He was ranked inside the world's Top 10 throughout much of his tennis career and represented Australia in the Davis Cup from 1951 to 1957.

[1] Rose won the singles title at the 1954 Australian Championships in Sydney, defeating compatriot Rex Hartwig in the final in four sets.

[2][3] Four years later, in 1958, he became the French singles champion after a straight-sets victory in the final against Luis Ayala.

[4][5] Rose won the 1953 Canadian Open singles title, defeating Hartwig in the final in three straight sets.

[8][9] He coached numerous female and male players, including Billie Jean King, Margaret Court, Ernie Ewart, Michael Fancutt, Brett Prentice, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Eleni Daniilidou, Nadia Petrova, Magdalena Grzybowska and Caroline Schnieder.