Glenn Bassett was an American tennis player in the mid-20th century who later would be one of the most successful college tennis coaches of all time.

Bassett was the co-captain (with Herb Flam) of the University of California at Los Angeles tennis team that won the NCAA championship 1950. Also that year, he won the singles title at the Cincinnati Masters

Cincinnati Masters

The Cincinnati Open is an annual outdoor hardcourts tennis event held in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Ohio, USA. The event started on September 18, 1899 and is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States played in its original city., Between...

, defeating Hamilton Richardson

Hamilton Richardson

Hamilton "Ham" Farrar Richardson was a American tennis player in the 1950s and 1960s.Born August 24, 1933 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Richardson was ranked No. 1 in the United States in 1956 and 1958, and was ranked in the top ten in nine other years...

, 6–2, 4–6, 6–1, 6–1 in the final.

Bassett graduated from UCLA in 1951, and would go on to coach the UCLA tennis team for 27 seasons (from 1967 to 1993). At UCLA, he compiled a record of 592-92-2, winning 13 conference championships, seven NCAA team championships (1970, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1982 and 1984) and producing three NCAA singles champions, four NCAA doubles team champions and 49 All-Americans.

Bassett is the only person in NCAA history to win an NCAA tennis title as a player, assistant coach and head coach. While at UCLA, he has worked with some of tennis’ most recognized players, including national champions Arthur Ashe

Arthur Ashe

Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. was a professional tennis player, born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. During his career, he won three Grand Slam titles, putting him among the best ever from the United States...

, Ian Crookenden, Billy Martin

Billy Martin (tennis)

Billy Martin , is a former professional tennis player from the United States. During his career he won 1 singles titles and 3 doubles titles. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 32 in 1975.-Singles titles :-Runner-ups :-Doubles titles :-Runner-ups :-External links:...

 and Jimmy Connors

Jimmy Connors

James Scott "Jimmy" Connors is an American former world no. 1 tennis player....

, and 1992 Olympian Mark Knowles

Mark Knowles

Mark Knowles is a former World number 1 doubles professional male tennis player from the Bahamas, who will go down as one of the greatest athletes of his country for his longevity within his sport and charitable contributions off the court.After being awarded a scholarship to the Nick...

.

After leaving the Bruins, he became a volunteer coach at Pepperdine in 1994 and 1995 and assumed the head coaching position in 1996, leading Pepperdine to a 22–7 season.

He was inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998, the ITA Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame in 1993, the Southern California Tennis Association Hall of Fame in 2005, and the Santa Monica College Sports Hall Of Fame in 2008.

He also wrote books on tennis, penning “Tennis Today” and “Tennis: The Bassett System.”