Editing Lew Hoad (section)

==Tennis career==

===Amateur career: 1950–1957===

;1950
Hoad lost to [[Dick Savitt]] in four sets in round one of the New South Wales State championships in November.  In his match report, [[Adrian Quist]] said, "Hoad played well, and held a lead of 4-2 in the third set after winning the second. At present he makes too many errors. He will have to learn good control from the ground before his game will reach great heights."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/123928721/ |title=Larsen well below form |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=18 November 1950 |page=10 |via=Newspapers.com }}</ref> Hoad reached the semi-finals of County of Cumberland championships in Sydney in December, losing to [[Bill Sidwell]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/123941630/ |title=Tennis County of Cumberland Championships |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=29 December 1950 |page=6 |via=Newspapers.com }}</ref> "It was apparent from the start of play that Sidwell did not intend to take the youngster lightly. He served with pressure and followed the majority of his returns to the net. The first set was very evenly contested. Had Hoad not fallen into easy errors he may well have won the opening set. The experience of Sidwell, however, prevailed during the important exchanges", said Adrian Quist.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/123941641/ |title=Sidwell was determined |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=29 December 1950 |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com }}</ref>

;1951
Hoad's first [[Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam]] tournament appearance was at the [[1951 Australian Championships]] held in January at the White City Tennis Club in Sydney. He won his first match against [[Ron McKenzie (tennis)|Ronald McKenzie]] in straight sets but lost in the following round to defending champion and countryman [[Frank Sedgman]].<ref name=ausopen>{{cite web|title=Australian Open players results archive – Lew Hoad|url=http://www.ausopen.com/en_AU/event_guide/history/players/10641.html|publisher=Tennis Australia}}</ref> It was the only Grand Slam tournament he played that year.
Hoad won his first men's singles title, the Brisbane Exhibition tournament at Milton, on grass, on 11 August 1951, defeating Rosewall in the final in four sets.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230225748 |title=Hoad beats Rosewall |work=The Sun |date=11 August 1951 |page=6 |via=Trove }}</ref> In September, Hoad won New South Wales hardcourt championships beating George Worthington in the final.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/126110336/ |title=Hoad takes tennis final |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=11 September 1951 |page=10 |via=Newspapers.com }}</ref>

;1952
In 1952, Hoad reached the third round of the [[1951 Australian Championships|Australian Championships]] in Adelaide. In April, he was selected by the [[Tennis Australia|Australasian Lawn Tennis Association]] as member of the team to play in overseas tournaments.{{sfnp|Davidson|1970|p=109}} In May, before departing to Europe, he won the singles title at the [[Australian Hard Court Championships|Australian Hardcourt Championships]] on clay after a five-set win in the final against Rosewall.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18505117 |title=Hoad Narrowly Beats Rosewall. |work=The Sunday Herald  |date=4 May 1952 |page=5 Section: Sports Section |via=Trove}}</ref> Hoad, who had never played a tournament on European red clay courts, received a walkover in the first round of the [[1952 French Championships (tennis)|French Championships]] and lost in straight sets to sixth-seeded and 1947 and 1951 finalist [[Eric Sturgess]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article133183387 |title=3 Australians Beaten In Paris Tennis. |work=Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate |date=23 May 1952 |page=4 |via=Trove}}</ref>{{sfnp|Davidson|1970|p=109}} In only their second appearance as a doubles team at a Grand Slam event, Hoad and Rosewall reached the French semifinal.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article96514734 |title=French Cheer Hoad, Rosewall After Brilliant Win. |work=The Northern Star |date=31 May 1952 |page=5 |via=Trove}}</ref> Hoad lost in the quarterfinal of the Belgian championships in Brussels in early June, where he was defeated by [[Budge Patty]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47417467 |title=Rosewall, Hoad Beaten In Belgian Tennis. |work=The Advertiser  |date=7 June 1952 |page=4 |via=Trove}}</ref>
Hoad's first entry at the [[grass court]] [[Queen's Club Championship]] in June 1952 ended in the quarterfinal against eventual champion Frank Sedgman.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23184880 |title=Australian final likely in tennis. |work=The Argus  |date=21 June 1952 |page=12 |via=Trove}}</ref> A week later, he played his first match at the [[Wimbledon Championships]] defeating [[Beppe Merlo]] in a nervous and unimpressive five-set encounter.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23191788 |title=Italian star fights back, but — Hoad lazes way to singles win. |work=The Argus  |date=25 June 1952 |page=20 |via=Trove}}</ref>{{sfnp|Davidson|1970|pp=109, 110}} Wins against [[Rolando Del Bello]] and [[Alfred Huber (tennis)|Freddie Huber]] were followed by a fourth round loss against second-seeded and eventual finalist [[Jaroslav Drobný]].{{sfnp|Davidson|1970|p=110}} Hoad and Rosewall caused an upset when they defeated second-seeded [[Gardnar Mulloy]] and [[Dick Savitt]] in the third round of the doubles event, but lost in the semifinal against [[Vic Seixas]] and Eric Sturgess.{{sfnp|Davidson|1970|pp=110, 111}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article96517702 |title=Shock defeat by Hoad and Rosewall of top American doubles pair. |work=The Northern Star |date=30 June 1952 |page=5 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article57105860 |title=Rosewalll. Hoad make history. |work=The Morning Bulletin  |date=30 June 1952 |page=7 |via=Trove}}</ref>

After a semifinal result at the Swedish championships in July, and an exhibition between Australia and West Germany, Hoad and the Australian team traveled to the United States under the guidance of coach [[Harry Hopman]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27099128 |title=Rose Narrowly Beats Hoad. |work=The Mercury  |date=14 July 1952 |page=17 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61212655 |title=DAVIS CUP MEN REACH N. YORK. |work=The Barrier Miner |date=30 July 1952 |page=12 |via=Trove}}</ref> As a preparation for his first [[1952 U.S. National Championships (tennis)|U.S. Championships]] he played the Meadow Club Invitational (Southampton), [[Eastern Grass Court Championships]] (South Orange), and Newport Invitational before teaming up with Rosewall to reach the semifinal of the U.S. National Doubles Championships in [[Brookline, Massachusetts]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27103199 |title=Hoad out in first round. |work=The Mercury  |date=6 August 1952 |page=24 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122034249 |title=Rose beaten by Seixas. |work=The Queensland Times  |date=16 August 1952 |page=3|edition=Daily|via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50519546 |title=3 Australians in tennis final. |work=The Courier-Mail  |date=25 August 1952 |page=7 |via=Trove}}</ref> Hoad was the eighth seeded foreign player at the U.S. Championships.{{efn|name=seeding|The U.S. Championships used separate seeding lists for U.S. and foreign players between 1927, the first year seeding were used, and 1956.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18280890 |title=Sedgman Hits At Split Seeds. |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=9 September 1952 |page=8 |via=Trove}}</ref>}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61215739 |title=Tennis seedings. |work=The Barrier Miner |date=28 August 1952 |page=2 |via=Trove}}</ref> He won four matches to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal but due in part to making 64 errors could not overcome Sedgman who would win the tournament without losing a set.{{sfnp|Davidson|1970|p=111}}<ref name=talbert>{{cite book|last=Talbert|first=Bill|title=Tennis Observed|year=1967|publisher=Barre Publishers |page=127|oclc=172306}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61216825 |title=Rosewall, Hoad eliminated in U.S. title games. |work=The Barrier Miner |date=6 September 1952 |page=2 |via=Trove}}</ref> With [[Thelma Coyne Long]] he reached the final of the mixed doubles event, the first Grand Slam final of his career, but they lost in straight sets to [[Doris Hart]] and Frank Sedgman.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article138571108 |title=Sedgman and Doris Hart win mixed doubles. |work=Cootamundra Herald |date=9 September 1952 |page=1 |via=Trove}}</ref> An early loss at the [[Pacific Southwest Championships]] in September concluded his first overseas tour.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2864262 |title=Hoad beaten in Pacific Championships. |work=The Canberra Times |date=16 September 1952 |page=6 |via=Trove}}</ref> In September, he was jointly ranked No. 10 in the world for 1952 with Rosewall by [[Lance Tingay]] of ''The Daily Telegraph''.<ref name=collins>{{cite book|last=Collins|first=Bud|title=The Bud Collins History of Tennis|year=2010|publisher=New Chapter Press |isbn=978-0942257700|pages=715–718, 754|edition=2nd}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article194579346 |title=Australians head tennis rankings |work=Daily Examiner |date=17 September 1952 |page=5 |via=Trove}}</ref>

;1953
[[File:Lew Hoad 1953.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Hoad in 1953]]
Hoad started 1953 poorly in the singles with a second-round exit against [[Clive Wilderspin]] at the [[1953 Australian Championships|Australian Championships]] in Melbourne after playing an uncharacteristic baseline game.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18504560 |title=Hoad Defeated By Unseeded W. Australian. |work=The Sunday Herald  |date=11 January 1953 |page=1 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18353380 |title=Instructions beat Hoad. |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=12 January 1953 |page=7 |via=Trove}}</ref> He was more successful in doubles where he and Rosewall became the youngest team to win the [[List of Australian Open men's doubles champions|Australian doubles]] title after a victory in the final against [[Mervyn Rose]] and [[Don Candy]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27130798 |title=Rosewall, Hoad take doubles title |work=The Mercury |date=17 January 1953 |page=23 |via=Trove}}</ref> In March, Hoad defended his singles title at the Australian Hardcourt Championships, defeating Rosewall in a five set semifinal in which he survived six matchpoints, and 34-year-old [[John Bromwich]] in the final.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18502363 |title=Hoad Proves Too Strong For Bromwich In Final. |work=The Sunday Herald  |date=15 March 1953 |page=6 Section: Sports Section |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article42766939 |title=Brilliant tennis by Lewis Hoad. |work=The Cairns Post |date=14 March 1953 |page=5 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article118400435 |title=Hoad Saved Six Match Points |work=The Queensland Times  |date=13 March 1953 |page=3|edition=Daily|via=Trove}}</ref> Two weeks later, Hoad lost the final of the N.S.W. Hardcourt Championships against Mervyn Rose.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article134822729 |title=Rose in first major win. |work=Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate |date=24 March 1953 |page=10 |via=Trove}}</ref>

Hoad's second overseas tour started in late April, and after an exhibition in Cairo at the Gezira Sporting Club, he reached the final at [[Italian Open (tennis)|Italian Championships]] in Rome losing to Drobný in straight sets but won the doubles title with Rosewall.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article132607463 |title=Austn. tennis stars to play in Cair. |work=The Dubbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate |date=30 April 1953 |page=3 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18510292 |title=Australians Should Do Well On Tennis Tour. |work=The Sunday Herald  |date=26 April 1953 |page=11 Section: Sporting Section |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27170292 |title=Hoad trounced by Drobny in singles. |work=The Mercury  |date=13 May 1953 |page=28 |via=Trove}}</ref> At the [[1953 French Championships (tennis)|French Championships]] in May, Hoad was seeded fourth and made it to the quarterfinals in which he lost to [[Vic Seixas]] due to overhitting and an unreliable serve.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75736356 |title=Tennis World:. |work=The Mirror  |date=16 May 1953 |page=20 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27167095 |title=Hoad overwhelmed by Seixas in three sets. |work=The Mercury  |date=28 May 1953 |page=28 |via=Trove}}</ref> Hoad and Rosewall won the doubles title with a three-set win in the final against countrymen Rose and Wilderspin.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18369304 |title=Rosewall And Hoad Win Doubles Title In Three Easy Sets. |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=1 June 1953 |page=7 |via=Trove}}</ref> In June, Hoad's attacking serve-and-volley game proved too good for Wimbledon favorite Rosewall in the final of the Queen's Club Championship and he won the tournament without losing a set.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article69477450 |title=Hoad is too good for Rosewall. |work=The Advocate  |date=22 June 1953 |page=10 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article145491522 |title=Another Hoad-Rosewall duel. |work=Daily Advertiser  |date=22 June 1953 |page=4 |via=Trove}}</ref> At Wimbledon, Hoad was seeded sixth, and as at the French, Vic Seixas defeated him in the quarterfinal, this time in a close five-set match that ended on a Hoad double fault.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article69476681 |title=Rosewall seeded Wimbledon No. 1. |work=The Advocate  |date=17 June 1953 |page=20 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article69478690 |title=Hoad, Rosewall lose singles matches. |work=The Advocate  |date=30 June 1953 |page=16 |via=Trove}}</ref> In an all-Australian doubles final Hoad and Rosewall defeated Hartwig and Rose.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61084374 |title=Rosewall and Hoad Win Doubles. |work=The Examiner |date=6 July 1953 |page=19 |via=Trove}}</ref> Hoad lost to [[Enrique Morea]] in the final of the Dutch Championships in mid July.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article134208544 |title=Morea beats Lew Hoad|work=The News |date=13 July 1953 |page=19 |via=Trove}}</ref> He won his first title on U.S. soil in [[South Orange]] at the [[Eastern Grass Court Championships]] in mid August, defeating compatriot [[Rex Hartwig]] in the final.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48260977 |title=Hoad Stops Hartwig's Winning Run. |work=The Advertiser |date=11 August 1953 |page=13 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article134208044 |title=Hoad Trounces Hartwig |work=News |volume=61 |issue=9360 |date=10 August 1953 |access-date=15 October 2016 |page=20 |via=Trove}}</ref> In the semifinal against Rosewall, he pulled a back muscle.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18385537 |title=Hoad injures muscle in back. |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=11 August 1953 |page=10 |via=Trove}}</ref> Hoad and Rosewall's hopes of winning the doubles Grand Slam, two years after fellow Australians [[Ken McGregor]] and Frank Sedgman had first achieved that feat, were dashed when they lost surprisingly in the third round of the U.S. Doubles Championships.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article100389509 |title=Hoad And Rosewall Down To U.S. Pair. |work=Goulburn Evening Post  |date=21 August 1953 |page=3|edition=Daily and Evening |via=Trove}}</ref> At the [[1953 U.S. National Championships (tennis)|U.S. Championships]]<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27165702 |title=Australians top U.S. seedings. |work=The Mercury  |date=27 August 1953 |page=24 |via=Trove}}</ref> Hoad (second foreign seed) won four matches to reach the semifinal where for the third time in 1953 he lost in a Grand Slam event to Vic Seixas.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130777857 |title=Rosewall, Hoad failL. |work=The News  |date=7 September 1953 |page=1 |via=Trove}}</ref> Following his defeat, and that of Rosewall in the other semifinal, there was criticism in the press that both 18-year-old players were physically and mentally worn out due to the intensive schedule imposed by coach Harry Hopman.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18383562 |title=Strong attack on Hopman. |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=9 September 1953 |page=10 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48921437 |title='Hopman Ruined Players' Morale'|work=The Advertiser  |date=11 September 1953 |page=3 |via=Trove}}</ref> In September, Seixas again beat Hoad, this time in the semifinal of the Pacific Southwest Championships in Los Angeles.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48933520 |title=Rosewall Beats Trabert|work=The Advertiser  |date=21 September 1953 |page=3 |via=Trove}}</ref>

