A schoolboy tennis prodigy, Pierre Darmon was the top ranked tennis star in France from 1957 to 1969 (shared #1 in ’57 and ’69). In 1963, he reached his highest World ranking, number eight.

Darmon won the French national championship nine times, his first title in 1957 and last in 1968. In 1963, he was French Open Singles runner-up, losing the Grand Slam final to Roy Emerson––6-3, 1-6, 4-6, 4-6. That same year, he reached the Wimbledon Doubles finals (w/partner Jean Claude Barclay), before falling to Mexico’s Antonio Palafox and Rafael Osuna in the title match.

Darmon was a member of France’s Davis Cup Team from 1956 to 1967. In all, he played 68 Davis Cup matches, winning 44. In November 2002, The International Tennis Hall of Fame and International Tennis Federation honored Darmon with the Davis Cup Award of Excellence, awarded to individuals who represent the ideals and spirit of Davis Cup competition.

Off the court, Darmon was Tournament Director of the French Open at Roland Garros from 1969 through 1978; and, Director of the European Tennis Bureau of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in 1973, a member of the ATP Board of Directors 1974 to 1979, and member of the Men's International Professional Tennis Council 1974 to 1979. That year, Darmon took on the position of European Director for Proserv, where he stayed until 1990; whereupon he returned to ATP Europe as its Chief Executive thru 1996.