The man who gave us the serve-and-volley and Dunlop Volley

Before Lleyton Hewitt, Pat Cash, Rod Laver and Margaret Court, there was Adrian Quist. Equity Trustees can claim a connection with the last.

Born in 1913 in Adelaide, Adrian showed promise in sports from an early age, and captained Pulteney Grammar School’s tennis team. In 1928 he became a clerk but continued focussing on tennis after being encouraged by a family friend. Following several local success as a junior, he won the Australian junior doubles title in 1930 and 1932 and the junior singles championship in 1933.

That same year (1933), Adrian qualified to Australia’s Davis Cup team which went on to become the first to win the Cup for Australia. Adrian’s career took off, and over the years he won 23 of 33 singles matches and 19 of 22 doubles, a record that stood for some time.

The high point was probably the 1939 Davis Cup in which, despite a two-match lead by his US opponent Bobby Riggs, Adrian persevered and prevailed in a stunning five-set victory for Australia.

Adrian was not just talented but forward-thinking too. He and doubles partner John Bromwich were among the first to employ the serve-and-volley tactic that has gone on to become a staple of the modern game. He was also an early adopter of wearing shorts despite disapproval at home.

In 1937 he was appointed a director of Dunlop Sports Pty Ltd, and two years later, inspired by a yacht shoe he’d worn in the US, introduced the Dunlop Volley sandshoe into the brand’s product line. It quickly became a best-seller and continues to be sold and worn today.

Adrian’s time at Dunlop was interrupted by the outbreak of war, which saw him deployed as an amenities officer in 1942. Even so, he continued to play exhibition tennis domestically and with the war over in 1945, transferred to the Reserves. From 1963 until 1967 he was general manager of Dunlop’s sports goods division.

Like many tennis greats, Adrian became a sports broadcaster later in life, commentating on Davis Cup matches for ABC Radio. He died in 1991 in Sydney, leaving a life interest trust for his daughter Carolyn which Equity Trustees continues to manage. Inducted into both the Australian and International Tennis Hall of Fames, he was one of our nation’s sporting greats.