Hoad was rested a few weeks upon his return to Australia and then won the Queensland Championships in early November in a 41-minute final against Hartwig.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131248258 |title=Win to Hoad in straight sets. |work=The News  |date=7 November 1953 |page=7 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23319376 |title=Hoad invincible in smashing singles victory. |work=The Argus  |date=9 November 1953 |page=17 |via=Trove}}</ref> Two weeks later, Hoad won the N.S.W. Championships after four-set victories over Tony Trabert in the semi-final and over Rosewall in the final in front of a 10,000 Sydney crowd but had trouble with a sore right elbow.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58877927 |title=Hoad, 18, youngest player to win NSW singles title. |work=The Mail  |date=21 November 1953 |page=4 Section: SPORTS SECTION |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18397547 |title=Heat treatments for Hoad's elbow. |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=23 November 1953 |page=8 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18397369 |title=Hoad Has Sore Elbow. |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=21 November 1953 |page=1 |via=Trove}}</ref> In early December at the Victorian Championships he defeated Rosewall in the final.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58876086 |title=Hoad beats Rosewall; both in great form. |work=The Mail |date=5 December 1953 |page=42 |via=Trove}}</ref> The much anticipated [[1953 Davis Cup|Davis Cup]] challenge round match against the challenging team from the United States took place at the Melbourne [[Kooyong Stadium]] in late December. Surprisingly Hartwig was selected to partner Hoad in the doubles instead of Rosewall, a decision widely criticized in the press.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article223423316 |title=Australia's Cup doubles pairing roasted overseas |work=Lithgow Mercury |date=30 December 1953 |page=1 |via=Trove}}</ref>

In the opening singles matches, Hoad defeated Seixas, his nemesis that season, in straight sets, while Trabert defeated Rosewall, also in straight sets. Hoad and Hartwig lost the doubles match against Seixas and Trabert and Australia trailed 1–2 at the start of the final day.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article132597738 |title=Selectors should resign says Davis Cup critic. |work=The Dubbo Liberal and Macquarie Advocate  |date=30 December 1953 |page=1 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article100391794 |title=Tennis Critics Hit at "Boner". |work=Goulburn Evening Post |date=30 December 1953 |page=3|edition=Daily and Evening |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2913849 |title=The Cup selectors' "Mistake". |work=The Canberra Times |date=30 December 1953 |page=2 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18402731 |title="Biggest tragedy of tennis". |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=30 December 1953 |page=1 |via=Trove}}</ref> Hoad is remembered for his match as a 19-year-old amateur against the United States champion [[Tony Trabert]]. In front of a 17,000 crowd, he defeated Trabert in five sets to help his country retain the Cup.{{efn|name=rosewall|Ken Rosewall won the deciding rubber, played on the next day due to rain, against Vic Seixas in four sets.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131241965 |title=Rosewall's great battle. |work=The News  |date=31 December 1953 |page=16 |via=Trove}}</ref>}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47584376 |title="Best Tennis I Have Ever Seen". |work=The Advertiser  |date=31 December 1953 |page=3 |via=Trove}}</ref>{{sfnp|Davidson|1970|pp=102–104, 113-114}} It was seen as one of the best Davis Cup matches in history.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23305909 |title='Topped all games'. |work=The Argus  |date=31 December 1953 |page=13 |via=Trove}}</ref>{{sfnp|Davidson|1970|p=105}} Directly following the final, Hoad received his call-up papers for [[Conscription in Australia#National Service in the 1950s|National Service]].{{sfnp|Davidson|1970|p=114}}

Hoad was ranked world No. 5 amateur for 1953 by Lance Tingay in his September rankings.{{efn|name=tingay|The annual Tingay September amateur rankings from 1952–1967 were also published in USLTA/USTA official encyclopedias,<ref>Official Encyclopedia of Tennis, United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972)</ref> Bud Collins' tennis encyclopedia in the 1985 and later editions, the Italian annual Almanacco illustrato del tennis and other publications.<ref>The Guinness Book of Tennis Facts and Feats, Lance Tingay (1983)</ref>}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article69489881 |title=Trabert is No. 1 tennis player |work=The Advocate |date=16 September 1953 |page=16 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref name=collins/> At the end of the year, Hoad was ranked world No. 1 amateur for the complete season of 1953 by Harry Hopman,<ref>{{cite news|date=15 January 1954|title=HOAD JUST HEADS TRABERT|page=13|newspaper=[[The Herald (Melbourne)]]|issue=23,912|location=Victoria, Australia|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article245148632|via=National Library of Australia|access-date=25 November 2021}}</ref> by Noel Brown<ref name=":brownrevised1953">{{cite magazine |date=March 1954 |title=Revised World Rankings |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_tennis-illustrated_1954-03_1_10/page/12/ |magazine=World Tennis |location=New York |publisher= |volume=1 |issue=10 |page=12 |access-date=}}</ref> and by the editors of ''Tennis de France'', published by [[Philippe Chatrier]].<ref>{{cite magazine|editor1=Philippe Chatrier|title=Annual rankings|magazine=Tennis de France|date=February 1954|issue=10|pages=3–5}}</ref><ref>The Tennis de France rankings for 1953 were determined by Philippe Chatrier and his editorial team, results  as follows 1) Hoad 2) Trabert 3) Rosewall 4) Seixas 5) Drobny 6) Patty 7) Rose 8) Larsen 9) Nielsen 10) Davidson</ref> Tingay stated in September 1954 that Hoad in 1953 had  "played so well during the Australian season that his status as best in the world was axiomatic." He added that for the 1954 season, "His form since has been almost disastrous. Hoad's decline has been a mystery."<ref>{{cite web|title=The News (Adelaide), 14 September 1954|work=News |date=14 September 1954 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/130986277|via=Trove}}</ref> Hoad was the youngest tennis player ever at 19 years 38 days to achieve world No. 1 rankings, a record which still stands.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}

;1954
[[File:Ken Rosewall Lew Hoad 1954 Davis Cup.jpeg|thumb|Ken Rosewall (left) and Hoad at the [[1954 Davis Cup]] challenge-round match against the US at [[White City Stadium|White City]], Sydney]]
In January, Hoad played just one tournament before entering his National Service training. At the [[South Australian Championships]] in Adelaide he reached the final but sub-par play led to a straight-sets defeat to Trabert.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58094803 |title=Hoad far below best; volleying poor, backhand wilted. |work=The Mail  |date=9 January 1954 |page=7 Section: Sports section |via=Trove}}</ref> On 13 January, Hoad joined the 13th National Service Training battalion in [[Ingleburn, New South Wales|Ingleburn]] for a period of 98 days and commented that "It will be a welcome break from tennis".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article69882269 |title=Lew Hoad in camp. |work=The Advocate  |date=14 January 1954 |page=7 |via=Trove}}</ref> As a consequence, Hoad was unable to participate in the [[1954 Australian Championships|Australian Championships]]. At the end of February, Hoad received a leave from service to play for the Australian team at Kooyong stadium in the third Test match against South Africa in front of the [[Queen Elizabeth II|Queen]] and the [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Duke of Edinburgh]]. He won a singles match against [[Abe Segal]], won a doubles match with Rosewall and lost a mixed-doubles match with his girlfriend [[Jenny Staley]].<ref>At 32:40 point in the official film. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_EXTWvPDeQ&t=2056s</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26593422 |title=Africa leads in Test. |work=The Argus  |date=27 February 1954 |page=48 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article26593556 |title=Africa shocks Aussie stars in tennis Test. |work=The Argus  |date=28 February 1954 |page=21 |via=Trove}}</ref> When Hoad returned to service, he was bitten by a spider while on maneuvers which caused him to become ill and hospitalized him for ten days.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130870595 |title=Hoad's stay in hospital extended. |work=[[The News (Adelaide)|The News]]  |date=5 March 1954 |page=3 |via=Trove}}</ref> He spent two days in coma which was not made public.{{sfnp|Hoad|Pollard|2002|p=22}}

