# Torben Ulrich
**Torben Ulrich** (4 October 1928 – 20 December 2023) was a Danish tennis player, journalist, and visual artist who played a Danish-record 102 [Davis Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/davis-cup) matches for Denmark between 1948 and the late 1970s and was the father of [Lars Ulrich](https://www.edgepedia.org/lars-ulrich), the drummer of the heavy metal band [Metallica](https://www.edgepedia.org/metallica)[1](https://lex.dk/Torben_Ulrich). He was also a jazz musician, writer, filmmaker, and painter whose work drew on tennis as its central motif[2](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/901206).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | 4 October 1928 in Frederiksberg, Denmark; 20 December 2023, aged 95[2](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/901206) |
| Davis Cup | 102 matches for Denmark from 1948 to 1977, a Danish record; last tie in 1978 against Belgium at age 49, a Danish age record[1](https://lex.dk/Torben_Ulrich) • [3](https://tennis.dk/torben-ulrich-er-doed/) |
| National titles | 19 Danish championships between 1948 and 1968, four of them in outdoor singles, with 17 years between his first and last title[1](https://lex.dk/Torben_Ulrich) • [3](https://tennis.dk/torben-ulrich-er-doed/) |
| Grand Slam singles | 20 Wimbledons, 16 French Opens, 9 U.S. Opens, and one Australian Open, never passing the fourth round[2](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/901206) |
| Best doubles result | Wimbledon semifinals in 1959 with Ladislav Legenstein; French Open quarterfinals in 1968 with Ingo Buding[2](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/901206) |
| Professional career | Turned professional at 40 in 1969; three titles; highest world ranking No. 96 in 1973[3](https://tennis.dk/torben-ulrich-er-doed/) |
| Honors | ITF Award for Services to the Game, 2017[3](https://tennis.dk/torben-ulrich-er-doed/) |
| Family | Son of Olympic tennis player Einer Ulrich; brother of Davis Cup player Jørgen Ulrich; father of Lars Ulrich of Metallica[2](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/901206) |
## Tennis career
Ulrich came from a Danish tennis family. His father, Einer Ulrich, was a well-regarded player who represented Denmark at the 1924 Paris Olympics, and his younger brother Jørgen also played many Davis Cup ties for Denmark[2](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/901206) • [3](https://tennis.dk/torben-ulrich-er-doed/). The three Ulriches collectively played 230 Davis Cup matches, of which Torben played 102 across four decades from the 1940s into the late 1970s[4](https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/remembering-torben-ulrich-1928-2023-world-class-player-tennis-most-distinct-personalities-lars-metallica).
**Longevity was his signature.** His international career began after World War II and lasted more than two and a half decades, until he was well into his 50s[2](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/901206). From 1948 to 1968 he missed Davis Cup participation in only two years, and he played his final tie against Belgium in 1978 at 49, an age record for a Danish Davis Cup player[3](https://tennis.dk/torben-ulrich-er-doed/).
In singles, he competed in 20 editions of Wimbledon, 16 of the [French Open](https://www.edgepedia.org/french-open), 9 of the U.S. Open, and one [Australian Open](https://www.edgepedia.org/australian-open), but never advanced beyond the fourth round[2](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/901206). His best singles results were four fourth-round appearances at the U.S. Open and one each at the French Open and Wimbledon[3](https://tennis.dk/torben-ulrich-er-doed/). He had more success in doubles, reaching the Wimbledon semifinals in 1959 alongside the Croatian-born Austrian Ladislav Legenstein and the French Open quarterfinals in 1968 with the Romanian-born East German Ingo Buding[2](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/901206).
At the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, where tennis was a demonstration event, he reached the singles quarterfinals, finishing equal fifth, and was eliminated in the opening round of the men's doubles playing with his brother Jørgen[2](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/901206).
He turned professional at age 40 in 1969 and won three titles as a professional. His highest placement on the world rankings came in 1973, at number 96[3](https://tennis.dk/torben-ulrich-er-doed/). Domestically he won 19 Danish championships between 1948 and 1968, including four in outdoor singles, and 14 international tournaments[1](https://lex.dk/Torben_Ulrich). A left-hander known for extremely spun shots and a reputation as a hippie, he attracted attention wherever he played[1](https://lex.dk/Torben_Ulrich). Fellow players remembered his unconventionality: the bearded Ulrich wore a ponytail, ate health food, and practiced yoga at a time when most athletes did none of these things[4](https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/remembering-torben-ulrich-1928-2023-world-class-player-tennis-most-distinct-personalities-lars-metallica).
