Dennis Ralston

Dennis Ralston
Full name	Richard Dennis Ralston
Country (sports)	United States
Born	July 27, 1942 (age 82); Bakersfield, California
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Turned pro	1967 (amateur tour from 1958)
Retired	1977
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF	1987 (member page)
Singles
Career record	138–100
Highest ranking	No. 5 (1966, Lance Tingay)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	SF (1970)
French Open	4R (1966)
Wimbledon	F (1966)
US Open	SF (1960)
	Professional majors
US Pro	SF (1968)
Wembley Pro	QF (1967, 1968)
French Pro	2R (1968)
Doubles
Career record	125–87
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	SF (1971)
French Open	W (1966)
Wimbledon	W (1960)
US Open	W (1961, 1962, 1963)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Wimbledon	F (1962, 1966)
US Open	F (1969)

Richard Dennis Ralston (born July 27, 1942) is an American former 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 their coach, George Toley. He and partner Bill Bond captured the NCAA doubles title in 1964.^[1] 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 also ranked World No. 3 by the magazine Reading Eagle in 1963).^[2]

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.^[3]^[4] At the end of that year he turned professional.^[5]

Ralston was a member of the Handsome Eight, the initial group of players signed to the professional World Championship Tennis tour.^[6]^[7] He won 27 national doubles and singles titles, including five grand-slam doubles crowns.^[8]

Ralston was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.^[9]

Grand Slam finals, 13 (5 titles, 8 runners-up)

Singles, 1 final (1 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-Up	1966	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Manuel Santana	4–6, 9–11, 4–6

Doubles, 9 finals (5 titles, 4 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Winner	1960	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Rafael Osuna	Mike Davies Bobby Wilson	7–5, 6–3, 10–8
Winner	1961	US Championships	Grass	Chuck McKinley	Rafael Osuna Antonio Palafox	6–3, 6–4, 2–6, 13–11
Runner-Up	1962	US Championships	Grass	Chuck McKinley	Rafael Osuna Antonio Palafox	4–6, 12–10, 6–1, 7–9, 3–6
Winner	1963	US Championships (2)	Grass	Chuck McKinley	Rafael Osuna Antonio Palafox	9–7, 4–6, 5–7, 6–3, 11–9
Winner	1964	US Championships (3)	Grass	Chuck McKinley	Mike Sangster Graham Stilwell	6–3, 6–2, 6–4
Winner	1966	French Championships	Clay	Clark Graebner	Ilie Năstase Ion Ţiriac	6–3, 6–3, 6–0
Runner-Up	1966	US Championships (2)	Grass	Clark Graebner	Roy Emerson Fred Stolle	4–6, 4–6, 4–6
Runner-Up	1969	US Open (3)	Grass	Charlie Pasarell	Ken Rosewall Fred Stolle	6–2, 5–7, 11–13, 3–6
Runner-Up	1971	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Arthur Ashe	Roy Emerson Rod Laver	6–4, 7–9, 8–6, 4–6, 4–6

Mixed Doubles, 3 finals (3 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-Up	1962	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Ann Haydon-Jones	Margaret Osborne duPont Neale Fraser	6–2, 3–6, 11–13
Runner-Up	1966	Wimbledon Championships (2)	Grass	Billie Jean King	Margaret Court Ken Fletcher	6–4, 3–6, 3–6
Runner-Up	1969	US Open	Grass	Françoise Dürr	Margaret Court Marty Riessen	4–6, 5–7

References

^ Norcross, Dan (August 22, 2013). "Famous La Jolla tennis player dies". U-T San Diego. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
^ "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. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
^ "Santana Defeats Dennis Ralston In Wimbledon Finals". Reading Eagle. AP. July 1, 1966.
^ "Ralston Turns Tennis Pro". The Tuscaloosa News. AP. December 27, 1966.
^ Atkin, Ronald (March 5, 2000). "Britain turn to passion of the handsome one". The Independent. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
^ Wind, Herbert Warren (1979). Game, Set, and Match : The Tennis Boom of the 1960s and 70s (1. ed.). New York: Dutton. pp. 65–70. ISBN 0525111409.
^ Porter, Ross. "Dennis Ralston". Real Sport Heroes. Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved December 11, 2010.
^ "Hall of Famers – Dennis Ralston". www.tennisfame.com. International Tennis Hall of Fame.

External links

Dennis Ralston at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
Dennis Ralston at the Association of Tennis Professionals
{{ITF profile}} template using deprecated numeric ID.
Dennis Ralston at the Davis Cup

[1] Norcross, Dan (August 22, 2013). "Famous La Jolla tennis player dies". U-T San Diego. Retrieved April 4, 2014.

[ReadingEagle1963-2] "Emerson, Ralston Win Net Tests", Reading Eagle, 2 September 1963.

[3] Harman, Neil (June 23, 2008). "'I see Rafa playing tennis I do not believe'". The Times. Retrieved December 11, 2010.

[4] "Santana Defeats Dennis Ralston In Wimbledon Finals". Reading Eagle. AP. July 1, 1966.

[5] "Ralston Turns Tennis Pro". The Tuscaloosa News. AP. December 27, 1966.

[6] Atkin, Ronald (March 5, 2000). "Britain turn to passion of the handsome one". The Independent. Retrieved December 11, 2010.

[7] Wind, Herbert Warren (1979). Game, Set, and Match : The Tennis Boom of the 1960s and 70s (1. ed.). New York: Dutton. pp. 65–70. ISBN 0525111409.

[8] Porter, Ross. "Dennis Ralston". Real Sport Heroes. Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved December 11, 2010.

[9] "Hall of Famers – Dennis Ralston". www.tennisfame.com. International Tennis Hall of Fame.

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