JOHANNESBURG (Web Desk) – Former Grand Slam tennis star Bob Hewitt has been jailed for six years by a South African court for raping underage girls.
Hewitt was found guilty at his trial in Johannesburg in March of two counts of rape and one of sexual assault.
Speaking at the sentencing hearing, his wife begged the court to show mercy to her 75-year-old husband.
The attacks took place in the 1980s and 1990s when the Australian-born player was working as a coach in South Africa.
Robert “Bob” Anthony John Hewitt (born 12 January 1940) is a former professional tennis player from Australia. In 1967, after marrying a South African, he became a South African citizen.
Hewitt’s most significant accomplishment was winning all Grand Slam doubles titles, both in men’s and mixed doubles (US Open, Wimbledon, Australian Open, French Open) and being central to South Africa’s only Davis Cup title in 1974.
Hewitt achieved 7 titles in singles and 65 in doubles. In 1992 he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
In November 2012, he was indefinitely suspended from the International Tennis Hall of Fame following an investigation into multiple allegations brought forward concerning sexual misconduct involving Hewitt and minor students that he coached.
On 23 March, 2015, Bob Hewitt was found guilty of rape and assault.
