Trabert was a stand-out athlete in tennis and basketball at the University of Cincinnati, and was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity.

[5] He played doubles with Bob Mault and was coached by George Menefee, who later became the head trainer for the Los Angeles Rams.

[6] Previously, at Walnut Hills High School in Cincinnati, he had been Ohio scholastic champion three times and played guard on the 1948 basketball team that won the District Championship.

In the midst of his amateur career, Trabert's game was interrupted by a two-year stint in the Navy, serving on the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea during the Korean War, but this did not stop him.

[9] After winning his first Grand Slam singles title at the U. S. Championships in 1953 (over Vic Seixas in the final), Trabert was ranked the world No.

1 amateur for 1953 by Lance Tingay in The Daily Telegraph,[2] Ned Potter in World Tennis,[10] Gardnar Mulloy,[10] Bill Talbert,[10] Ham Richardson,[10] Hal Burrows[11] and Grant Golden.

Trabert explained: “When I won Wimbledon as an amateur, I got a 10-pound certificate, which was worth $27 redeemable at Lilly White’s Sporting Goods store in London.

[20] In 1956, he was beaten on the head-to-head world pro tour by the reigning king of professional tennis Pancho Gonzales, 74–27, consisting mostly of indoor matches on a portable loose canvas surface.

In the 1958 pro tour, Trabert won a personal series against Segura 34–31, showing that he had adjusted to the portable canvas surface used by the Kramer pros in small indoor venues and gyms.

In the French Pro at Roland Garros in 1959, Trabert beat Rosewall in the semifinal and then defeated Frank Sedgman in the final, to win his fourth title at the red clay venue.

[25] In October 1962, Trabert won the South African Pro Championships on the cement courts of Ellis Park in Johannesburg by defeating Hoad in the final in five sets.

After retiring from the game, Trabert enjoyed a 33-year career (1971–2004) as a tennis and golf analyst for CBS, covering events such as the US Open.

[29] The popularity of their broadcasts helped propel the US Open into an annual financial success for CBS and the United States Tennis Association.

[3] Trabert's captaincy is remembered by his frustration in dealing with the egos of younger players like John McEnroe and for his racket-wielding expulsion of anti-apartheid protesters who ran onto the court during a Davis Cup match against South Africa at the Newport Beach Tennis Club in California in April 1977.

[32] On September 8, 2014, Trabert was inducted into the United States Tennis Association's Court of Champions prior to the US Open men's singles final.