Ian Collins

Who was Ian Collins?

Ian Glen Collins was a Scottish tennis player who represented Great Britain in the Davis Cup.

Collins, primarily a doubles player, never fully recovered from a broken leg in his youth but still had a lengthy tennis career. It was said that due to the contortion he made when he served he looked like a "monkey mounting a pole". He had broken his leg soon after arriving at Oxford University, from Harrow School. While at Harrow School he had appeared in every Eton v Harrow cricket match from 1919 to 1922. He played cricket for the university as a batsman and in 1925 appeared in a first-class match against Middlesex. Two years later he represented Scotland in a first-class against Ireland.

In 1927 he made his Wimbledon debut, the first of 12 Wimbledon Championships that he entered. He missed the Championship in 1933 after injuring himself riding, but appeared in the event every other time until 1939.

His Davis Cup partnership with Colin Gregory proved successful as they were undefeated in their six matches together, in 1929 and 1930. They also combined together in major tournaments and made the finals of both the Australian Championship and Wimbledon in 1929. Collins and Gregory lost to Jack Crawford and Harry Hopman in the Australian final 6-1, 6-8, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3, but beat them in the 1930 Davis Cup. They narrowly lost the Wimbledon final in another five setter, to Wilmer Allison and John Van Ryn, 6–4, 5–7, 6–3, 10–12, 6–4. Collins was also a mixed doubles finalist in the 1929 Wimbledon Championship and again in 1931.