## Music, writing, and art
Ulrich had a strong interest in jazz and played in his own jazz band, alongside a lengthy career as a music writer for Danish newspapers and magazines[2](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/901206). His articles and radio broadcasts, especially about jazz, reached a large audience; a selection of his writing appears in the anthology *Jazz, bold og buddhisme* (2003), and he later wrote *Boldens øjne, værens ben* (2018)[1](https://lex.dk/Torben_Ulrich).
**His visual art grew from tennis.** As a painter he made images by dipping tennis balls and rackets in paint and striking them against paper, and these prints became very popular[1](https://lex.dk/Torben_Ulrich) • [3](https://tennis.dk/torben-ulrich-er-doed/). His works were exhibited in Copenhagen, Paris, Dublin, New York, and the American West Coast, where he eventually settled[3](https://tennis.dk/torben-ulrich-er-doed/). In 2017 he created an exhibit of paintings titled "Marks of Play, Re-Marks on Being"[4](https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/remembering-torben-ulrich-1928-2023-world-class-player-tennis-most-distinct-personalities-lars-metallica). He was also involved in film[2](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/901206).
His musical life continued to the end. In 2021, at 92, he released the jazz album *Oakland moments: cello, voice, reuniting (rejoicing)* with the cellist and composer Lori Goldston[4](https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/remembering-torben-ulrich-1928-2023-world-class-player-tennis-most-distinct-personalities-lars-metallica).
## Family and Metallica connection
Ulrich passed his love of music to his son Lars, who gave up a tennis career for music and, as a drummer, co-founded Metallica[2](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/901206). Torben had introduced Lars to both tennis and music, taking him to a [Deep Purple](https://www.edgepedia.org/deep-purple) concert in Copenhagen when Lars was nine[5](https://as.com/tenis/masters_1000/quien-fue-torben-ulrich-el-padre-del-bateria-de-metallica-n/). The family moved to [Newport Beach, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/newport-beach-california), in 1980[5](https://as.com/tenis/masters_1000/quien-fue-torben-ulrich-el-padre-del-bateria-de-metallica-n/). Ulrich appeared in *Some Kind of Monster*, the 2004 documentary about Metallica, and Metallica fans came to know him through it[4](https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/remembering-torben-ulrich-1928-2023-world-class-player-tennis-most-distinct-personalities-lars-metallica).
From 2011 he lived in San Francisco[1](https://lex.dk/Torben_Ulrich). His death on 20 December 2023 was announced by Lars on Instagram, in a tribute describing "95 years of adventures, unique experiences, curiosity, pushing boundaries, challenging the status quo, tennis, music, art, writing... and quite a bit of Danish contrarian attitude"[4](https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/remembering-torben-ulrich-1928-2023-world-class-player-tennis-most-distinct-personalities-lars-metallica).
## Recognition
In 2017 Ulrich received the ITF's Award for Services to the Game, given to people who have shown a lifelong and remarkable commitment to tennis[3](https://tennis.dk/torben-ulrich-er-doed/). He is remembered in Denmark as one of the major personalities in the country's tennis history[3](https://tennis.dk/torben-ulrich-er-doed/).
## References
1. [Torben Ulrich – Tennisspiller og billedkunstner, Lex (Gyldendals leksikonredaktion)](https://lex.dk/Torben_Ulrich)
2. [Torben Ulrich, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/901206)
3. [Torben Ulrich er død, Dansk Tennis Forbund (21 December 2023)](https://tennis.dk/torben-ulrich-er-doed/)
4. [Remembering Torben Ulrich, 1928-2023, Tennis.com (Joel Drucker, 23 December 2023)](https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/remembering-torben-ulrich-1928-2023-world-class-player-tennis-most-distinct-personalities-lars-metallica)
5. [¿Quién fue Torben Ulrich, el padre del batería de Metallica?, AS (31 July 2025)](https://as.com/tenis/masters_1000/quien-fue-torben-ulrich-el-padre-del-bateria-de-metallica-n/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Racket and precision ball sports › Tennis › Tennis players and seasons › Individual tennis player biographies › Nordic and Baltic tennis player biographies*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license