Dennis Ralston

{{Infobox tennis biography

| name = Dennis Ralston

|fullname = Richard Dennis Ralston

| image = Top Tennis Toernooi 1969 in Amsterdam D. Ralston , aktie, Bestanddeelnr 922-4467.jpg

| country={{flagu|United States}}

| residence =

| birth_date = July 27, 1942

| birth_place = Bakersfield, California, US

| height = {{height|ft=6|in=2}}

| death_date = {{death date and age|2020|12|6|1942|7|27}}

| death_place =Austin, Texas, US

| turnedpro = 1967 (amateur from 1958)

| retired = 1977

| plays = Right-handed (one-handed backhand)

| careerprizemoney =

| tennishofyear = 1987

| tennishofid = dennis-ralston

| singlesrecord = 576–251 (69.6%) {{cite web|title=Dennis Ralston: Career match record|url=https://app.thetennisbase.com/?enlace=playern&player_input_enc=RALSTON%2C+DENNIS&player_input=RALSTON%2C+DENNIS&sub=2#aSubmenu|website=thetennisbase.com|publisher=Tennismem SL|access-date=17 November 2017}}

| singlestitles = 41 {{cite web|title=Dennis Ralston: Career tournament results|url=https://app.thetennisbase.com/?enlace=playern&player_input_enc=RALSTON%2C+DENNIS&player_input=RALSTON%2C+DENNIS&sub=4&idjugador=54203&year=&surface=&tipo_de_torneo=&tipo_de_cuadro=W&tm_category=&tm_torneo=&rondaplus=#aSubmenu|website=thetennisbase.com|publisher=Tennismem SL|access-date=17 November 2017|location=Madrid, Spain}}

| 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)

| TOCresult =

| doublesrecord =

| doublestitles = 3 (Open Era)

| highestdoublesranking =

| AustralianOpenDoublesresult = SF (1971)

| FrenchOpenDoublesresult = W (1966)

| WimbledonDoublesresult = W (1960)

| USOpenDoublesresult = W (1961, 1962, 1963)

| AustralianOpenMixedresult =

| FrenchOpenMixedresult =

| WimbledonMixedresult = F (1962, 1966)

| USOpenMixedresult = F (1969)

| awards =

}}

Richard Dennis Ralston (July 27, 1942 – December 6, 2020) was an American professional tennis player whose active career spanned the 1960s and 1970s.{{cite web |title=Dennis Ralston, 78, Doubles Champion in Tennis Hall of Fame, Dies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/08/sports/tennis/dennis-ralston-dead.html |website=The New York Times |date=December 8, 2020}}

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.{{Cite news |url=http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/Aug/22/bill-bond-tennis-la-jolla/ |title=Famous La Jolla tennis player dies |newspaper=U-T San Diego |last=Norcross |first=Dan |date=August 22, 2013 |access-date=April 4, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407072449/http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/Aug/22/bill-bond-tennis-la-jolla/ |archive-date=April 7, 2014 |df=mdy-all }} 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)."Emerson, Ralston Win Net Tests", Reading Eagle, 2 September 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.{{cite news|last=Harman|first=Neil|title='I see Rafa playing tennis I do not believe'|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/tennis/article4192490.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011070923/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/tennis/article4192490.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 11, 2008|access-date=December 11, 2010|newspaper=The Times|date=June 23, 2008}}{{cite news|title=Santana Defeats Dennis Ralston In Wimbledon Finals|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=iLIhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=W5wFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5544%2C265514|work=Reading Eagle|agency=AP|date=Jul 1, 1966}} At the end of that year he turned professional.{{cite news|title=Ralston Turns Tennis Pro|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DOshAAAAIBAJ&sjid=K5sEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2955%2C5641805|work=The Tuscaloosa News|agency=AP|date=Dec 27, 1966}}

Ralston was a member of the Handsome Eight, the initial group of players signed to the professional World Championship Tennis tour.{{cite news|last=Atkin|first=Ronald|title=Britain turn to passion of the handsome one|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/tennis/britain-turn-to-passion-of-the-handsome-one-723406.html|access-date=December 11, 2010|newspaper=The Independent|date=March 5, 2000}}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{cite book|last=Wind|first=Herbert Warren|title=Game, Set, and Match : The Tennis Boom of the 1960s and 70s|year=1979|publisher=Dutton|location=New York|isbn=0525111409|pages=65–70|edition=1.}} He won 27 national doubles and singles titles, including five grand-slam doubles crowns.{{cite web |last=Porter |first=Ross |title=Dennis Ralston |url=http://realsportsheroes.com/dennis-ralston/ |work=Real Sport Heroes |access-date=December 11, 2010 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311140838/http://realsportsheroes.com/dennis-ralston/ |archive-date=March 11, 2012}}

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.{{Tennishof|dennis-ralston}}

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.{{cite news|last=Harman|first=Neil|title='I see Rafa playing tennis I do not believe'|url=https://www.atptour.com/en/news/dennis-ralston-december-2020-obituary|access-date=December 7, 2020|newspaper=ATPTour|date=December 7, 2020}}

