A South African woman has accused an Australian-born Davis Cup winner of rape and is trying to get him removed from the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Suellen Sheehan, now 43, says Bob Hewitt, now 72, raped her when she was his nine-year-old protege.
Hewitt, from Dubbo in NSW, won the US Open, Wimbledon, Australian Open and French Open doubles titles in the 1960s and 70s.
He emigrated to marry a South African woman, helping his adopted nation win the Davis Cup in 1974 when the final was scratched after India refused to travel to the Republic due to their apartheid policies.
South African police are investigating the allegations, according to Sheehan’s lawyer.
A man who answered Hewitt’s mobile phone on Wednesday said Hewitt was not available for comment.
Sheehan said it took years to overcome feelings of shame, guilt and fear she would not be believed.
She and other accusers came forward last year to ask the Hall of Fame to remove Hewitt from its ranks.
The US-based hall of fame said on Tuesday it had hired a lawyer to investigate the allegations.
Sheehan said it was difficult to speak out, but once she did, it helped her heal.
“To say his name now is easy. A year ago, I couldn’t say it. I’ve actually forgiven him. Although he has to pay for what he did,” she said.
Sheehan said the abuse started when he began coaching her when she was nine and lasted until she was 14.
She says she knows of other women in South Africa, the United States and New Zealand who say they were abused.
In December, Sheehan asked South African police to open a rape investigation.
Peter van Niekerk, a South African lawyer who represents Sheehan and others, said a criminal investigation has moved slowly.
A spokesman for South Africa’s prosecuting authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Another alleged victim, Twiggy Tolken, 44, a South African now living in New Zealand, said Hewitt began abusing her when she was 12, and her family went to the police when she was 13.
Her parents later dropped the case because they did not want Tolken to have to face Hewitt in court, she said.
“In all honesty, Bob Hewitt needs to go to jail,” Tolken said in a telephone interview.
The AP typically does not identify people who say they were sexually abused, unless they agree.
