Dennis Ralston

Dennis Ralston

Full name	Richard Dennis Ralston
Country (sports)	United States
Born	July 27, 1942 Bakersfield, California, US
Died	December 6, 2020(2020-12-06) (aged 78) Austin, Texas, US
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Turned pro	1967 (amateur from 1958)
Retired	1977
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF	1987 (member page)
Singles
Career record	576–251 (69.6%)
Career titles	41
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
Career titles	3 (Open Era)
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 (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.

Dennis Ralston, Wimbledon, circa 1987

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 Championships	Grass	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 Championships	Grass	Rafael Osuna	Mike Davies Bobby Wilson	7–5, 6–3, 10–8
Win	1961	US Championships	Grass	Chuck McKinley	Rafael Osuna Antonio Palafox	6–3, 6–4, 2–6, 13–11
Loss	1962	US Championships	Grass	Chuck McKinley	Rafael Osuna Antonio Palafox	4–6, 12–10, 6–1, 7–9, 3–6
Win	1963	US Championships	Grass	Chuck McKinley	Rafael Osuna Antonio Palafox	9–7, 4–6, 5–7, 6–3, 11–9
Win	1964	US Championships	Grass	Chuck McKinley	Mike Sangster Graham Stilwell	6–3, 6–2, 6–4
Win	1966	French Championships	Clay	Clark Graebner	Ilie Năstase Ion Țiriac	6–3, 6–3, 6–0
Loss	1966	US Championships	Grass	Clark Graebner	Roy Emerson Fred Stolle	4–6, 4–6, 4–6
Loss	1969	US Open	Grass	Charlie Pasarell	Ken Rosewall Fred Stolle	6–2, 5–7, 11–13, 3–6
Loss	1971	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Arthur Ashe	Roy Emerson 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	US Championships	Grass	Darlene Hard	Margaret Smith Bob Mark	default
Loss	1962	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Ann Haydon	Margaret Osborne duPont Neale Fraser	6–2, 3–6, 11–13
Loss	1966	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Billie Jean King	Margaret Smith Court Ken Fletcher	6–4, 3–6, 3–6
Loss	1969	US Open	Grass	Françoise Dürr	Margaret Court Marty Riessen	4–6, 5–7

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

DNQ

A

NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

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	0 / 2
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.

External links

• Dennis Ralston at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
• Dennis Ralston at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Dennis Ralston at the International Tennis Federation
• Dennis Ralston at the Davis Cup