While he was in service, Hoad devised a weight-lifting exercise, doing push-ups with round 50 lb. weights placed on his back, which Hoad later believed probably initiated his back trouble. Hoad left the National Service at the end of April and his third overseas tour with an Australian team started on 5 May.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article96266821 |title=Australians Leave For Tour. |work=[[The Examiner (Tasmania)|The Examiner]]  |date=6 May 1954 |page=28 |via=Trove}}</ref> For the first time in his career, Hoad was the top-seeded player at a Grand Slam tournament at the [[1954 French Championships (tennis)|French Championships]] but he lost in the fourth round to 40-year-old [[Gardnar Mulloy]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article96390951 |title=Hoad Seeded No. 1 in France. |work=[[The Northern Star]] |date=17 May 1954 |page=3 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article84598242 |title=Hoad out of French tournament |work=[[The Singleton Argus]] |date=24 May 1954 |page=1 |via=Trove}}</ref> Hoad lost the doubles final with Rosewall to Seixas and Trabert in 56 minutes. Partnering [[Maureen Connolly]], who had won the women's singles title, Hoad won the mixed-doubles final against [[Jacqueline Patorni]] and [[Rex Hartwig]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131395496 |title=Australians eclipsed. |work=[[The News (Adelaide)|The News]]  |date=31 May 1954 |page=28 |via=Trove}}</ref> In June, Hoad overcame countryman Rose in the final of the Queen's Club Championship to successfully defend his title.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article59690815 |title=Hoad's second successive Queen's Club singles win. |work=[[The Sunday Times (Western Australia)|Sunday Times]]  |date=20 June 1954 |page=8|edition=Country edition, Section: Sporting Section|via=Trove}}</ref> Hoad was seeded second behind Trabert at [[1954 Wimbledon Championships|Wimbledon Championships]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article69976463 |title=Trabert seeded No. 1 for Wimbledon: Hoad second. |work=[[The Advocate (Tasmania)|The Advocate]]  |date=16 June 1954 |page=20 |via=Trove}}</ref> In the fourth round, Hoad avenged his loss to Mulloy at the French Championships, defeating him in four sets.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48106135 |title=Hood Avenges Defeat In French Championship. |work=The Advertiser  |date=28 June 1954 |page=8 |via=Trove}}</ref> In the quarterfinal the powerful service and excellent returns of Drobný proved too much for Hoad and he was beaten in straight sets within an hour.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article69978489 |title=Rosewall only Australian not beaten at Wimbledon. |work=The Advocate  |date=29 June 1954 |page=16 |via=Trove}}</ref> Hoad and Rosewall were unable to defend their Wimbledon doubles title after losing in five sets in the semifinal to Seixas and Trabert.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article69853286 |title=U.S. pair beats Hoad-Rosewall |work=The Advocate  |date=2 July 1954 |page=20 |via=Trove}}</ref> A surprise loss to [[Roger Becker]] in the semifinal at the Midlands Counties Championships in Birmingham was followed in mid-July by winning the singles title at the [[Swiss Open (tennis)|Swiss Championships]] in Gstaad.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article134755237 |title=Hoad beaten in UK tennis. |work=The News  |date=10 July 1954 |page=11 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27215021 |title=Hoad too strong for Fraser. |work=The Mercury  |date=20 July 1954 |page=23 |via=Trove}}</ref> As in the previous year, Hoad met Rosewall in the [[Eastern Grass Court Championships]] in August, this time in the final, and again the titleholder was victorious, overpowering Rosewall to win the singles title in three straight sets.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article134654652 |title=Eastern Title Win To L. Hoad. |work=Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate |date=10 August 1954 |page=10 |via=Trove}}</ref> At [[Newport, Rhode Island|Newport]] in mid August, Hoad was beaten by 17-year-old compatriot [[Roy Emerson]] who won the deciding set 8–6.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article103499346 |title=Hoad Down To Junior. |work=Goulburn Evening Post  |date=13 August 1954 |page=3|edition=Daily and Evening |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18430366 |title=Emerson's Victory Is Praised. |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=14 August 1954 |page=11 |via=Trove}}</ref> For the third time in 1954, Seixas and Trabert defeated Hoad and Rosewall at a Grand Slam doubles event, winning the U.S. Doubles Championships in Brookline.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131253523 |title=Seixas and Trabert win U.S. doubles. |work=[[The News (Adelaide)|The News]]  |date=23 August 1954 |page=28 |via=Trove}}</ref>
[[File:Lew Hoad 1954 Kooyong.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|Hoad at [[Kooyong Stadium|Kooyong]] in 1954]] 
Hoad, no. 1 foreign seed at the [[1954 U.S. National Championships (tennis)|U.S. Championships]], lost to [[Ham Richardson]] in a five-set quarterfinal.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130985870 |title=Hoad downed in five sets by Richardson. |work=The News  |date=4 September 1954 |page=6 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article81665161 |title=Trabert, Hoad Classed No. 1. |work=The Northern Miner  |date=26 August 1954 |page=1 |via=Trove}}</ref> His lackluster form continued when he was defeated by unseeded [[Luis Ayala (tennis)|Luis Ayala]] in the quarterfinal of the Pacific Southwest Championships in mid-September.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article134087011 |title=Hoad, Rosewall Lose In Singles. |work=Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate |date=20 September 1954 |page=8 |via=Trove}}</ref> After returning to Australia at the end of September, Hoad scheduled extra practice to work on his serve and volley but subsequently lost to [[Don Candy]] in the semifinal of the Sydney Metropolitan Championships.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131212231 |title=Hoad keen to regain form. |work=The News  |date=2 October 1954 |page=3 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18446419 |title=Hoad lethargic in semi-final defeat. |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=14 October 1954 |page=12 |via=Trove}}</ref> In early November, matters briefly improved. In the final of the Queensland Championships in Brisbane, he overcame a sunstroke and the loss of sets three and four by 0–6 to defeat Hartwig in five sets.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50613583 |title=Hoad takes title. |work=The Courier-Mail  |date=8 November 1954 |page=7 |via=Trove}}</ref> In mid-November, he was upset by veteran [[John Bromwich]] who better exploited the windy conditions in the quarterfinal of the N.S.W. Championships.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50622279 |title=Hoad's form worst for year. |work=The Courier-Mail  |date=17 November 1954 |page=15 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50610467 |title=Hopman: not worried over Hoad's defeat. |work=The Courier-Mail  |date=18 November 1954 |page=13 |via=Trove}}</ref> At the Victorian Championships, the last significant tournament before the Davis Cup Challenge Round, Hoad was defeated in straight sets in the semifinal by Seixas. As in the previous match against [[Sven Davidson]] he showed such poor form and at times an apparent lack of interest that he was jeered by the crowd and several left after he smashed a ball into the stands.{{sfnp|Hoad|Pollard|2002|pp=26, 27}}<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18453564 |title=Quist's advice on Hoad: "Must leave him alone". |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=2 December 1954 |page=13 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23453632 |title='No solution at present,' says Hopman. |work=The Argus  |date=3 December 1954 |page=32 |via=Trove}}</ref>

The [[1954 Davis Cup]] Challenge Round was played on 27–29 December on the grass courts at the [[White City Stadium (Sydney)|White City Stadium]] in Sydney between title holders Australia and the United States. Hoad lost the first rubber to Trabert, in front of a record crowd of 25,000, in a high-quality four-set match.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article0 |title=[No heading]. |work=The News |date=27 December 1954 |page=1 |via=Trove |access-date=12 June 2014 |archive-date=11 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200311001016/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/0 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{dead link|date=May 2020}}</ref> Rosewall also lost his singles match and the United States won back the cup after Seixas and Trabert defeated Hoad and Rosewall in four sets in the doubles rubber.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18443930 |title=U.S. wins back Davis Cup after lapse of 4 years. |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=29 December 1954 |page=1 |via=Trove}}</ref>

In a season review article in the ''Dunlop Lawn Tennis Annual & Almanack'' editor and former tennis player [[Pat Hughes (tennis)|G.P. Hughes]] mentioned that "Hoad in particular had a bad year".<ref name="almanack1955">{{cite book|title=Dunlop Lawn Tennis Annual and Almanack 1955|date=1955|publisher=Ed. J. Burrow & Co. Ltd. |page=10|editor=[[Pat Hughes (tennis)|G.P. Hughes]]}}</ref> In a 1956 interview, Hoad admitted that especially in 1954 he often got fed-up with tennis and didn't care whether he played or not.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article41851758 |title=The Hoads go on living in cases. |work=The Australian Women's Weekly | date=11 July 1956 |access-date=9 July 2014 |page=12 |via=Trove}}</ref> In September, Hoad's world ranking had slipped to No. 7 in Tingay's ranking. Tingay, Chatrier and other writers ranked Hoad world No. 5 in a collaborative ranking.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130986277 |title=Writer lists his 10 best: Hoad seventh. |work=The News  |date=14 September 1954 |page=36 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130983653 |title=Hopman surveys tennis tour. |work=The News  |date=27 September 1954 |page=24 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50609509 |title=Hoad was never in best form. |work=The Courier-Mail  |date=29 September 1954 |page=12 |via=Trove}}</ref>{{efn|name=ranking|An alternative ranking compiled by an international team of tennis writers placed Hoad as No. 5.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article69867758 |title=Trabert and Connolly head tennis ranking. |work=The Advocate  |date=30 November 1954 |page=19 |via=Trove}}</ref>}} However, Hoad was ranked world No. 4 in Ned Potter's rankings for 1954 in ''World Tennis'', which was a higher ranking than Potter had given Hoad in 1953 at No. 5.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Potter|first=Edward C.|date=February 1955|title=The World's First Ten|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_tennis-illustrated_1955-02_2_9/page/n13/mode/2up|magazine=World Tennis|location=New York|publisher=|volume=2|issue=2|page=10|access-date=}}</ref>

;1955
Hoad was unable to play the South Australian tennis championship in early January due to a torn ligament.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article42851270 |title=Lewis Hoad not to play. |work=The Cairns Post |date=31 December 1954 |page=1 |via=Trove}}</ref> To some surprise he entered the mixed doubles event at the [[1955 Australian Championships]] with his girlfriend [[Jenny Staley]] and the pair finished as runner-ups to [[Thelma Coyne Long]] and [[George Worthington (tennis)|George Worthington]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71688321 |title=Lew and Jenny cause a stir. |work=The Argus  |date=7 January 1955 |page=1 |via=Trove}}</ref> In the singles event, he reached his first Grand Slam tournament final after solid wins over Seixas (quarterfinal) and Hartwig (semifinal). In the final Rosewall's accuracy and control were too strong for him and he lost in three straight sets.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75434956 |title=Rosewall Beats Hoad In Australian Tennis Final. |work=The Central Queensland Herald |date=3 February 1955 |page=12 |via=Trove}}</ref> Hoad did not participate in the [[1955 French Championships (tennis)|French Championships]] as the Davis Cup team that he was part of only left for Europe at the end of May during the Championships.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91199733 |title=Davis Cup squad leaves for U.K. |work=The Canberra Times |date=31 May 1955 |page=1 |via=Trove}}</ref> In the singles final of the Queen's Club Championship in mid-June Hoad, who was married earlier that day, lost his service seven times and lost to Rosewall in two straight sets but won the doubles event with Hartwig.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91201060 |title=Rosewall Wins Pre-Wimbledon Singles Title. |work=The Canberra Times |date=20 June 1955 |page=5 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71889118 |title=2-day honeymoon-then tennis. |work=The Argus  |date=20 June 1955 |page=5 |via=Trove}}</ref> Hoad was the fourth-seeded player at the [[1955 Wimbledon Championships|Wimbledon Championships]] at the end of June. In his quarterfinal match against seventh-seeded [[Budge Patty]], his game lacked accuracy and he conceded a break in each set resulting in a loss in straight sets.<ref>{{cite news|title=Budge Patty Upsets Hoad|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OfpXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=svYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6406%2C3529679|work=Spokane Daily Chronicle|date=27 June 1955}}</ref>

Having lost the Davis Cup in 1954, Australia had to play through the [[1955 Davis Cup]] preliminary rounds to challenge holders United States. In July, Australia defeated Mexico, Brazil and Canada to win the Americas Zone and subsequently beat Japan and Italy in the Inter-zone matches in August.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71674083 |title=U.S. morale slumps as Hoad hits form. |work=The Argus  |date=17 August 1955 |page=24 |via=Trove}}</ref> In the Challenge Round at the West Side Tennis Club, Forest Hills from 26 to 28 August, Hoad defeated the French and Wimbledon champion Trabert in four sets in his first singles rubber and with Hartwig won the doubles match to reclaim the Davis Cup for Australia. These were the first ever tennis matches televised in colour, on the first national colour broadcast by NBC television.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91207884 |title=Second Singles Wins Sweep Australia To Five-nil Triumph. |work=The Canberra Times |date=30 August 1955 |page=8 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|author1=Alfred Wright|title=Lew Hoad's big serve carried the load|magazine=Sports Illustrated|date=5 September 1955|volume=3|issue=10|url=https://www.si.com/vault/1955/09/05/666998/lew-hoads-big-serve-carried-the-load}}</ref><ref>Lew Freedman, "The 100 Most Important Sporting Events in American History". Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood, 2015, p. 28</ref>

Hoad was no. 2 foreign seed at the [[1955 U.S. National Championships (tennis)|U.S. Championships]] held from 2 to 11 September, immediately after the Davis Cup Challenge Round, on the muddy courts of Forest Hills. In the quarterfinal, he lost his service three times in succession in the third set and suffered a straight-sets defeat in 50 minutes against Trabert, the first-seeded U.S. player, and eventual champion.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Hughes|editor1-first=G.P.|title=Dunlop Lawn Tennis Annual and Almanack 1956|date=1956|publisher=Dunlop Sports Co. Ltd. |page=185|oclc=877780619}}</ref>  In his first significant tournament after the U.S. Championships, Hoad won the New South Wales Championships in November after a win in the final against Rosewall.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71781303 |title='Killer' Hoad fights for pro. offer. |work=The Argus  |date=21 November 1955 |page=18 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71784888 |title=Rose must beat Lew for a career. |work=The Argus  |date=8 December 1955 |page=24 |via=Trove}}</ref> In December, he won the singles title at the Victorian Championships after a tough five-sets final win over 19-year old [[Ashley Cooper (tennis)|Ashley Cooper]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71785669 |title=Cooper heads for top of tennis. |work=The Argus |date=12 December 1955 |page=22 |via=Trove}}</ref>

In September 1955, he was ranked No. 3 in the world according to Tingay,<ref name=collins/> and was ranked world No. 3 for 1955 by Ned Potter in ''World Tennis''.<ref>Potter, Edward C. (November 1955). "The World's First Ten of 1955". World Tennis. Vol. 3 no. 6. New York. p. 44.</ref>

