Pierre Darmon first gained notice in France for his tennis skills in 1950, when he won the national junior championship. After capturing Tunisian titles in 1951 and 1954, he took his career international in 1956 and, between 1957 and 1969, earned nine national singles titles, as well as four doubles victories, and was France’s top-ranked player. His best year, however, was 1963, when he lost the French open to Australia’s Roy Emerson and was the doubles runner-up at Wimbledon with Jean-Claude Barclay. During that time, he also competed in six events at the tennis demonstration event at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, performing well with his wife Rosie Darmon and Mexico’s Joaquín Loyo Mayo. He played 68 Davis Cup matches, winning 44 of them, and later served in numerous important administrative roles in his sport. He was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.
France