Bob Lutz

Who is Bob Lutz?

Robert Lutz was a top amateur and professional tennis player of the 1960s and 1970s. He and his longtime partner Stan Smith were one of the best doubles teams of all time. Together they won many major titles all over the world. Bud Collins ranked Lutz as World No. 7 in 1972. Between 1967 and 1977 he was ranked among the top-10 American players 8 times, with his highest ranking being No. 5 in both 1968 and 1970.

Lutz won nine singles titles, the most important being in Paris in 1978, and reached 15 other singles finals, including the Cincinnati in 1974. He also won 43 doubles titles, many with Stan Smith, and reached 30 other doubles finals. His doubles titles include the US Open in 1980, 1978, 1974, and 1968, the Australian Open in 1970 and Cincinnati in 1969. In addition, he also played on 5 winning Davis Cup teams and had a 14-2 record playing doubles in Davis Cup ties. He was nominated for the ITF Tennis Hall of Fame thanks to these achievements.

Lutz, a University of Southern California graduate, was inducted into their Hall of Fame. He has been living in San Clemente since 1973 with his wife, Sharon, and their two daughters, Samantha and Allison.