;1956
[[File:Hoad Rosewall Wimbledon.jpg|thumb|Hoad (left) and Rosewall playing doubles at the Wimbledon Championships in the mid-fifties]]
Hoad started the year with a five-set defeat in the final of the South Australian Championships against countryman [[Neale Fraser]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article138116102 |title=Fraser Beats Hoad For S.A. Singles Title. |work=The Canberra Times |date=3 January 1956 |page=3 |via=Trove}}</ref> At the following Manly tournament, the crowd overflowed the stands during the final hindering Rosewall's "baseline defensive game" more than Hoad's attacking style, resulting in a straight-sets win for Hoad in 35 minutes.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article72529273 |title=Crowd hinders title tennis. |work=The Argus  |date=9 January 1956 |page=15 |via=Trove}}</ref> At the [[1956 Australian Championships|Australian Championships]] in Brisbane, Hoad overcame a two sets to one deficit against [[Mervyn Rose]] in the quarterfinal and beat Neale Fraser in the semifinal to reach his second consecutive Australian final, where he overcame titleholder Rosewall in four sets to win his first Grand Slam singles title.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article138118099 |title=Australian title to Lew Hoad. |work=The Canberra Times |date=31 January 1956 |page=5 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article72533139 |title=A few faces were red as.. Tired Lew takes first big title. |work=The Argus  |date=31 January 1956 |page=16 |via=Trove}}</ref> He won the doubles title with Rosewall against Don Candy and Mervyn Rose. At the beginning of March, Hoad and his wife left for an overseas private tour (a tour sanctioned but not organised by the Australian tennis federation).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79260823 |title=Hoads' tennis tour approved. |work=The Central Queensland Herald |date=23 February 1956 |page=19 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75863577 |title=Australian ace on "Pot-Hunting" tour. |work=The Mirror  |date=28 April 1956 |page=14 |via=Trove}}</ref> First stop of the tour was Cairo where Hoad won the singles title at the Egyptian Championships against [[Sven Davidson]] followed by a tournament win in Alexandria over [[Fred Kovaleski]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79261724 |title=Egyptian Tennis Championships. |work=The Central Queensland Herald  |date=15 March 1956 |page=29 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71794205 |title=Lew to play in final. |work=The Argus  |date=26 March 1956 |page=17 |via=Trove}}</ref> At Monte Carlo in late March, he was surprisingly beaten by [[Tony Vincent (tennis)|Tony Vincent]] in the quarterfinal.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79262527 |title=Vincent beats Hoad. |work=The Central Queensland Herald  |date=5 April 1956 |page=18 |via=Trove}}</ref> In the Australian ranking published in April, reflecting the season until the end of March, Hoad overtook Rosewall as No. 1.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article138122648 |title=Hoad Heads Rankings. |work=The Canberra Times |date=17 April 1956 |page=8 |via=Trove}}</ref> Singles titles at the Lebanese Championships and at the Connaught Club in Essex followed in April but the month ended with a semifinal loss to [[Ham Richardson]] at the [[British Hard Court Championships]] in Bournemouth.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71796881 |title=Hoad tokes two titles. |work=The Argus  |date=11 April 1956 |page=26 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79263324 |title=Hoad In Three Title Wins. |work=The Central Queensland Herald  |date=26 April 1956 |page=18 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75863630 |title=Lew Hoad beaten. |work=The Mirror  |date=28 April 1956 |page=16 |via=Trove}}</ref>

Hoad won his first [[Italian Open (tennis)|Italian Championships]] on red clay at the [[Foro Italico]] in Rome in early May when he outplayed [[Sven Davidson]] in straight sets.<ref>{{cite news|title=Aussie Lew Whips Sven|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=p8gxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HeMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4254%2C1928494|work=Ottawa Citizen|date=9 May 1956}}</ref> At the [[1956 French Championships (tennis)|French Championships]] at Roland Garros, Hoad survived a five-set scare against [[Robert Abdesselam]] in the third round before winning the final against Sven Davidson in straight sets to claim his second consecutive Grand Slam singles title.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71803802 |title=Hoad and Cooper win. |work=The Argus  |date=19 May 1956 |page=33 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79264549 |title=Hoad takes French title. |work=The Central Queensland Herald  |date=31 May 1956 |page=18 |via=Trove}}</ref> Unknown to the public, Hoad had stayed up the night previous to the final, invited by a Russian diplomat, and was drunk when he came home. An intensive workout by [[Rod Laver]] got him into a state that allowed him to play the final.{{sfnp|Hoad|Pollard|2002|p=47}} Following the win in Paris, Hoad stated his intention to remain amateur after 1956, "Even if I win the three big tournaments,<ref>Star News (UPI), 4 September 1951.  "Savitt was seeking the third grand slam in tennis annals, for the Australian, Wimbledon and United States titles had been won previously only by Fred Perry in 1934 and Don Budge in 1938". https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=pGlgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=N3INAAAAIBAJ&dq=grand%20slam%20tennis&pg=822%2C345156</ref> even if Kramer raised his offer, I still wouldn't turn pro for at least two or three seasons."<ref>World Tennis, July 1956</ref> In May, Hoad won the International Golden Ball tournament in [[Wiesbaden]], West Germany after a straight-sets victory in the final over [[Art Larsen]] but at the [[Barcelona Open (tennis)|Trofeo Conde de Godó]] in Barcelona, he lost in the quarterfinal to [[Robert Howe (tennis)|Bob Howe]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Hoad beats Larsen to win Wiesbaden tennis tourney|url=http://www.stripes.com/news/from-the-s-s-archives-hoad-beats-larsen-to-win-wiesbaden-tennis-tourney-1.78573|work=Stars and Stripes|date=15 May 1956}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=El gran triunfo de Bob Howe sobre Lew Hoad ayer en el Trofeo Conde de Godo de Tenis|url=http://hemeroteca.lavanguardia.com/preview/1956/05/25/pagina-28/32769566/pdf.html|work=La Vanguardia|author=Jaime Bartroli|date=2 June 1956|page=28 |language=Spanish}}</ref> As a preparation for Wimbledon, Hoad played the singles event at the [[Northern Lawn Tennis Championships|Northern Championships]] in Manchester but lost to 34-year old Jaroslav Drobný in the final 7–5 in the deciding set.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71808212 |title=Our Lew is beaten by Drobny. |work=The Argus  |date=11 June 1956 |page=18 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91215723 |title=Rosewall favoured in Queen's tourney. |work=The Canberra Times |date=19 June 1956 |page=11 |via=Trove}}</ref> Hoad was seeded first for the [[1956 Wimbledon Championships|Wimbledon Championships]]. He lost two sets en route to the final, one to [[Mal Anderson]] in the quarterfinal and one to [[Ham Richardson]] in the semifinal. In the final he faced Rosewall. In the first all-Australian final since 1922, Hoad was victorious in four sets to gain his first Wimbledon and third successive Grand Slam championship title.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hoad Wins Wimbledon Singles Tennis Crown|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nxkgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iGYFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1688%2C644949|work=The Lewiston Daily Sun|date=6 July 1956}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Lew Hoad at Wimbledon crushes Rosewall for singles title|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ncgxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HuMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5125%2C679369|work=Ottawa Citizen|date=6 July 1956}}</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPkGg5Lcgfk Henley and Wimbledon 1956:London, British Pathe, July 1956</ref> Hoad also won the doubles title with Rosewall, their third Wimbledon title, defeating [[Orlando Sirola]] and [[Nicola Pietrangeli]] in the final in straight sets.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79266105 |title=Wimbledon Tennis Hoad-Rosewall have grand doubles win. |work=The Central Queensland Herald  |date=12 July 1956 |page=19 |via=Trove}}</ref> Following his Wimbledon title he lost in the semi-final of the Midlands tournament to [[Mike Davies (tennis)|Mike Davies]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71646237 |title=He beat Lew —but lost. |work=The Argus  |date=16 July 1956 |page=24 |via=Trove}}</ref> In August, Hoad won the singles title at the [[German Open Tennis Championships|German Championships]], on clay at [[Hamburg]], with a four-set defeat of [[Orlando Sirola]] in the final.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79267163 |title=Mrs Long, Hoad Win Finals. |work=The Central Queensland Herald  |date=9 August 1956 |page=19 |via=Trove}}</ref>

Immediately after Wimbledon, Hoad experienced severe pain and stiffness in his lower back, at a level higher than before the tournament.{{sfnp|Hodgson|Jones|2001|p=113}} He arranged to travel to the U.S. by boat on the {{RMS|Queen Mary}} rather than suffer a long plane trip.{{sfnp|Hodgson|Jones|2001|p=113}} However, the pain continued and reduced the level of his play for the remainder of the year and into 1957.{{sfnp|Hodgson|Jones|2001|pp=114–116}}

After arrival in New York on 21 August, Hoad travelled to Brookline to partner Rosewall in the U.S. Doubles Championships which they won to complete their career doubles Grand Slam. From there he went to the Forest Hills stadium in New York to play his first match in the singles U.S. Championships. He had missed the preparatory grass court tournament at Newport.<ref>Sports Illustrated, 3 September 1956</ref> Having won the first three stages of the Grand Slam, Hoad was favoured to win the fourth and then turn professional for a lucrative contract offered by [[Jack Kramer]], although Hoad himself claimed that he never thought about the Grand Slam and did not hear of it before he arrived in New York. Hoad lost the U.S. Championships final at Forest Hills in four sets to Rosewall.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79268582 |title=Rosewall Great In Defeating Hoad. |work=The Central Queensland Herald  |date=13 September 1956 |page=19 |via=Trove}}</ref> Hoad and Rosewall won the doubles title against Seixas and Richardson.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91221586 |title=Hoad, Rosewall Win U.S Doubles Title. |work=The Canberra Times |date=28 August 1956 |page=12 |via=Trove}}</ref> In September Hoad defeated Luis Ayala in the semifinal and Sven Davidson in a four set final at the O'Keefe Invitational at the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club in Rosedale, Toronto on red clay <ref>New York Times, 14 September 1956, p. 18</ref> and at the [[Pacific Southwest Championships]], the last leg of his overseas tour, Hoad was beaten by [[Alex Olmedo]] in the third round.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article79269227 |title=Hoad Defeated. |work=The Central Queensland Herald  |date=27 September 1956 |page=19 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91224212 |title=Hoad Back From Tour. |work=The Canberra Times |date=29 September 1956 |page=16 |via=Trove}}</ref> In November he lost the final of the Queensland Championships to Ashley Cooper in five sets and was hindered by numbness in the serving arm between the elbow and the wrist.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71763923 |title="Killer Coop" beats Hoad. |work=The Argus  |date=5 November 1956 |page=18 |via=Trove}}</ref> In mid December Hoad and Rosewall competed in the final of the Victorian Championships which was their last final as amateurs as Rosewall turned professional at the end of the month. The final started late due to rain and was stopped due to darkness at two sets to one for Hoad but the following day Rosewall won the last two sets and the title.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71771837 |title=The rains came to rob Rosewall. |work=The Argus  |date=17 December 1956 |page=16 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71771913 |title=Tennis writer Ron asks: Why make enemies, Mr. Hoad?. |work=The Argus  |date=18 December 1956 |page=18 |via=Trove}}</ref> In late December, Hoad was part of the Australian Davis Cup team which defended the Cup in the Challenge Round against the United States. Hoad was confined to bed with back pain for the two days prior to the Davis Cup matches, and was relieved to find that he could play well.{{sfnp|Hodgson|Jones|2001|p=115}} In his last Davis Cup appearance, Hoad won both his singles rubbers, against [[Herbie Flam]] and Seixas, as well as his doubles match with Rosewall to help Australia to a 5–0 victory.<ref>Davis Cup 1956. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwWJ1I9kSxA</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91230758 |title=Australia Wins Challenge Round 5-Love. |work=The Canberra Times |date=29 December 1956 |page=1 |via=Trove}}</ref>

Hoad was ranked world No. 1 amateur by Lance Tingay in September,<ref name=collins/> by Ned Potter in October in ''World Tennis''<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Potter|first=Edward C.|date=November 1956|title=The World's First Tens of 1956|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_tennis-illustrated_1956-11_4_6/page/12/mode/2up|magazine=World Tennis|location=New York|publisher=|volume=4|issue=6|page=13|pages=|access-date=}}</ref> and at the end of the year by ''Tennis de France''.<ref>Tennis de France, No. 46, "1956 Annual Rankings", February 1957.</ref> Hoad won 16 tournaments in 1956, and 17 doubles titles.<ref name="independent_obit"/>

;1957
Hoad played poorly in early 1957, due to back trouble, and was placed in an upper body cast for six weeks, following which he slowly returned to tennis competition in April 1957.{{sfnp|Hodgson|Jones|2001|p=115}} He then experienced a period of pain-free playing for 11 months. He won the [[Northern Lawn Tennis Championships|Northern Championships]] in Manchester, beating [[Ramanathan Krishnan]] in the final. Hoad won his second successive Wimbledon singles title, defeating [[Ashley Cooper (tennis)|Ashley Cooper]] in a straight-sets final that lasted 57 minutes.

