Wayne Reid, a former tennis player and past President of Tennis Australia, has passed away at the age of 83.

Reid spent the entirety of his playing career as an amateur, prior to the introduction of Open Era in 1968. His on-court highlights include a notable victory over tennis legend Rod Laver at the South Australian Open in 1960, and a run to the semi-finals of the doubles event at the Australian Championships in 1961.

He reached the third round in Melbourne in singles that same year, having made the second round of the individual event at Wimbledon three years earlier. The latter was one of his two visits to the All England Club – the only occasions in which he travelled overseas in his playing career.

Reid retired from the sport aged 22 to focus on his business interests and, at the age of 31 in 1969, he became Tennis Australia President, steering Australian tennis through the early days of Open tennis.

During a successful eight-year tenure, he mended the differences between the players and an out-of-date administration and also founded the Australian Davis Cup Tennis Foundation and the Asian Tennis Circuit.

Reid went on to hold further high-profile roles outside of tennis and was President of Melbourne Football Club, the Asian Tennis Circuit, the Confederation of Australian Sport, the International Assembly of National Confederations of Sports and a founding director of the Australian Institute of Sport.

He was honoured with induction into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1989, and was also made a life member of Tennis Australia.