A passional tennis lover and patriarch to three generations of pro players, Trevor Fancutt is being remembered as a coach, a volunteer, an AO doubles champion – and a great man.
23 December 2022 | Tennis Australia
Many kind words have been used to describe Trevor Fancutt, who passed away at age 88 last week, but “gentleman” is arguably the most frequent.
Born in Kokstad, South Africa, Fancutt emigrated to Australia after his marriage in 1957 to fellow player Daphne Seeny, who had partnered Trevor in mixed doubles tournaments.
The couple settled in Brisbane and became parents to sons Michael, Charlie and Chris, who all competed at a professional level.
Ken Laffey, a former Director at Tennis Queensland, has been involved in the sport for decades and says the game owes much of its modern strength to the legacy of Trevor Fancutt and his family.
“He and his wife Daphne were made honorary life members of Tennis Queensland,” Laffey said. “Their legacy can’t be overstated. If we go back to the early ’70’s they had a three-court tennis centre and they were the first tennis coaches to teach over 1000 kids a week. They were teaching in over 30 schools. It was enormous.
“Over a number of years as people started to cotton on, all the best kids in the state went to them.”
Laffey explained how the former Grand Slam competitor also supported the sport in a promotional sense.
“In the early days we promoted the Australian Hardcourt Championships on the Gold Coast at the Southport Tennis Association,” Laffey added.
“Trevor arranged for Evonne Goolagong to play the event, and she happened to win a little event called Wimbledon that year, but she still came. It was huge for us.
“For a guy to come across from South Africa, where he was a terrific player, buy a tennis centre with his wife, do it up and spend a lifetime making the game better here is a wonderful thing.
“He was on the board, he chaired the committee, he coached, he played, you couldn’t do any more.”
Laffey related an amusing story of he and Trevor taking it upon themselves to provide covers for courts on the Gold Coast that previously had none.
“He had a little Volkswagen that he took everywhere. He got a six by four trailer, we got some tarps and off we went. We only got a few minutes down the road and the trailer broke off and went into the back of the car.”
Fancutt was a singles quarterfinalist at the Australian championships in…
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