===Professional career: 1957–1973===

;1957
After winning the 1957 Wimbledon title, Hoad turned professional by signing a two-year contract with Kramer for a record guarantee of US$125,000, or AUS£55,500, which included a US$25,000 bonus for winning the 1957 Wimbledon singles title.{{sfnp|Kramer|1981|p=229}}<ref name="smh1957"/><ref name="smh1958">{{cite news |title=Kramer receives the smallest cut |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=MYBWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3uQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5306%2C891215 |author=Alan Clarkson |work=Sydney Morning Herald |date= 7 January 1958|page=12 |via=Google News}}</ref> This was the highest guarantee that would be given to an amateur turning pro, with Laver receiving the second highest.<ref name="news.google.com">The Age, 31 December 1962. https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=MDQ-9Oe3GGUC&dat=19621231&printsec=frontpage&hl=en</ref> Hoad's business relationship with Kramer in 1957 and later was congenial and smooth compared to the experiences of [[Pancho Gonzales]]. Hoad would later claim, "I never had a problem with Jack Kramer."<ref>Bud Lessor Oral History Archive, International Tennis Hall of Fame, 12 July 1980.</ref>

On 14 July 1957, Hoad won his debut match as a professional against [[Frank Sedgman]] at the Forest Hills [[Tournament of Champions (tennis)|Tournament of Champions]], broadcast live nationally on the CBS television network.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91593525 |title=Hoad Impressive In Professional Win. |work=The Canberra Times |date=16 July 1957 |page=11 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=What's My Line? (1950–1967) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0746571/ |website=IMDB|date=14 July 1957 }}</ref> He won his next match, against [[Pancho Segura]], but lost the last three to finish joint third in the round robin event behind Gonzales and Sedgman.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=76–78, 206}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Gonzales thinks he can beat Hoad consistently |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/490579632/ |work=Bergen Evening Record |date=22 July 1957 |page=13|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref> After Forest Hills, Hoad commented on the difference between amateur and professional tennis: "It's an entirely different league. These pros make mistakes but they don't make them on vital points. That's the difference.".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91594180 |title=Gonzales Beats Hoad In Stirring Game. |work=The Canberra Times |date=23 July 1957 |page=11 |via=Trove}}</ref> At the following Masters round robin tournament played on cement courts at the Los Angeles Tennis Club he lost all six of his matches to finish in last place, commenting "I don't like cement courts...".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91595000 |title=Lew Hoad loses for 7th time |work=The Canberra Times |date=2 August 1957 |page=19 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=77–78, 206}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Lew Hoad 1957 Player Activity|url=https://app.thetennisbase.com/?enlace=playern&player_input_enc=HOAD%2C+LEW&player_input=&sub=3&idjugador=48277&year=1957&surface=&tipo_de_torneo=&ronda=&tipoRanking=ATP&tm_category=&tm_torneo=&anno_from=&anno_to=&hand=&codpais=&rondaplus=&con_wj1wj2=&ranking_from=&ranking_to=#aSubmenu|website=thetennisbase.com|publisher=Tennis Base|access-date=11 June 2019}}</ref> After these defeats Kramer commented that Hoad would have to change his playing style: "His second serve is too shallow. His opponents massacre it. He must shorten his backhand or play deeper in his returning service." Kramer stated that there was a psychological factor connected with Hoad's defeats "as he never has done well on these courts in Los Angeles and thinks they are his jinx. But, wait until he gets going in the indoor circuit, and then you’ll see an entirely different player, both mentally and physically."<ref>{{cite news |title=Kramer still has hopes Hoad will be a Pro star. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/155594618/ |work=Wilmington Morning News |date=3 August 1957 |page=19 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=limited}}</ref>

In September Hoad embarked on a four-month 4-man tour of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia together with Kramer (Sedgman replaced Kramer in Australia), Rosewall, and Segura. Kramer and Hoad were interviewed live on BBC television. Kramer gave his estimation of Hoad's game: "I feel that he's potentially the best player that tennis might ever have." Kramer cited Hoad's recent marathon win over Rosewall at The Hague on red clay as evidence of improvement in his play.<ref>{{cite web |title=Interviews with Lew Hoad and Jack Kramer |url=https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/video/interviews-with-lew-hoad-and-jack-kramer-england-london-news-footage/807918162 |website=Getty Images |date=9 September 1957}}</ref> At the [[Wembley Championships|Wembley Indoor Pro Championships]] in late September, Kramer eliminated Hoad, defeating him in straight sets,<ref name="annual958">{{cite book|title=Dunlop Lawn Tennis Annual 1958|date=1958|publisher=Ed. J. Burrow & Co. Ltd. |page=169|editor=[[Pat Hughes (tennis)|G.P. Hughes]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Kramer, Rosewall win |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/615882404/ |work=Richmond-Times Dispatch |date=26 September 1957 |page=26 |quote=Jack Kramer, United States tennis promoter, and former Davis Cupper, defeated Lew Hoad of Australia, 6–1, 10–8, in the first round of a professional indoor tennis tournament at Wembley Stadium Wednesday.|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref> and Kramer also defeated Gonzales for third place. The two players would be Kramer's headliners in the upcoming world pro tennis championship tour. In the 4-man tour of 1957, Hoad finished with slight edges over the other players, 16–15 over Rosewall, 16–14 over Kramer, 13–9 over Segura, 4–2 over Sedgman.<ref name="smh1957">{{cite news |title=Hoad... £6'10 a minute? |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=lL5f5cZgq8MC&dat=19571201&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |work=Sydney Morning Herald |date= 1 December 1957|page=13 |via=Google News}}</ref><ref>Manila Times, 23 November 1957</ref><ref>1957 4-man Tour Doubles Match. https://www.filmothek.bundesarchiv.de/video/586301</ref><ref name=":1">Bud Lessor Oral History Archive, International Tennis Hall of Fame, 12 July 1980</ref> Hoad was ranked combined world No. 3 behind Gonzales and Sedgman and ahead of Rosewall and Segura for 1957 by Quist.<ref>"Times have changed". The Sydney Morning Herald. New South Wales, Australia. 27 October 1957. p. 32. Retrieved 26 January 2022 – via Google News Archive.</ref>

;1958
In 1958 a projected series of 100 head-to-head matches was commenced between Hoad and the reigning champion of professional tennis, Pancho Gonzales, together with an undercard series between Trabert and Segura.<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Neue Deutsche Wochenschau 418/1958|url=https://www.filmothek.bundesarchiv.de/video/586314|publisher=[[Bundesarchiv]]|date=31 January 1958|place=Melbourne, Australia| language=de}}</ref>{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=208}} The series started in January in a number of Australian cities in stadiums on grass courts with mostly a best-of-five set format, and in New Zealand for three matches with a best-of-three set format, and at the end of the Australasian subtour, Hoad was leading 8 to 5. Most venues reported record crowds, including the first Kooyong encounter, which Hoad won in a 3 and 3/4 hour, four-sets, 80-games marathon in front of 12,000 spectators.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91254986 |title=Hoad takes lead |work=The Canberra Times |date=11 January 1958 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=82}} From 5 to 4 down in New Zealand, Hoad launched a 15 to 3 winning streak against Gonzales (including the non-tour Kooyong Tournament of Champions deciding match and the third-place match at Sydney Masters<ref>Sydney Morning Herald, 4 February 1958, p. 13 "Kramer said he would ask Gonzales to count the Masters 3rd place match in the world 100-match series."</ref>). In February, the series continued in the United States, mostly in indoor venues and local gyms with a best-of-three set format, played on a portable canvas surface.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Montana Standard|date=28 January 1958|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/354286086|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}."The experts advise against taking too seriously the fact that Pancho Gonzales, world's top professional player, is trailing Lew Hoad after the first few matches in their 100-match international series. They are playing now on grass courts in Australia. Look for Gonzales to begin taking charge when he and Hoad open the United States section of their tour in San Francisco on Feb. 8. Then they will play on indoor surfaces, on which Hoad has had little experience. Gonzales has been playing on indoor surfaces for years and is a master of them."</ref>  Hoad would experience a thigh injury in May and June.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=83–84}} But Hoad won 18 of the first 27 matches, and in late February Gonzales had, according to Kramer, the look of a "beaten man".{{sfnp|Kramer|1981|p=234}} However, after they played an outdoor match on 1 March on a chilly night in [[Palm Springs]], Hoad's back stiffened which affected him significantly for the rest of the series. Twice Hoad was forced to take time off to rest his back and was substituted for in his absence by Rosewall and Trabert. From 9–18 Gonzales surged to a 26–23 lead, and at the end of the series on 8 June, he had defeated Hoad by 51 matches to 36.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91246825 |title=Gonzales Now Leads Hoad. |work=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=2 April 1958 |page=20 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Lew and Pancho serve up tennis at its very best|magazine=Sports Illustrated|date=16 June 1958|volume=8|issue=24|url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1958/06/16/lew-and-pancho-serve-up-tennis-at-its-very-best}}</ref>{{sfnp|Kramer|1981|pp=233–235}}

In late 1958, Jack Kramer was asked which of the many "World Professional Championships" tournaments he considered deserving of the title, and he named four tournaments under his own aegis: Forest Hills, L.A. Masters, Kooyong and Sydney White City.<ref>World Tennis, "Around the World", November 1958</ref> Hoad won three of these eight tournaments in 1958/59.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=208–216}} For the 1958/1959 seasons, Kramer had a troupe of professional champions that included 11 Hall of Fame players,{{efn|name=ampol|The 11 members of the International Tennis Hall of Fame on the 1959/60 Ampol world series, all of whom won major singles titles, were Hoad, Gonzales, Rosewall, Sedgman, Trabert, Segura, Anderson, Cooper, Rose, McGregor, Olmedo}} under contract, and he designed a series of tournaments to provide a format in which all of them could participate. In January 1958, Hoad won the Kooyong [[Tournament of Champions (tennis)|Tournament of Champions]] in Melbourne, the richest tournament of  the year. The tournament was funded by the Australian oil company [[Ampol]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article91255316 |title=Draw for Ampol tennis fixed |work=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=15 January 1958 |page=11 |via=Trove}}</ref> Hoad defeated Gonzales and Sedgman in deciding matches, and won all five of his matches in the round-robin event. During the world championship tour in the U.S. in May, the four players participated in the Cleveland event. In the final at Cleveland on 5 May, Hoad lost a two-set lead against Gonzales while struggling with his leg-muscle injury.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=83}} Hoad dropped out of the tour in late May to rest his thigh injury.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=83}} At the Forest Hills Tournament of Champions in June 1958, Hoad's thigh injury healed in time for his final match which he won against Gonzales on the final day.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=209}}  However, Gonzales won the event with a better overall round-robin record. At Roland Garros in September, Hoad won his quarterfinal against Trabert, and his semifinal against Gonzales.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=211}} While leading in the final against Rosewall, Hoad wrenched his back reaching for a ball, and could not play well in the remainder of the match.<ref>The Times of London, 20–22 September 1958</ref> He had to default the [[Wembley Championships|Wembley Pro tournament]] in September due to an "arthritic" back.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Around the World...|magazine=World Tennis|date=November 1958|volume=6|issue=6|page=50}}</ref> Hoad rested for the next three months and did not play again until 1959.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=211}} Jack March ranked Hoad world No. 2 professional tennis player behind Gonzales for 1958.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=88}} Jack Kramer ranked Hoad  No. 4 for 1958, with Gonzales first, Sedgman second, Rosewall third.<ref>The Press (Christchurch), 6 March 1959, p.6 "Sportsman's notebook"</ref>

;1959
In early 1959, it was announced that the Australian oil company [[Ampol]],{{efn|name=caltex|"Caltex" was the name used by the Ampol company from 1997 until 2020. The company then officially rebranded as "Ampol Ltd." in May  2020.}} would provide an award of AUS£2,500 (US$5,600), plus the Ampol Open Trophy, to the "acknowledged world's best tennis player", adjudged from a world series of tournaments managed by Jack Kramer.<ref>Kramer's brochure described the Ampol series with the term "World Championship Tennis". Kramer 1959 tour fall brochure. https://douglasstewart.com.au/product/jack-kramer-presents-world-championship-tennis/</ref> All of the best pros would be ranked by a point system<ref name="argus19590114"/>{{efn|name=Ampol|The 13 players on the 1959 Ampol Open Trophy world series of tournaments were Hoad, Gonzales, Rosewall, Sedgman, Trabert, Anderson, Segura, Cooper, Rose, McGregor, Hartwig, Olmedo, Giammalva}} which would determine the seeding list for all tournaments.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=97}}<ref name="argus19590923"/> The first five tournaments of the series were played in Australia on a portable outdoor wooden plywood court,<ref>Sydney Morning Herald, 2 February 1959</ref> playing slow on a sand/paint surface for traction, but with no sliding possible.<ref>Kramer 1959 winter tour brochure</ref> Hoad began the series slowly, hampered by an elbow injury.<ref>Chicago Tribune, 1 March  1959, p. 258</ref> At the end of January, Hoad defeated Rosewall and Cooper to win at Perth and in February 1959, he defeated Rosewall in three sets to win the South Australian Pro<ref>{{cite web|title=Abilene Reporter, 15 February 1959|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/45152900|website=newspapers.com|date=15 February 1959 }}</ref> tournament at the Norwood Cricket Oval in Adelaide.<ref>Sydney Morning Herald, 13 January 1959</ref> This gave Hoad the lead in Ampol bonus points after the first group of five tournaments, a lead which he would not relinquish until the Ampol Open Trophy series ended in January 1960.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=212}}

