Born Perth, W.A.
3 April, 1930
Clive Wilderspin made tennis history in 1953 when he was the first Western Australian player to be selected in an Australian Davis Cup squad.
This was a tribute to Wilderspin’s tennis ability because at that time Australian tennis was exceptionally strong.
The outstanding tennis talent produced in W.A. in the years following World War II, Wilderspin was ranked No. 1 in the State from 1946 to 1963.
He won his first senior title at Subiaco in 1946 when still only 16 and throughout his years as a junior he was beaten in only one singles match.
He won the Australian junior singles and double championships in 1949 and in the same year was the driving force behind W.A’s success in the junior interstate competition for the Linton Cup.
As a member of the official Australian overseas touring team in 1953, Wilderspin partnered Lew Hoad to victory in the Dutch Open men’s doubles and was runner-up with Merv Rose in the French doubles, a Gram Slam event.
Wilderspin twice won the W.A. men’s singles championship, beating Rose in 1954 and proving too strong for Ashley Cooper in 1956.
In his later years, Wilderspin achieved considerable success at National and State level in veteran’s tennis.