Torben Ulrich

Torben Ulrich was the son of Einer Ulrich, a well-regarded tennis player who represented Denmark at the 1924 Paris Olympics. The younger Ulrich’s international career began after World War II and lasted over two and a half decades, until Torben was well into his 50s. As a singles player, he took part in 20 editions of Wimbledon, 16 editions of the French Open, 9 editions of the U.S. Open, and one Australian Open, but never advanced beyond the fourth round. He had more success in the doubles, reaching the semifinals of Wimbledon in 1959 alongside Croatian-born Austrian Ladislav Legenstein. He also reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 1968 with Romanian-born East German Ingo Buding. At the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, he took part in the tennis demonstration event and reached the quarterfinals of the singles event, where he was defeated by American Herb Fitzgibbon, who went on to take third place. In the men’s doubles, he partnered with his brother Jørgen and was eliminated in the opening round, again by the team that would go on to take third place: Joaquín Loyo-Mayo of Mexico and Pierre Darmon.

Torben had a strong interest in jazz and undertook a lengthy career as a music writer for newspapers and magazines. In addition to painting and being involved in film, he also played in his own jazz band and authored several books on his musical interests. This love of music was passed down to his son, Lars, who eventually forwent a tennis career in order to get more involved with music and, as a drummer, co-founded the heavy metal band Metallica.