In the four-man 1959 Kramer World Professional Championship Tour, which ran from 20 February – 31 May in North America, Hoad built a lead of 12 to 5 in his series of matches against Gonzales, after a win in Newcastle, Pennsylvania in late April.<ref>L'Impartial, Saturday, 25 April 1959. p. 7</ref> Gonzales stated that "I had blisters under my blisters from the punishment" on that tour.<ref>New York Times, 23 January 1970, p. 56</ref> However, the daily grind of the tour began to cause a renewal of Hoad's back trouble,{{sfnp|Hodgson|Jones|2001|p=175}} and he finally won against Gonzales by 15 matches to 13. He also won his head-to-head's with newly turned pro [[Ashley Cooper (tennis)|Ashley Cooper]] (18–2) and [[Mal Anderson]] (9–5). With a win–loss record of 42–20 he finished second in the four-man tour behind Gonzales (47–15).<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Around the World...|magazine=World Tennis|date=July 1959|volume=7|issue=2|pages=61, 67}}</ref>{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=92, 212}}  The championship was based on money won.<ref>Associated Press news release, 1 June 1959. "(AP) — Pancho Gonzales is the world professional tennis champion for the fifth straight year. Gonzales clinched the title Saturday and then defeated his main rival, Lew Hoad, in the final match of their tour, 6–3, 15–13, Sunday. '''Gonzales won $29,150 on the tour. Hoad's total was $28,250. The championship is based on money won.''' Hoad came out on top in matches with Gonzales, 15–13.</ref> This would be the only 4-man world professional championship tour in which the winner would have a losing record against one of the other players, and the second-place finisher would have winning records against all of the other players. Four-man world championship tours were held in 1942, 1954, 1959, and 1960.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=188, 200, 212, 216}} In late April the players in the 4-man tour played in the Cleveland event, and Hoad lost the final to Gonzales in three straight sets.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=92, 212}}

The L.A. Masters round robin from 5–14 June, was held at the L.A. Tennis Club on concrete, and was part of the Ampol series. Hoad and Gonzales both finished with five wins and one loss, but Gonzales won the title on account of his victory over Hoad in their head-to-head match, which had been the first match for both in the event.<ref name="lat19600615">{{cite news |author=Jamie Curran |title=Gonzales wins pro masters net tourney |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/380677970/ |work=Los Angeles Times |date=15 June 1960 |page=1 Part IV|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref>{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=212}} During the tournament, Hoad received several Hollywood offers for screen tests, but turned them down with the comment "What do I want with money?".{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=92}} At the O'Keefe Professional Championships on red clay at Toronto Lawn Tennis Club from 16 to 21 June, also part of the Ampol series, Hoad lost to Sedgman and Rosewall lost to Trabert. Gonzales won the tournament by beating Cooper, Trabert and Sedgman.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=212}}

The Forest Hills [[Tournament of Champions (tennis)|Tournament of Champions]]<ref>Current designation "WCT Tournament of Champions" by West Side Tennis Club. https://thewestsidetennisclub.com/history-timeline/</ref> from 23 to 28 June, played on grass at the Forest Hills stadium in New York, and part of the Ampol series, awarded the largest winners' cheques of the season. Hoad defeated Mal Anderson in the quarterfinal, Rosewall in the semifinal in four sets and Gonzales in the final, also in four sets, to claim the title.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=212}} Gonzales appeared tired near the end of the match, but had declared in an interview prior to the final, "I feel fit, very fit. Until Hoad beats me, I'm not worried."<ref>TIME magazine, 6 July 1959. https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,825754,00.html</ref> In the August 1959 issue of ''World Tennis'', Riggs wrote of the Forest Hills final, "the match signified the end of an era. The great Gonzales who had dominated professional tennis for four years had been decisively beaten..."<ref name="archive.org">World Tennis, August 1959, p. 25. https://archive.org/details/sim_tennis-illustrated_1959-08_7_3/page/26/mode/2up</ref>

In August 1959, Hoad defeated Cawthorn and Worthington to reach the final of  the [[Slazenger Pro Championships]] in Eastbourne, but lost to Cooper in the final.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=213}}<ref>{{cite journal|title=Tournament results – England|journal=World Tennis|date=October 1959|volume=7|issue=5|page=78}}</ref><ref>Eastbourne Gazette, 12 August 1959</ref> In September, Hoad lost to Sedgman in the semifinal of the French Pro at Roland Garros, part of the Ampol series, but defeated Rosewall in a playoff for third place. At the Wembley Indoor Championships, part of the Ampol series, Hoad was upset by Segura in the second round, and Segura eventually lost the final to Anderson in a close match. In the Grand Prix de Europe tour from August to October, which excluded Roland Garros and Wembley, Hoad finished in third place behind Sedgman and Rosewall (Gonzales defaulted the European tour).

Hoad won the Perth and Adelaide Memorial Drive events in November and December to begin the final group of Ampol tournaments, which were played on grass courts in tennis stadiums.<ref name="argus19590923">{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131614593 |title=World Tennis Championship |work=[[The Cumberland Argus]] |date=23 September 1959 |page=5 |via=Trove}}</ref> At the Sydney White City Tournament of Champions from 8–13 December, Hoad injured his hip in the semifinal against Anderson,<ref>Sydney Morning Herald, 11 December 1959. "Hoad injured his hip in an awkward fall in the first game of the third set which he lost."</ref> and lost the final to Gonzales in straight sets.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=215}}  At Brisbane Milton Courts from 15 to 19 December, Rosewall defeated Hoad in the semifinal and Gonzales in the final in long matches.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=215}} The final event of the Ampol Open Trophy series, the Qantas International Kooyong Championships at Melbourne, began on 26 December 1959.<ref name="theage19600104">{{cite news |author1=Don Lawrence |title=Tennis final to Lew Hoad |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/120978356 |work=The Age |date=4 January 1960 |page=15|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref> With a victory at Kooyong, either Hoad or Gonzales would have won the series. Gonzales decided to return to the U.S. for the holidays to be with his fiancée, although Kramer had warned that "it could cost Gonzales AUS£5,000 by going home for Christmas."<ref>{{cite news |author1=Don Lawrence |title=Board of Management need in open tennis |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/122238322/ |work=The Age |date=22 December 1959 |page=20 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Lewis Hoad champion du monde |url=http://www.lexpressarchives.ch/Olive/APA/SwissSNP_Fr/SharedView.Article.aspx?href=IMP%2F1960%2F01%2F06&id=Ar00905&sk=53F0BA6E |work=L'Impartial |date=6 January 1960 |page=9 |language=French}}</ref> Gonzales thereby defaulted the Ampol series to Hoad.  On 24 December, the day following Gonzales' departure, Hoad announced that he would not participate in the upcoming 4-man tour in January 1960.<ref>The Age, 24 December 1959. p. 16</ref> On 2 January 1960, Hoad defeated Rosewall in a three-and-a-half hour, four-set match to win the Kooyong tournament,{{efn|name=kooyong1960|Hoad and Rosewall both had a 4–1 win–loss record but Hoad finished first due to his win over Rosewall.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=216}} }}<ref>Ottawa Citizen, 4 January 1960, p. 15</ref> a match which Kramer acclaimed as one of the best ever played.<ref name="theage19600104"/> With Hoad's successful defence of the Kooyong title also came the Ampol Open Trophy win and bonus money award.<ref name="argus19590114">{{cite news |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/131618684/15033875 |title=Search for world's best tennis star |work=The Cumberland Argus |date=14 January 1959 |page=9 |via=Trove }}</ref>

The Ampol Open Trophy "world series"<ref>Kramer 1959/60 fall tour brochure, "In each tournament conducted in the world series, the players are seeded according to their standings on points."</ref><ref>The Cumberland Argus. 23 September 1959. p. 5 – via Trove. "The world series will wind up at Kooyong, Melbourne..."</ref><ref name="argus19590923"/> or "world's open tennis championship" (it was named "open" in case open tennis arrived, which it did not for some years)<ref>"Search for world's best tennis star". The Cumberland Argus. 14 January 1959. p. 9 – via Trove. "'We have therefore framed the scope of this award to provide for an amateur to win in the event of open tournaments being played,' Mr. Walkley said."</ref><ref name="argus19590114"/><ref name="argus19590923" /> had consisted of 15 tournaments around the world between 10 January 1959 and 2 January 1960.{{efn|name=kramertour|According to the Kramer Tour brochure for 1959, the 15 tournaments were Melbourne (Olympic Velodrome) (10 Jan), Brisbane (20 Jan), Perth (26 Jan), Sydney (Marks Athletic Field) (4 Feb), Adelaide (Norwood Cricket Oval) (11 Feb), L.A. Masters (L.A. Tennis Club) (5 Jun), Toronto (Toronto Lawn Tennis Club) (16 Jun), New York City (Forest Hills) (23 Jun), Paris (Roland Garros) (8 Sep), London (Wembley) (19 Sep), Perth (26 Nov), Adelaide (Memorial Drive Tennis Club) (1 Dec), Sydney (White City) (8 Dec), Brisbane (Milton Courts) (15 Dec), Melbourne (Kooyong) (26 Dec)}} Hoad finished first in the series with 51 bonus points, ahead of Gonzales (43 points) and Rosewall (41 points).{{efn|name=ampolpoints|Final Ampol Points List: L. Hoad (51) P. Gonzales (43) K. Rosewall (41) F. Sedgman (32) T. Trabert (25) P. Segura (14) M. Anderson (14) A. Cooper  (8) Olmedo (1) M. Rose (1) Hartwig (0) McGregor (0) Giammalva (0)}}{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=97, 99}}<ref name="theage19600104"/><ref>Kramer Tour 1959 brochure</ref> {{efn|name=ampol1959–1960|Hoad won six of the 15 tournaments and 71% (36/51) of his matches in the series,<ref>{{cite web|title=Lew Hoad: 1959 Player Activity|url=https://app.thetennisbase.com/?enlace=playern&player_input_enc=HOAD%2C+LEW&player_input=HOAD%2C+LEW&sub=3&idjugador=48277&year=1959&surface=&tipo_de_torneo=&ronda=&tipoRanking=ATP&tm_category=&tm_torneo=&anno_from=&anno_to=&hand=&codpais=&rondaplus=&con_wj1wj2=&ranking_from=&ranking_to=#aSubmenu|website=thetennisbase.com|publisher=Tennis Base|access-date=9 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Lew Hoad: 1960 Player Activity|url=https://app.thetennisbase.com/?enlace=playern&player_input_enc=HOAD%2C+LEW&player_input=HOAD%2C+LEW&sub=3&idjugador=48277&year=1960&surface=&tipo_de_torneo=&ronda=&tipoRanking=ATP&tm_category=&tm_torneo=&anno_from=&anno_to=&hand=&codpais=&rondaplus=&con_wj1wj2=&ranking_from=&ranking_to=#aSubmenu|publisher=Tennis Base|access-date=9 May 2019}}</ref> while Gonzales won four tournaments and 72% (26/36) of his matches,<ref>{{cite web|title=Pancho Gonzales: 1959 Player Activity|url=https://app.thetennisbase.com/?enlace=playern&player1=GONZALES,%20PANCHO&sub=3&idjugador=46369&year=1959&surface=&tipo_de_torneo=&ronda=&tipoRanking=ATP&tm_category=&tm_torneo=&anno_from=&anno_to=&hand=&codpais=&rondaplus=&con_wj1wj2=&ranking_from=&ranking_to=#aSubmenu|publisher=Tennis Base|access-date=9 May 2019}}</ref> and Rosewall won two tournaments and 62% (26/42) of his matches in the series.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=211–216}} Sedgman (Melbourne), Trabert (Roland Garros) and Anderson (Wembley) each won one Ampol world series tournament. Gonzales defaulted three Ampol tournaments, and played 15 fewer matches than Hoad. Hoad was three wins and five losses in matches against Gonzales in the Ampol series, although Hoad and Gonzales were two wins and two losses against each other in tournament deciding matches. Hoad won six of his eight matches against Rosewall on the Ampol series.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=211–216}}}} ''The Melbourne Age'' stated, Hoad "was crowned the new world professional tournament champion at Kooyong" by winning the Ampol world series.<ref name="theage19600104"/> ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' reported that Hoad had won "the title of world's top professional tennis player" and was "the game's top money-earner" for 1959.<ref name="sh19600110">{{cite news |author1=David Burke |title=Hoad takes stock |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/122787666/ |work=The Sun-Herald |date=10 January 1960 |page=33|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref><ref name="theage19600104"/><ref>Arizona Republic, 29 June 1959, "In prize money, Gonzales leads Hoad by only $65, winning $47,640 to Hoad's $47.575. Hoad picked up $3,750 in this tourney, including $750 as a share of the doubles title with Trabert."</ref> French language ''L'Impartial'' on 6 January 1960 stated "Lewis Hoad world champion", the win at Kooyong "allows him at the same time to claim the world title for 1959".<ref name="impartial1960">{{cite news |title=Tennis – Lewis Hoad champion du monde |url=http://www.limpartialarchives.ch/Olive/APA/SwissSNP_Fr/sharedpages/SharedView.Page.aspx?sk=BFEE6E15&href=IMP%2F1960%2F01%2F06&page=9 |work=L'Impartial |date=6 January 1960 |page=9 |language=fr}}</ref> In an advertisement in ''World Tennis'' magazine in June 1960, Hoad was described as "world champion Lew Hoad".<ref>World Tennis, June 1960. p. 7</ref> Kramer's brochure described the Ampol series with the term "World Championship Tennis".<ref>Kramer 1959 tour fall brochure. https://douglasstewart.com.au/product/jack-kramer-presents-world-championship-tennis/</ref><ref>Current designation by West Side Tennis Club of 1959 Forest Hills TOC is "WCT Tournament of Champions". https://thewestsidetennisclub.com/history-timeline/</ref>  There had also been references of Gonzales between January and April 1960 being described variously that he was "world professional tennis champion, will defend his title",<ref>{{cite web|title=Arena lists Pro tennis Feb. 3,4|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=10 January 1960|page=S8|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/178018867|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref> was advertised as "WORLD PRO CHAMPION",<ref>{{cite web|work=The Boston Globe|date=24 January 1960|title=Professional tennis|page=70|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/428875362|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref> was "world professional champion",<ref>{{cite web|work=The Daily Oklahoman|title=Once over lightly|author=John Cronley|date=26 February 1960|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/451776462|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref> "goes after an unprecedented sixth straight world crown",<ref>The Los Angeles Times, 29 January 1960</ref> was "perennial professional champion",<ref>{{cite web|title=The Chattanooga Daily Times|date=21 February 1960|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/604378949|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref> was described in UPI newswire reports  as "world professional tennis champion since 1954",<ref>{{cite web|title=Pasadena Independent|date= 9 April 1960|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/38880034|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Cincinnati Enquirer|date=16 April 1960|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/103216320|website=newspapers.com}}</ref> "titleholder" of the "world professional tennis championship" <ref>{{cite web|title=The Age (Melbourne)|date=12 April 1960|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/122008506|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref> and that Gonzales with "five world series championships as his record, defeated Ken Rosewall at Cairns last night in straight sets and added further to his claims for his sixth successive world title".<ref>Cairns Post, 20 April 1960</ref> On 15 January 1960, ''Lawn Tennis and Badminton'' said Hoad was taking a six-month rest and the article stated "J. Kramer is urging Hoad not to take this step, as during this year he will have his best chance of taking R. A. Gonzales' world professional title from him".<ref>Lawn Tennis and Badminton, 15 January 1960</ref>

