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Player

Lorne Main

Year Inducted1991 HometownVancouver, British Columbia

Major Accomplishments

Captured a Masters title at Monte Carlo in 1954
Ranked in the top five in Canada from 1949-1958.
Won the Canadian international doubles title in 1951 and 1954.
Canadian junior internationals champion from 1946-1948.
Davis Cup team member between 1949 and 1961 and was a non-playing captain from 1956-1961.
Has won 12 singles and 13 doubles senior world championship titles; a world record.

Biography

Lorne Main attended the University of California at Berkeley on a tennis scholarship from 1949-1951and played No. 1 in singles and doubles before committing full-time to tennis. He competed in the Canadian championships in doubles and won the event in 1951 with Brendan Macken and in 1954 with Luis Ayala.
As a junior player, Lorne Main competed in 11 Grand Slam tournaments in singles. In 1954, at the age of 24, main reached the round of 32 at three Grand Slam events, including the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. He reached the round of 32 at the US Open two years prior, in 1951 and 1953.
Main was very successful in the year preceding the US Nationals appearance, which is why he was the No. 18 seed at the tournament. He was able to get through the early rounds, but faced the No. 1 seed Tony Trabert in the third round. Trabert was also the world No. 1 at that point, which made it especially difficult for Main who eventually lost in straight sets.
Main captured a Masters singles title at Monte Carlo in 1954.
In Davis Cup action, Main was a member of the team (1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954 and 1955) and a non-playing captain (1958, 1959, 1960 and 1961).
Main is still a competitive player and has been ranked high in the veteran, seniors and now the super-seniors categories. He has been ranked No. 1 in the ITF under every seniors category from 55 age category to the 80 age category. He has won 12 singles and 13 doubles senior world championship titles, 12 with Ken Sinclair and one with Gordon Verge. He broke the world singles record for most singles senior world championship titles in 2010. Main won each of the World Cups from 55 to 80 in doubles play with partner, Ken Sinclair.
Main has been recognized for his continued dedication to the sport and has been honored by the British Columbia Sport Hall of Fame in 1975 in addition to being inducted into the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame in 1991.