Tennis great Bob Hewitt charged with rape

Tennis great Bob Hewitt has been charged with two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault of minors - nearly 20 years after the last of the alleged offenses is said to have occurred.

Prosecutors charged the multiple Grand Slam doubles champion with raping a girl under the age of 16 in 1981 in Sun City in northern South Africa. Hewitt also was charged with raping another girl under 16 in Boksburg, a city east of Johannesburg, in 1982.

A third charge of sexual assault of a girl under 18 in Boksburg in 1994 was read out at Boksburg Magistrate's Court.

The 73-year-old Hewitt has previously denied the accusations. He did not attend his case's first court hearing, citing ill health.