Elwood Cooke

Elwood Thomas Cooke (July 5, 1913 – April 16, 2004) was an amateur American tennis player in the 1930s and 1940s.

Tennis career Elwood Cooke started playing tennis before his junior year at Benson Polytechnic High School. He played for the school team in the Portland Interscholastic League, never losing in singles matches and finishing with the team in 2nd place in his junior and senior years.

Cooke was ranked in Top 10 in the United States in 1938 (ranked No. 7), 1939 (No. 6), 1940 (No. 9), and 1945 (No. 4), whilst reaching as high as world No. 8 in Gordon Lowe's amateur rankings for 1939. and the U.S. National Championships in 1945 (losing to Frank Parker). He reached the U. S. quarterfinals in 1940 and 1943.

At the Cincinnati Masters, he reached both the singles and the doubles final in 1945. He lost the singles final to future International Tennis Hall of Fame enshrinee Bill Talbert. In the Oregon State Tournament, he won the singles title in 1936. In the Pacific Northwest Sectional, he won the singles title in 1935 and 1936. He was a naval officer during World War II, and was married to International Tennis Hall of Famer Sarah Palfrey Cooke.

After he retired from tournament play, he was the head tennis professional at Sunningdale Country Club in Scarsdale, New York from 1961 to 1981.

Personal life He was married to American tennis player Sarah Palfrey from 1940 to 1949.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 runner-up) ResultYearChampionship SurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 1939 Wimbledon Grass Bobby Riggs 6–2, 6–8, 6–3, 3–6, 2–6

Doubles (1 title)

Mixed doubles (1 title, runner-up)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1939 French Championships Clay Sarah Palfrey Simonne Mathieu Franjo Kukuljević 4–6, 6–1, 7–5Loss 1939 U.S. Championships Grass Sarah Palfrey Alice Marble Harry Hopman 7–9, 1–6