Disgraced tennis star Bob Hewitt was suspended indefinitely from the International Tennis Hall of Fame Thursday, following a lengthy investigation into allegations that he sexually abused underage girls he coached, from Greater Boston to his South African homeland, from the 1970s to the early 1990s.

The Hall of Fame stopped short of expelling Hewitt, one of the greatest doubles players in tennis history, because he has not been convicted of a crime, according to executive director Mark Stenning.

But Stenning said more than 25 members of the Hall’s executive committee voted unanimously to suspend Hewitt because of the sexual abuse scandal.

“As of today, his plaque will be removed from the Hall of Fame,” Stenning said. “His name will be removed from our website and all other materials, and from the perspective of the Hall of Fame, he ceases to be a Hall of Famer.”

Hewitt’s ouster ends decades of inaction by the international tennis community, particularly in South Africa, where officials acknowledged they were long ago informed of the allegations against him.

The Hall of Fame, in Newport, R.I., launched the investigation after the Globe last year published the results of a six-month investigation into Hewitt that involved dozens of interviews in the United States and South Africa. Six women publicly identified themselves as Hewitt’s alleged victims, and numerous others who were cited as possible victims either declined to be interviewed or could not be reached.

“This is an awesome day,” Suellen Sheehan said tearfully by phone from South Africa. She said she was 12 when Hewitt first had sex with her after a coaching session. “The liberation I feel right now is indescribable, and the emotion is overwhelming.”