After a long illness, Australian tennis journalist Alan Trengove passed away on Thursday night aged 87.

Trengove’s career began in 1945 as a Fleet Street copy boy, soon graduating to become a reporter at one of the city’s many local papers before accompanying his parents back to their native Australia in 1949.

Over the next 60 years, Trengove established himself as one of Australia’s most respected sports journalists, covering the tennis beat with particular distinction – attending over 130 Grand Slam tournaments. He was the founder of Australian Tennis Magazine and the author of 16 non-fiction books including half a dozen about tennis, among their number The Story of Australia and the Davis Cup and The Art of Tennis.

And his talents were not restricted to the field of sport, either. Indeed, the man known as ‘The White Knight’ of journalism’s subjects ranged from political leaders and business moguls to light entertainers.

In 1990, Trengove was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. More recently, he was recognized for his contribution to the tennis at the 2005 Australian Sports Commission Media Awards, and at Wimbledon in 2008 collected the ATP’s Ron Bookman Award for Media Excellence.

He is survived by wife Joan, children Chris, Deborah and Kim, and his seven grandchildren, Eleanor, Megan, Laura, Anna, Jessy, Bede and Nathaniel.