Remembering Torben Ulrich, 1928-2023: World-class player and one of tennis' most distinct personalities

Torben Ulrich, a world class tennis player well into his 40s and one of the sport’s most distinct personalities, has died at the age of 95. Ulrich’s death was announced on December 20 by his son, Lars, drummer for the band Metallica. “Torben Ulrich: 1928-2023,” Lars posted on Instagram. “95 years of adventures, unique experiences, curiosity, pushing boundaries, challenging the status quo, tennis, music, art, writing... and quite a bit of Danish contrarian attitude. Thank you endlessly! I love you dad."

Living much—but not all—of his life in the highly physical and often narrowly focused tennis milieu, Ulrich’s gift was to grace it with an extremely broad worldview that drew on ideas from such disciplines as painting, music, poetry, and philosophy. Consider, for example, the lefthanded Ulrich’s advice for aspiring tennis players: “Watch the ball, bend your knees, and remember there are people suffering.”

“He was incredibly his own man,” said Hall of Famer Charlie Pasarell, who competed against Ulrich in the ‘60s and ‘70s. At a time when the vast majority of athletes devoured steaks, kept their hair quite short, and knew little about such concepts as stretching, the bearded Ulrich wore his hair in a ponytail, ate health food, and practiced yoga.

“What is normal for everybody else is not for Torben,” said another fellow competitor, Gene Scott, in a 1969 Sports Illustrated piece on Ulrich. “He sees everything from upside down.”

Ulrich was born in Copenhagen on October 4, 1928. His father, Einer, played tennis, as did Torben’s younger brother, Jorgen. The chance to represent Denmark in international competition was a particular source of family pride, with the three UIriches collectively playing 230 Davis Cup matches. Across a staggering four decades, from the ‘40s into the late ‘70s, Torben played 102.

A passionate musician, Ulrich frequented jazz clubs and wrote about music for a Danish newspaper. In 2021, the 92-year-old Ulrich collaborated with cellist and composer Lori Goldston to release a jazz album titled, “Oakland moments: cello, voice, reuniting (rejoicing).”

Metallica fans also came to appreciate Ulrich when he appeared in “Some Kind of Monster,” a 2004 documentary about the band.

Ulrich greatly enjoyed painting, at one point crafting a film wherein he dipped tennis balls into paint and struck them onto canvas. In 2017, Ulrich created an exhibit of his paintings titled “Marks of Play, Re-Marks on Being.”

All of Ulrich’s eclectic interests undoubtedly provided the balance and wisdom necessary for him to enjoy a lengthy and sustainable tennis career, one marked most of all by the perspective Ulrich brought no matter what the circumstances.

At the age of 40, Ulrich reached the third round of the 1969 US Open. There he encountered a man five months his elder, the great Pancho Gonzalez. Despite taking a two sets to one lead, in the end Ulrich lost, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 8-6, 6-2. “Pancho gives great happiness,” said Ulrich following the match. “It is good to watch the master.”

There is a book titled A Handful of Summers, a series of tales about tennis in the pre-Open years of the ‘50s and ‘60s, authored by the excellent player from that era, Gordon Forbes. Who better than Ulrich to have the book’s last words?

“After all, Gordon,” he tells Forbes, “what really is tennis? . . . Only a game, you see. That is all that it really is. Only a game.”