Kramer's office reported that in 1959 Hoad had won his personal series of matches against Gonzales 24 to 23.<ref name="sh19600110"/><ref name="theage19600104"/>

Kramer placed Hoad in fourth place in his personal world professional rating for 1959, the same ranking which Kramer awarded to Hoad in 1958 and 1960. Jack March ranked Hoad second behind Gonzales for 1959, the same ranking which he had given Hoad for 1958.<ref name=":18">{{cite magazine|date=December 1959|title=Around the World...|url=https://archive.org/details/sim_tennis-illustrated_1959-12_7_7/page/44/mode/2up|magazine=World Tennis|location=New York|publisher=|volume=7|issue=7|page=44|access-date=}}</ref> Robert Roy in the French sportspaper ''[[L'Équipe]]'' ranked Hoad fifth as of mid-December, behind Gonzales, Sedgman, Rosewall, and Trabert.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=97}}<ref>''L'Équipe'', 17 December 1959</ref> Kramer's Australian tennis agent Bob Barnes placed Hoad in first spot, corresponding to Hoad's standing on the official Ampol ranking, with Gonzales second, Rosewall third, Sedgman fourth, and Trabert fifth.
<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Around the World...|journal=World Tennis|date=December 1959|volume=7|issue=7|page=44}}</ref> [[Mal Anderson]], in a conversation in ''World Tennis'', recalled that "Kramer established a point system to decide the best players...Lew finished ahead of Pancho" followed by Rosewall, Sedgman, and Trabert.<ref>Robson, Mike (June 1960). "The Pros in New Zealand". World Tennis. Vol. 8 no. 1. New York. p. 25</ref>

;1960
Hoad decided not to play in the 4-man 1960 world championship tour and took a three-month layoff at the beginning of 1960 to rest his back and spend time with his family.<ref name="theage19591224">{{cite news |author1=Don Lawrence |title=Lew Hoad withdraws from 1960 tennis tour |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/122238586/ |work=The Age |date=24 December 1959 |page=16|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref><ref name="sh19600110"/> When he returned to play,<ref>{{cite news |title=Writers predict 'cold' future for Wimbledon |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=VJOaslTFpLQC&dat=19600208&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |work=St. Joseph Gazette |date=8 February 1960 |page=7 |quote=Kramer did more than talk yesterday. He signed up Ken Rosewall and Lew Hoad for another seven years}}</ref> he was rusty, slow, and carried some extra weight, but he gradually recovered his form. He won a New Zealand tour in April, over Anderson, Sedgman, and Cooper.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=216}} In May, Hoad commenced his participation in Kramer's tournament series for 1960, which used a point system to rank the players.<ref name="ReferenceA">Pacific Stars and Stripes, November 1960</ref> Gonzales withdrew from the tournament series just before it began. Hoad lost a five-set final to Rosewall at the Melbourne Olympic Pool where a court was set up on the drained pool floor.<ref>{{cite news | title=Rosewall pro tennis champ | work=Los Angeles Times | date=11 May 1960 | pages=4}}</ref> Hoad, Rosewall, and most of the pros did not play in the Cleveland World Pro which, as in 1959, was not a part of Kramer's tournament series. However, Hoad and Trabert played a match in Cincinnati, Trabert's home town, won by Hoad, just before the Cleveland event, where Trabert would be runner-up to Olmedo.<ref>From Club Court to Center Court
2010 Edition The Evolution of Professional Tennis in Cincinnati By Phillip S. Smith, p. 27. http://assets.usta.com/assets/663/15/Compendium%2010_reduced.pdf</ref> Hoad won tournament finals in June at Santa Barbara, California and in September at Geneva, Switzerland, both over Rosewall, but appeared out of condition in the Roland Garros final against Rosewall.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=217}} At the Wembley Indoor Championships that year, Hoad was again upset by Segura in the second round. In late 1960, Hoad won the inaugural Japanese Professional Championships in Tokyo, beating Rosewall, Cooper, and Gimeno.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=103, 218}} The event drew 7,000 fans for each of the four evenings of play, with the Crown Prince and Princess in attendance the first evening.<ref name="World Tennis 1961, p. 51">World Tennis, January 1961, p. 51. https://archive.org/details/sim_tennis-illustrated_1961-01_8_8/page/50/mode/2up?view=theater</ref> In the final, Hoad prevailed at 13–11 in the fifth set over Rosewall, saving three match points.<ref name="World Tennis 1961, p. 51"/> Following the marathon Tokyo final, Hoad withdrew from the remaining tournaments in the point series with back trouble, and the final projected tournament in Australia was not played.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref>McCauley (2000) p.103</ref> The final results of Kramer's tournament series for 1960 are unknown. Hoad and Gonzales did not play against each other in 1960. Hoad was ranked world No. 2 professional tennis player behind Gonzales in a newspaper report.<ref>{{cite web|title=Valley News|date= 15 January 1961|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/30309010|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}} "Lew Hoad, world's second ranking tennis player behind Pancho Gonzales..."</ref>

;1961
[[File:Lew Hoad and Robert Haillet at Professional Championship Noordwijk 1961.jpg|thumb|Hoad and [[Robert Haillet]] (right) at the Professional Championship in [[Noordwijk]], Netherlands in August 1961]]
Hoad played a few one-set matches on the 1961 Professional World Series tour in January, but soon withdrew because of a broken left foot and was substituted for by first Trabert and then Sedgman.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article103117073 |title=Hoad breaks left foot |work=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=23 March 1961 |page=31 |via=Trove}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article103117207 |title=Hoad planning month's rest |work=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=24 March 1961 |page=31 |via=Trove}}</ref> He finished fourth in a tour of five Soviet cities in July, behind Trabert, Buchholz, and Segura, returning to play after his broken foot had healed.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=220–221}}  In late August and September, Hoad and Gonzales played a ten-match best-of-three sets tour of Britain and Ireland, with Buchholz and Davies playing the undercard matches.<ref name="sh19611008">{{cite news |author1=Eddie Oakes |title=Pros. plan busy Aust. tour |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/121276234 |work=The Sun-Herald |date=8 October 1961 |page=62|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref> Hoad won his series against Gonzales by a score of six matches to four.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Vera McWeeny |title=Vera McWeeney on Tennis |work=Irish Independent |date=16 September 1961 |page=18|via=Irish Newspaper Archives}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Lew Hoad Wins at St Annes |work=Lytham Evening Gazette |date=11 September 1961 }}</ref> Hoad won four of the five matches in the series which were played on grass.<ref>Hoad won on grass at Bristol, Leeds, Scarborough, and St. Annes, Gonzales won on grass at Dublin. / Scarborough News, 2 September 1961 / Yorkshire Evening Post, 3 September 1961 / St. Annes News 10 September 1961 / Irish Examiner, 27 August 1961</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=British Pro Tour|url=https://app.thetennisbase.com/?enlace=tournament&accion=draw&torneoSearchEnc=BRITISH%20PRO%20TOUR&year=1961|website=thetennisbase.com|publisher=Tennis Base|access-date=11 June 2019}}</ref> In September, Hoad lost in the first round of the French Pro to [[Luis Ayala (tennis)|Luis Ayala]].{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=221}} At the Wembley Pro, Hoad defeated Gonzales in a four-set semifinal. In the final against Rosewall, in the second game of the match, Hoad pulled his back while running for a backhand volley and suffered a recurrence of his old back injury, and could no longer run, losing in four sets.<ref>World Tennis Nov. 1961, P. 10. https://archive.org/details/sim_tennis-illustrated_1961-11_9_6/page/10/mode/2up?view=theater</ref> In November, Hoad won the fifth and deciding rubber for Australia against the United States in the final of the inaugural Kramer Cup (the pro equivalent of the Davis Cup) by beating Trabert in four sets. Trabert said afterwards: "Trying to stop Lew in that final set was like fighting a machine gun with a rubber knife".{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=115}} Robert Roy in [[L'Équipe]] ranked Hoad as the third-best player of the year.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=116}} In July 1961 Gardnar Mulloy rated Hoad as world No. 1 ahead of Gonzales, and the favourite to win a prospective open Wimbledon.<ref name="miaminews19610716">{{cite news |author=John Crittenden |title=Barriers to crumble at Wimbledon – Gar |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/302057845/ |work=Miami News |date=16 July 1961 |page=4C |via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref>

;1962
There was no official pro championship tour in 1962, as Laver and Emerson had declined to accept pro offers made by Kramer at the 1961 Wimbledon. Kramer resigned as tour promoter and director. From 14 to 17 March 1962, Hoad won the Adelaide Professional Championships, beating Rosewall, Gimeno, and Sedgman, the final against Rosewall very close. In late August, Hoad played a five-match, best-of-three sets tour in Britain against Trabert, defeating Trabert at Nottingham, Edinburgh, Bournemouth, and Dublin, while Trabert won at Scarborough.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=225}} Hoad won the professional tournament in [[Zürich]] in September 1962 by a win in the final against Pancho Segura.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131779146 |title=Hoad new champion. |work=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=11 September 1962 |page=28 |via=[[National Library of Australia]]}}</ref> In late September, Hoad lost to Rosewall in a {{frac|3|1|4}}-hour, four-set final at Wembley.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=119, 230}} Hoad and Rosewall teamed to win the doubles final at both Roland Garros and Wembley. In October, Hoad was awarded the Facis Trophy for winning the pro tour of Italy.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=224}} In the 1962 Kramer Cup tournament, in best-of-five set formats, Hoad defeated Gimeno in the semifinal tie in Turin, Italy on clay, and Hoad won the opening match of the final at Adelaide in December against Olmedo on grass.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=226–227}} In an interview in 1980, Hoad stated that "I finally finished playing seriously, in about 1962".<ref name=":1"/> Hoad was voted the world No. 1 professional tennis player for 1962 in a UPI poll of 85 U.S. sports editors held at the end of January 1963 following the Australian tour.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article104257599 |title=Lew Hoad Mr. Tennis. |work=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=30 January 1963 |page=30 |via=Trove}} Votes: Hoad 63, Laver 61, Rosewall 47, Segura 37, Olmedo 24</ref>

