Kurt Nielsen

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For the Danish football (soccer) player and manager, see Kurt "Nikkelaj" Nielsen.

Kurt Nielsen
Singles

Country	Denmark
Born	19 November 1930 Copenhagen, Denmark
Died	11 June 2011 (aged 80)
Turned pro	1960 (amateur tour from 1948)
Retired	1966
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Career record	205–103
Career titles	13
Highest ranking	No. 7 (1953, Lance Tingay)^[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open	4R (1952, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959)
Wimbledon	F (1953, 1955)
US Open	QF (1953)
Professional majors
Wembley Pro	1R (1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966)
French Pro	1R (1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Wimbledon	3R (1953, 1957)
Mixed Doubles
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Wimbledon	F (1958)
US Open	W (1957)

Kurt Nielsen (19 November 1930 – 11 June 2011)^[2] was a Danish tennis player. He was born in Copenhagen, and is the only Danish tennis player ever to have played in a Men's Singles final in a Grand Slam tournament.
Nielsen reached the singles finals of Wimbledon in 1953 (losing to Vic Seixas, having defeated Ken Rosewall in the quarterfinal) and 1955 (losing to Tony Trabert). Before this, he won the Boys' Singles at Wimbledon in 1947 (defeating Sven Davidson). Besides his successes at Wimbledon, he won the Boys' singles at the French Open, and reached senior quarterfinals in the French Open (twice) and the US Open.
With Althea Gibson, Nielsen won the US Open mixed doubles in 1957, thereby becoming the first Dane to have ever won a Grand Slam event as a senior. During his long career he won around 30 international titles, played 96 Davis Cup matches for Denmark (with a 53–43 record), and holds the record of having won the most Danish national tennis championships (50). Nielsen turned professional in 1960, and played on the pro circuit.
After ending his active career, Nielsen held numerous honourable positions in leading international tennis associations, as well as being supervisor and referee at many Grand Slam events. He was a commentator on the Danish version of the TV channel Eurosport until late 2006.^[3]
Nielsen was the grandfather of Danish tennis player Frederik Løchte Nielsen.^[4] He followed his grandfather and became the second Dane to win a Grand Slam tournament at the 2012 Wimbledon men's doubles.

Grand Slam singles finals

Singles: 2 (0–2)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1953	Wimbledon	Vic Seixas	7–9, 3–6, 4–6
Runner-up	1955	Wimbledon	Tony Trabert	3–6, 5–7, 1–6

Mixed doubles: 2 (1–1)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1957	US Open	Althea Gibson	Darlene Hard Robert Howe	6–3, 9–7
Runner-up	1958	Wimbledon	Althea Gibson	Lorraine Coghlan Robinson Robert Howe	3–6, 11–13

Singles performance timeline

The following lists main draw appearances for Grand Slam and pre-Open Era Professional Major tournaments only.

Tournament	1948	1949	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	W–L
Grand slam tournaments
Australian Championships	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	Absent; had turned pro						0–0
French Championships	3R	A	A	1R	4R¹	A	2R	4R¹	4R	4R	1R	4R	1R							16–10
Wimbledon Championships	2R	A	1R	3R	3R	F	4R	F	3R	3R	SF	2R	3R							31–12
U.S. National Championships	A	A	A	A	3R	QF	A	3R	A	4R	1R	A	A							11–5
Win–loss	3–2	0–0	0–1	2–2	6–3	10–2	4–2	10–3	5–2	7–3	5–3	4–2	2–2	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	58–27
Professional majors
U.S. Pro Tennis Championships	Absent; had not turned pro												A	A	A	A	A	A	A	0–0
French Pro Championship													1R	1R	1R	1R	1R	1R	A	0–6
Wembley Championships													1R	1R	1R	1R	PR	A	1R	0–5
Win–loss	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–1	0–1	0–1	0–11