Jack Arkinstall

Amateur He played and won his first title at the Northern Rivers Championships in 1946. At the Wimbledon Championships he reached the fourth round in 1953 when he was in the fifth set against in his compatriot Ken Rosewall, whom he had lost against previously. At Wimbledon in 1954 Arkinstall lost in the first round against the eventual champion, Yugoslav Jaroslav Drobny. He competed again in 1955 at Wimbledon, this time reaching the third round to fall against Drobny. At Wimbledon in 1956, Arkinstall lost to the eventual semifinalist, American Ham Richardson. In his last appearance at Wimbledon 1957, he lost in the first round in a large defeat against the Brit Mike Davies.

He never won the Australian Open Championships or any other Grand Slam tournament. Once he played against Rosewall in his professional career and lost narrowly in the final, fifth set. Arkinstall broke through late into international tennis. In 1950, when he was thirty years old, he played his first international tennis tournament. In 1954, Arkinstall won in the final against the number one player from India Ramanathan Krishnan. He won the Yugoslavian Championships that year against the number one Yugoslav Jaroslav Drobny. In 1954 he won the All India Hard Court Championships in Madras, and again in 1956. In an indoor tournament India Krishnan revenged himself by winning the final against Arkinstall. In 1956 Arkinstall played the Nation Cup for his country - he lost the men's doubles match with Lew Hoad against his Italian opponents Guiseppo Merlo and Orlando Sirola (numbers two). He won his last amateur title and the 1957 Bochum International.

Arkinstall Park In memory of the Arkinstall family, a sports centre, Arkinstall Park, exists at Tweed Heads, Australia. Upgrades to the park's existing facilities were announced in 2013. The park includes netball courts and clubhouse, tennis courts and clubhouse, BBQ area and playground.

Note: Arkinstall park in Hefron St South Tweed Heads was actually named after Jack's younger brother, Neville, who was a talented sportsman in his own right being accomplished as a hockey and cricket player as well as tennis.