;1963
In January 1963, Hoad and Rosewall guaranteed the contract of new pro [[Rod Laver]]. Hoad defeated Laver 8–0{{efn|name=laver_hoad_hth|Laver, in statements made in interviews from June 2017 and November 2019, claimed that after turning pro he lost the first 13 matches which he played against Hoad, although he did not specify these as all being part of the 1963 Australian tour. Buchholz (in 2007), who played the undercard on the tour, claimed that Hoad won 13 consecutive matches over Laver. In a book published in 2020, Laver stated "during that Australian tour, I played Lew eight times and he won every match".<ref>The Golden Era: The extraordinary 25 years when Australians ruled the tennis world, Rod Laver, 2020, p. 225</ref><ref name="bodo2007">{{cite web |author1=Peter Bodo |title=TMF: best of 5, all the time! |url=http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2007/04/tmf-best-of-5-all-the-time/44510/ |website=[[Tennis.com]] |date=4 April 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Stephen Towers |title="A light shone down on me" The remarkable story of the 1969 Rod Laver Grand Slam |url=https://tennishead.net/a-light-shone-down-on-me-the-remarkable-story-of-the-1969-rod-laver-grand-slam/ |website=tennishead |date=19 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Martyn Herman |title=Laver says turning pro made him twice as good |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/tennis-wimbledon-laver-idINKBN19K04Y |website=Reuters |date=29 June 2017}}</ref>}} in an Australian tour, some of their matches played to best-of-five and televised from sold-out stadiums.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=227}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Lew Hoad vs Rod Laver Head 2 Head|url=https://app.thetennisbase.com/?enlace=playern&player_input_enc=HOAD%2C+LEW&player_input=HOAD%2C+LEW&sub=2#aSubmenu|website=thetennisbase.com|publisher=Tennis Base|access-date=14 June 2019}}</ref><ref>World Tennis, The Amateurs and the Pros by Lew Hoad, August 1964</ref> On Laver's pro debut on 5 January, Hoad beat Laver at White City stadium in Sydney on a "slippery" grass surface.<ref>{{cite web|title=First loss to pro Laver|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=6 January 1963|page=53|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/121456490|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Their match at the Kooyong stadium in Melbourne on grass was a close contest, with Laver extending Hoad to five sets before losing. After the Australian series, Hoad was inactive for five months, partly due to a shoulder injury.<ref>Schenectady Gazette, 28 June 1963. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZWQtAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FYkFAAAAIBAJ&dq=gonzalez+fails+comeback&pg=596,4662889&hl=en</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=The Fresno Bee|date= 7 January 1964|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/702542293/|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=limited}}</ref> Hoad did not plan to participate in the World Tour for 1963.<ref name="news.google.com"/> On his return in June, he lost to Laver in the semifinal of the Adler Pro, and at the Forest Hills U.S. Pro tournament he lost to Buchholz in the first round. The Forest Hills event did not have a television contract, was a financial failure, and the players, with the exception of Gonzales, were not paid.<ref name=collins/><ref>{{cite news |author1=Dave Anderson |title=The grandeur that was Hoad |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1977/09/11/archives/the-grandeur-that-was-hoad.html |work=The New York Times |date=11 September 1977 |page=181}}</ref> At the French Pro indoor event at [[Stade Pierre de Coubertin (Paris)|Stade Coubertin]] in September, Hoad was defeated in straight sets by Rosewall in the semifinal and lost the third place play-off against Sedgman. At the Wembley Pro, he reached the final after surviving a marathon semifinal against Buchholz in which he strained his leg muscle and was limping throughout most of the match. McCauley acclaimed the semi-final with Buchholz "one of the best contests ever staged at Wembley".{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=125}} Hoad was tired and sluggish in the final,{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=125}} which again he lost to Rosewall, this time in four sets.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=230}} At the Tokyo Japanese Pro in November, Hoad defeated Rosewall in the preliminary round, but lost the third place match to Sedgman, Buchholz defeating Laver in the final.<ref>Japanese Pro 1963. https://www.tennisarchives.com/edition/?v=28471</ref> At the end of the World Championship Tour earlier in the season, Laver had finished second and was officially ranked the No. 2 professional player behind Rosewall.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=228}} Hoad did not play in the World Tour, and was not officially ranked.

;1964–67  
In February and March 1964, Hoad played a 16-day 24-match best-of-three sets tour of New Zealand with Laver, Rosewall, and Anderson. Hoad and Laver both finished on top with seven wins and five losses, but Hoad won first place with a 3 to 1 head-to-head score against Laver.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=231}} <ref>New Zealand Herald, 29 February, March 1964 / Christchurch Star, 16 March 1964</ref> In late September 1964, Hoad and Gonzales played a four match best-of-three sets head-to-head series in Britain, at Brighton, Carlyon Bay (Cornwall), Cardiff (Wales), and Glasgow (Scotland). Hoad won at Carlyon Bay and Cardiff, while Gonzales won at Brighton and Glasgow.<ref>{{cite news|title=Brighton match report|work=Brighton Evening Argus |date=21 September 1964| author=Dick Morgan| url=https://m.imgur.com/a/StgjBAK}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Injury-weakened Hoad|work=Glasgow Herald |date=24 September 1964|url=https://m.imgur.com/a/Ld8kPam}}</ref><ref>TennisBase, Hoad/Gonzales matches, 1964</ref> Hoad experienced foot trouble in 1964 and finished in sixth place in the tournament series point system.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=235}} In early 1965, much of his large right toe was removed, and he was only able to play a limited schedule thereafter.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=132}} Hoad won his final victories against Laver in January 1966 at White City in Sydney, his home town, defeating him in straight sets, and at Forest Hills, New York in a round robin match in June 1966.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=240}}

After the expiration of his seven-year contract on 14 November 1966,<ref>{{cite news |title=Writers predict 'cold' future for Wimbledon |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=VJOaslTFpLQC&dat=19600208&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |work=[[St. Joseph Gazette]] |date=8 February 1960 |page=7 |quote=Kramer did more than talk yesterday. He signed up Ken Rosewall and Lew Hoad for another seven years}}</ref> Hoad withdrew from competitive play for ten months. Hoad and his wife invested in the construction and development of a tennis club resort and a related residential complex in southern Spain. He returned unexpectedly to participate in the [[Wimbledon Pro]] tournament in late August 1967.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=244–249}}
The [[Wimbledon Pro]] was a three-day BBC televised tournament organised by the [[All-England Club]] as a trial for "open" tennis and as such the first Wimbledon tournament open to male professional tennis players. Hoad was one of the eight players invited for the singles event and despite being in semi-retirement and without competitive play for ten months,{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|pp=244–248}} he won his first match against  Gonzales in three sets.<ref>{{cite AV media|title=UK: Wimbledon World Professional Tennis Championship 1967|url=https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVAAKU6R1B7HWL6VCU8HNWU7TK4Y-UK-WIMBLEDON-WORLD-PROFESSIONAL-TENNIS-CHAMPIONSHIP|publisher=[[British Pathé]]|date=25 August 1967|place=London}}</ref> The BBC television commentator called it "the finest match ever seen on these hallowed grounds."{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=139}} This would be the last match on grass between Hoad and Gonzales, with Hoad holding a lifetime edge on grass over Gonzales of 21 matches to 14.<ref>TennisBase, lifetime hth statistics</ref><ref>local British newspapers 1961 tour / ''Irish Examiner'', 27 August 1961 / ''Yorkshire Evening Post'', 3 September 1961 / ''St. Annes News'', 10 September 1961 / Hoad won on grass at Bristol, Leeds, Scarborough, St. Annes, Gonzales won on grass at Dublin</ref><ref>''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 5 February 1958, p. 17</ref> With little energy left he lost the semifinal to Rosewall in two straight sets.{{sfnp|Hoad|Pollard|2002|pp=142–145}} Hoad played for an eight-week period on the pro tour in 1967, and then retired permanently from regular competitive tennis play.{{sfnp|McCauley|2000|p=249}}

;Open era 1968–1973
Back problems plagued Hoad throughout his career and forced his retirement from the tennis tour in October 1967 but the advent of the [[Open Era]] enticed him to make sporadic appearances at tournaments.<ref name=theage19670609>{{cite news|title=Hoad may retire to coaching|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WdRYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Y5MDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4151%2C1413273|work=The Age|date=9 June 1967}}</ref> Hoad lost in the final of the [[Irish Open (tennis)|Irish Championships]] at Dublin in July 1968 to [[Tom Okker]] in straight sets, hampered by a thigh injury.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107062703 |title=Laver scores again. |work=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=15 July 1968 |page=11 |via=Trove}}</ref> In November 1969, Hoad won the [[Dewar Cup Aberavon]] singles title, part of the Dewar Cup indoor circuit, defeating [[Mark Cox (tennis)|Mark Cox]] in the semifinal<ref>The Times of London, 1 November 1969</ref> and [[Bob Hewitt]] in the final, both wins in two straight sets.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hoad shines in Dewar Cup|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vBEQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rZADAAAAIBAJ&pg=3510%2C714046|work=The Age|date=3 November 1969}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Hoad threat again|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vhEQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=rZADAAAAIBAJ&pg=3965%2C987092|work=The Age|date=5 November 1969}}</ref> At the [[1970 Italian Open (tennis)|1970 Italian Open]], he lost in the third round in four sets to [[Alex Metreveli]]. At the [[1970 French Open]], he defeated [[Charlie Pasarell]] in four close sets, and reached the fourth round before succumbing to eventual finalist [[Željko Franulović]]. At Wimbledon that year he lost in the second round to [[Ismail El Shafei]].<ref>{{cite web |author1=Fred Tupper |title=Wimbledon cheers Hoad, 35, as he loses 5-set struggle against El Shafei |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1970/06/25/archives/wimbledon-cheers-hoad-35-as-he-loses-5set-struggle-against-el.html |website=[[The New York Times]] |date=25 June 1970}}</ref>

Hoad won his final tournament singles title on 7 August 1971, the Playmon Fiesta 71, on red clay at [[Benidorm]], Spain.<ref>ABC Madrid, 8 August 1971, p. 45</ref> He defeated [[Antonio Muñoz (tennis)|Antonio Muñoz]] in the semifinal and [[Manuel Santana]] in the final. This would mark a twenty-year span during which Hoad won singles titles in tennis, between the ages of 16 and 36, dating back to the Brisbane tournament of August 1951. In spring 1972, Hoad played the doubles final at [[1972 Italian Open (tennis)|Italian Open]] with [[Frew McMillan]] against [[Ilie Năstase]] and [[Ion Țiriac]]. Hoad/McMillan led 2–0 in sets but retired at 3–5 down in the fifth set in protest of the poor light conditions and the antics of the Rumanian pair.<ref>{{cite news|title=Hoad stalks off court|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YsgQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=tJADAAAAIBAJ&pg=4809%2C764737|work=The Age|date=4 May 1972}}</ref><ref name=wot73>{{cite book|title=World of Tennis '73 : a BP and Commercial Union yearbook|year=1973|publisher=Queen Anne Press|location=London|isbn=9780671216238|pages=117–119|editor=[[John Barrett (tennis)|John Barrett]]}}</ref> At the end of June, at the age of 37, Hoad made his final [[1972 Wimbledon Championships|Wimbledon]] appearance losing in the first round to [[Jürgen Fassbender]] in four sets.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article102028560 |title=Veterans bow to youth at Wimbledon. |work=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=28 June 1972 |page=34 |via=Trove}}</ref> Hoad's final match was a second round loss as a result of a retirement to Fassbender in [[1973 South African Open (tennis)|Johannesburg]]  in November 1973.<ref name="sa1973">{{cite web|title=1973 Johannesburg – Men's singles draw|url=http://www.atptour.com/en/scores/archive/johannesburg/426/1973/draws?matchtype=singles|publisher=Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP)}}</ref>

From 1970 to 1974, Hoad was the coach of the [[Spain Davis Cup team|Spanish Davis Cup team]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Hoad enters net tourney |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/414841616/ |work=Billings Gazette |date=9 August 1970 |page=46 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=limited}}</ref>

According to notes for a 1970 [[British Pathé]] documentary film about Hoad's tennis ranch, Hoad had "made about GBP 350,000 as a professional".<ref>{{cite news |title=Australian Former Champion Lew Hoad Establishes Tennis School In Spain. |url=https://www.britishpathe.com/video/VLVA59IBG5MPTC1GB4ZLDYAK4EOXE-SPAIN-AUSTRALIAN-FORMER-CHAMPION-LEW-HOAD-ESTABLISHES-TENNIS |work=[[British Pathé]] |date=20 February 1970 }}</ref> Per a 1977 newspaper interview, "Throughout his career, Hoad earned a total of £250,000, less than many pros collect in a year now.  He received £150 for his Wimbledon victories; the payoff now is £17,500."<ref>{{cite news |author=Jack Monet |title=Nowadays, Lew Hoad Is Helpful on the Tennis Court |work=International Herald Tribune (European Edition) |date=30 April 1977 |page=13}}</ref>