10 and 13. He was the first player inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1968 while still an active player.
Esai Morales, actor and founder of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, hosted the formal induction ceremony prior to the start of night session play Saturday. USTA Chairman of the Board and President Jon Vegosen, USTA Director-at-Large Judge Andrew Valdez and U.S. Senator Robert Menendez were also present for the ceremony, and Menendez paid tribute to Gonzalez’s accomplishments as a father, grandfather and athlete.
The ceremony featured a video tribute to Gonzalez and a special message from Robert Redford, who was one of Gonzalez’s biggest fans. Gonzalez's three sons were also present to accept a commemorative plaque and a US Open Court of Champions ring.
The plaque, which will be displayed in the Court of Champions, describes Gonzalez as an intense competitor who “dominated the game with remarkable athleticism, supreme focus and unparalleled desire to achieve.”
The US Open Court of Champions celebrates the legacy of the greatest singles champions in the history of the US Open and U.S. Championships. Each champion defines the essence of talent and character required to win at tennis' ultimate proving grounds. Inductees, selected by media from around the world, represent the tournament's all-time greatest—the best of the best—whose electrifying performances have contributed to making the US Open one of the world's top sporting events.