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Dennis Ralston
American tennis player (1942–2020)
American tennis player (1942–2020)
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Dennis Ralston |
| fullname | Richard Dennis Ralston |
| image | Top Tennis Toernooi 1969 in Amsterdam D. Ralston , aktie, Bestanddeelnr 922-4467.jpg |
| country | United States |
| birth_date | July 27, 1942 |
| birth_place | Bakersfield, California, US |
| height | |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Austin, Texas, US |
| turnedpro | 1967 (amateur from 1958) |
| retired | 1977 |
| plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| tennishofyear | 1987 |
| tennishofid | dennis-ralston |
| singlesrecord | 576–251 (69.6%) |
| singlestitles | 41 |
| highestsinglesranking | No. 5 (1966, Lance Tingay) |
| AustralianOpenresult | SF (1970) |
| FrenchOpenresult | 4R (1966) |
| Wimbledonresult | F (1966) |
| USOpenresult | SF (1960) |
| Promajors | yes |
| USProresult | SF (1968) |
| WembleyProresult | QF (1967, 1968) |
| FrenchProresult | 2R (1968) |
| doublestitles | 3 (Open Era) |
| AustralianOpenDoublesresult | SF (1971) |
| FrenchOpenDoublesresult | W (1966) |
| WimbledonDoublesresult | W (1960) |
| USOpenDoublesresult | W (1961, 1962, 1963) |
| WimbledonMixedresult | F (1962, 1966) |
| USOpenMixedresult | F (1969) |
Richard Dennis Ralston (July 27, 1942 – December 6, 2020) was an American professional tennis player whose active career spanned the 1960s and 1970s.
As a young player, he was coached by tennis pro Pancho Gonzales. He attended the University of Southern California (USC) and won NCAA championships under its coach George Toley. He and partner Bill Bond captured the NCAA doubles title in 1964. He was the highest-ranked American player at the end of three consecutive years in the 1960s; Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph ranked him as high as world No. 5 in 1966 (Ralston was ranked world no. 3 by the magazine Reading Eagle in 1963).
His best result at a Grand Slam singles event came in 1966 when he was seeded sixth and reached the final of the Wimbledon Championships, which he lost to fourth-seeded Manuel Santana in straight sets. At the end of that year he turned professional.
Ralston was a member of the Handsome Eight, the initial group of players signed to the professional World Championship Tennis tour. He won 27 national doubles and singles titles, including five grand-slam doubles crowns.
Ralston, a Davis Cup winner with the US Davis Cup team in 1963, continued to serve in the team as a coach from 1968 to 1971 and as a captain from 1972 to 1975, winning the title in 1972 over Romania.
Ralston was the men's coach at Southern Methodist University between 1981–89 and 1991–93 (split when he helped Noah in 1989–90), being named the NCAA Coach of the Year in 1983, when SMU finished second nationally.
Ralston was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2016, he was inducted into the Texas Tennis Hall of Fame.
