Franjo Kukuljevic
| Country (sports) |
 Yugoslavia
|
|---|---|
| Born |
7 October 1909 Zagreb, Austria-Hungary |
| Died | 8 November 2002 (aged 93) Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Turned pro | 1929 (amateur tour) |
| Retired | 1948 |
| Plays | Left-handed |
| Singles | |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| French Open | 4R (1938) |
| Wimbledon | QF (1939) |
| US Open | 4R (1938) |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| French Open | SF (1938) |
| Wimbledon | QF (1948) |
| US Open | 3R (1938) |
| Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results | |
| French Open | F (1939) |
| Wimbledon | QF (1936) |
Franjo Kukuljević (Serbian: Фрањо Кукуљевић, Serbo-Croatian pronunciation: [fraːɲo kukuʎɛʋitɕ]) (7 October 1909, Zagreb – 8 November 2002, Johannesburg) was a Croatian tennis player. He played for the Yugoslavian team at the International Lawn Tennis Challenge from 1930 to 1939. He was a 13-time national champion – one in singles, six in doubles and six in the mixed doubles, usually with Vlasta Gostiša. He was a Dutch, Indian and Danish champion as well.
Franjo Kukuljević first came to attention when he won the National Tennis Championships in 1929. This led to him receiving an invitation to join the Kingdom of Yugoslavia Davis Cup team the following year in Zagreb. He made his debut with doubles partner Ivan Radović, losing to the Spanish team. He was also defeated in his singles match by Enrique Maier due to his lack of match play. This was followed by appearances at international tournaments in places such as Kaposvár, Piešťany and Semmering. In 1930 he was selected to represent Yugoslavia in the inaugural Balkan Games in Athens, joined by Franjo Šefer and Vlasta Gostiša. Playing singles, doubles and mixed doubles matches, they earned a silver medal, the final scores of the top five teams being Romania with 25 points, Yugoslavia with 24, Greece with 18, Bulgaria with 4, and Turkey with 3.
In 1931 Zagreb welcomed the Japan Davis Cup team consisting of the Satoh brothers and Minoru Kawashima who were scheduled to face Yugoslavia in the first round of the Davis Cup in front of 1,500 spectators, which at the time was a record at the tennis courts in Yugoslavia. Kukuljević nearly defeated Hyotare Satoh whom he pushed to five sets. He competed again at the second Balkan Games.
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