Josip Palada

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Josip Palada (5 February 1912 – 4 May 1994) was a Yugoslav tennis player from Zagreb. He played left-handed, turned professional in 1932 on the amateur tour, and retired in 1956. He won 20 singles titles and had a career record of 199 wins and 124 losses. His best Grand Slam results were reaching the semi-finals at the 1938 French Open and the fourth round at Wimbledon in 1935.

Palada started tennis at age 15 on the courts of Zagreb's Neurological Clinic, where he worked as a ball boy. He was spotted by Drago Čop, who later became a Davis Cup captain and head of the Yugoslav Tennis Association. Palada was largely self-taught, training by playing squash and using Star racquets. His first international appearance came in a Budapest–Zagreb inter-club match, while he also worked as a state official.

He joined the Kingdom of Yugoslavia Davis Cup team in 1933. In 1934 the team toured India; Palada won the India International Championships in Calcutta and Allahabad, including defeating Franjo Punčec in Allahabad. In 1937 he won the South African international tournament. In 1938 he became widely known for wins on several continents: the Irish Open in doubles with George Lyttleton-Rogers and the Scandinavia Covered Courts Championship in Helsinki with Punčec; he was runner-up in the Buenos Aires South American championships, losing the final to Punčec. In the 1938 French Championships he beat Ladislav Hecht and Christian Boussus before losing in the semi-finals to Don Budge. In 1940 he won the Danish National Championship in Copenhagen.

During World War II, Palada and Punčec were in the French Riviera when Yugoslavia was invaded. Palada continued to play and defeat many famous players, and he had doubles success with Dragutin Mitić. He won the Yugoslavian national title twice, in 1952 and 1955, even though he was over forty. He retired in 1956 at age 44. Afterwards he worked as a coach and teacher, and he served as the official selector, captain, and trainer of the Yugoslav Davis Cup team. Under his leadership, Yugoslavia won the King’s Cup in 1963.