Grand Slam finals
Singles, 1 final (1 runner-up)
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1966 | Wimbledon | Grass | ESP Manuel Santana | 4–6, 9–11, 4–6 |
Doubles, 9 finals (5 titles, 4 runners-up)
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1960 | Wimbledon | Grass | MEX Rafael Osuna | GBR Mike Davies | |
| GBR Bobby Wilson | 7–5, 6–3, 10–8 | |||||
| Win | 1961 | U.S. Championships | Grass | USA Chuck McKinley | MEX Rafael Osuna | |
| MEX Antonio Palafox | 6–3, 6–4, 2–6, 13–11 | |||||
| Loss | 1962 | U.S. Championships | Grass | USA Chuck McKinley | MEX Rafael Osuna | |
| MEX Antonio Palafox | 4–6, 12–10, 6–1, 7–9, 3–6 | |||||
| Win | 1963 | U.S. Championships | Grass | USA Chuck McKinley | MEX Rafael Osuna | |
| MEX Antonio Palafox | 9–7, 4–6, 5–7, 6–3, 11–9 | |||||
| Win | 1964 | U.S. Championships | Grass | USA Chuck McKinley | GBR Mike Sangster | |
| GBR Graham Stilwell | 6–3, 6–2, 6–4 | |||||
| Win | 1966 | French Championships | Clay | USA Clark Graebner | ROU Ilie Năstase | |
| ROU Ion Țiriac | 6–3, 6–3, 6–0 | |||||
| Loss | 1966 | U.S. Championships | Grass | USA Clark Graebner | AUS Roy Emerson | |
| AUS Fred Stolle | 4–6, 4–6, 4–6 | |||||
| Loss | 1969 | US Open | Grass | USA Charlie Pasarell | AUS Ken Rosewall | |
| AUS Fred Stolle | 6–2, 5–7, 11–13, 3–6 | |||||
| Loss | 1971 | Wimbledon | Grass | USA Arthur Ashe | AUS Roy Emerson | |
| AUS Rod Laver | 6–4, 7–9, 8–6, 4–6, 4–6 |
Mixed doubles, 4 finals (4 runners-up)
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1961 | U.S. Championships | Grass | USA Darlene Hard | AUS Margaret Smith | |
| AUS Bob Mark | default | |||||
| Loss | 1962 | Wimbledon | Grass | GBR Ann Haydon | USA Margaret Osborne duPont | |
| AUS Neale Fraser | 6–2, 3–6, 11–13 | |||||
| Loss | 1966 | Wimbledon | Grass | USA Billie Jean King | AUS Margaret Smith Court | |
| AUS Ken Fletcher | 6–4, 3–6, 3–6 | |||||
| Loss | 1969 | US Open | Grass | FRA Françoise Dürr | AUS Margaret Court | |
| USA Marty Riessen | 4–6, 5–7 |
Grand Slam tournament performance timeline
Singles
| Tournament | 1958 | 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | SF | 3R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A |
| French Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 4R | A | A | 3R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 2 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | 2R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 1R | SF | F | A | QF | 4R | 4R | 3R | A | A | 1R | A | A | 2R | 0 / 13 |
| US Open | 1R | 1R | SF | A | 1R | QF | QF | QF | 4R | A | QF | 4R | QF | 2R | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | 0 / 13 |
| Strike rate | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 30 |
Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.
References
References
- "Dennis Ralston: Career match record". Tennismem SL.
- "Dennis Ralston: Career tournament results". Tennismem SL.
- (December 8, 2020). "Dennis Ralston, 78, Doubles Champion in Tennis Hall of Fame, Dies".
- Norcross, Dan. (August 22, 2013). "Famous La Jolla tennis player dies". [[U-T San Diego]].
- "Emerson, Ralston Win Net Tests", ''Reading Eagle'', 2 September 1963.
- Harman, Neil. (June 23, 2008). "'I see Rafa playing tennis I do not believe'". The Times.
- (Jul 1, 1966). "Santana Defeats Dennis Ralston In Wimbledon Finals". Reading Eagle.
- (Dec 27, 1966). "Ralston Turns Tennis Pro". The Tuscaloosa News.
- Atkin, Ronald. (March 5, 2000}}{{dead link). "Britain turn to passion of the handsome one". The Independent.
- Wind, Herbert Warren. (1979). "Game, Set, and Match : The Tennis Boom of the 1960s and 70s". Dutton.
- Porter, Ross. "Dennis Ralston". Real Sport Heroes.
- {{Tennishof. dennis-ralston
- Harman, Neil. (December 7, 2020). "'I see Rafa playing tennis I do not believe'". ATPTour.
- "Hall of Famers – Dennis Ralston". International Tennis Hall of Fame.
- (August 22, 2016). "Texas Tennis Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2016". Texas Tennis Museum and Hall of Fame.
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