Philippe Washer (French pronunciation: [filip waʃe]; 6 August 1924 – 27 November 2015) was a Belgian tennis player. He competed in the Davis Cup a number of times, from 1946 to 1961.[1]
Philippe Washer was born on 6 August 1924 in Brussels. He was the son of Jean Washer, another Belgian tennis player and textile industry mogul.[2] His mother, Simone van der Straeten, was the granddaughter of Ernest Solvay, founder of Solvay International Chemical Group.[2] Philippe had three brothers: Paul Washer, president of the Chemical Industry Federation of Belgium and director of the Solvay company; Jacques Washer, antiquarian who died in the Swissair Flight 316 crash; and Edouard.[2] They were also the cousins of famous sportscar racer Olivier Gendebien.[3] Philippe started playing tennis at the age of six.[4] He was coached by his father.[4] He won his first tournament on 9 May 1940 in La Rasante just one day before the Battle of Belgium during which he volunteered to join the Belgian Army.[4] In 1942 he won the French junior championships.[5]
Washer won the Belgian National Championships nine times between 1945–1954, the only exception being 1950 when he was forced to retire from the competition due to illness.[4] In 1952, he reached the semifinal of the Royal Belgian Tennis Federation Fiftieth Anniversary tournament.[5] In 1957, he reached the Inter-Zonal Zone Finals of the Davis Cup with the Belgium Davis Cup team.[4] The same year he won the Lebanon international tennis championships by defeating Warren Woodcock.[6] In 1967 he came back from retirement to win the Belgian National Covered Courts Championship doubles, partnering with Jacky Brichant.[4] Also after retirement, he won the Wimbledon Veterans' Doubles with Jaroslav Drobný four times from 1968 to 1971.[7]
Washer did not play in the 1960 Davis Cup match against Great Britain as he was competing in the Belgium Open golf championship.[8] Later in 1960 he played for the Rest of Europe against the British Isles in the St Andrews Trophy and for Belgium in the 1960 Eisenhower Trophy.[9][10] He represented Belgium again in the 1964 Eisenhower Trophy.[11]
Washer retired from tennis in 1961 and moved to Switzerland.[12] In 1955 he lent his own Ferrari 250 Europa GT Pinin Farina Coupe car to Olivier Gendebien who drove it in the Liège–Rome–Liège rally and finished third.[3] After retiring he served as the president of the Royal Léopold Club between 1983 and 1994, which his family saved from bankruptcy in 1948.[5][13] He remained its major shareholder afterwards.[13] Washer died on 27 November 2015 at the age of 91.[14]
Belgian National Sports Merit Award | |
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