File:Dennis Ralston.jpg

Ralston was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.{{cite web|title=Hall of Famers – Dennis Ralston|url=https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/dennis-ralston|publisher=International Tennis Hall of Fame}} In 2016, he was inducted into the Texas Tennis Hall of Fame.{{cite web |title=Texas Tennis Hall of Fame Announces Class of 2016 |url=https://www.texastennismuseum.org/classof2016 |publisher=Texas Tennis Museum and Hall of Fame |date=August 22, 2016}}

Grand Slam finals

=Singles, 1 final (1 runner-up)=

class="sortable wikitable"

!style="width:40px"|Result

!style="width:40px"|Year

!style="width:160px"|Championship

!style="width:50px"|Surface

!style="width:140px"|Opponent

!style="width:170px" class="unsortable"|Score

bgcolor="#CCFFCC"

| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss

1966

Wimbledon Championships

Grass

{{flagicon|ESP|1928}} Manuel Santana

4–6, 9–11, 4–6

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

class="sortable wikitable" !style="width:40px"\|Result !style="width:40px"\|Year !style="width:160px"\|Championship !style="width:50px"\|Surface !style="width:140px"\|Partner !style="width:140px"\|Opponents !style="width:170px" class="unsortable"\|Score
style="background:#ccffcc;" \| style="background:#98fb98;"\|Win	1960	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	{{flagicon\|MEX}} Rafael Osuna	{{flagicon\|GBR}} Mike Davies {{flagicon\|GBR}} Bobby Wilson	7–5, 6–3, 10–8
style="background:#ccccff;" \| style="background:#98fb98;"\|Win	1961	US Championships	Grass	{{flagicon\|USA}} Chuck McKinley	{{flagicon\|MEX}} Rafael Osuna {{flagicon\|MEX}} Antonio Palafox	6–3, 6–4, 2–6, 13–11
style="background:#ccccff;" \| style="background:#ffa07a;"\|Loss	1962	US Championships	Grass	{{flagicon\|USA}} Chuck McKinley	{{flagicon\|MEX}} Rafael Osuna {{flagicon\|MEX}} Antonio Palafox	4–6, 12–10, 6–1, 7–9, 3–6
style="background:#ccccff;" \| style="background:#98fb98;"\|Win	1963	US Championships	Grass	{{flagicon\|USA}} Chuck McKinley	{{flagicon\|MEX}} Rafael Osuna {{flagicon\|MEX}} Antonio Palafox	9–7, 4–6, 5–7, 6–3, 11–9
style="background:#ccccff;" \| style="background:#98fb98;"\|Win	1964	US Championships	Grass	{{flagicon\|USA}} Chuck McKinley	{{flagicon\|GBR}} Mike Sangster {{flagicon\|GBR}} Graham Stilwell	6–3, 6–2, 6–4
bgcolor=#ebc2af \| style="background:#98fb98;"\|Win	1966	French Championships	Clay	{{flagicon\|USA}} Clark Graebner	{{flagicon\|ROU}} Ilie Năstase {{flagicon\|ROU}} Ion Țiriac	6–3, 6–3, 6–0
style="background:#ccccff;" \| style="background:#ffa07a;"\|Loss	1966	US Championships	Grass	{{flagicon\|USA}} Clark Graebner	{{flagicon\|AUS}} Roy Emerson {{flagicon\|AUS}} Fred Stolle	4–6, 4–6, 4–6
style="background:#ccccff;" \| style="background:#ffa07a;"\|Loss	1969	US Open	Grass	{{flagicon\|USA}} Charlie Pasarell	{{flagicon\|AUS}} Ken Rosewall {{flagicon\|AUS}} Fred Stolle	6–2, 5–7, 11–13, 3–6
style="background:#ccffcc;" \| style="background:#ffa07a;"\|Loss	1971	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	{{flagicon\|USA}} Arthur Ashe	{{flagicon\|AUS}} Roy Emerson {{flagicon\|AUS}} Rod Laver	6–4, 7–9, 8–6, 4–6, 4–6

=Mixed doubles, 4 finals (4 runners-up)=

class="sortable wikitable" !style="width:40px"\|Result !style="width:40px"\|Year !style="width:160px"\|Championship !style="width:50px"\|Surface !style="width:180px"\|Partner !style="width:180px"\|Opponents !style="width:140px" class="unsortable"\|Score
style="background:#ccccff;" \| style="background:#ffa07a;"\|Loss	1961	US Championships	Grass	{{flagicon\|USA}} Darlene Hard	{{flagicon\|AUS}} Margaret Smith {{flagicon\|AUS}} Bob Mark	default
style="background:#ccffcc;" \| style="background:#ffa07a;"\|Loss	1962	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	{{flagicon\|GBR}} Ann Haydon	{{flagicon\|USA}} Margaret Osborne duPont {{flagicon\|AUS}} Neale Fraser	6–2, 3–6, 11–13
style="background:#ccffcc;" \| style="background:#ffa07a;"\|Loss	1966	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	{{flagicon\|USA}} Billie Jean King	{{flagicon\|AUS}} Margaret Smith Court {{flagicon\|AUS}} Ken Fletcher	6–4, 3–6, 3–6
style="background:#ccccff;" \| style="background:#ffa07a;"\|Loss	1969	US Open	Grass	{{flagicon\|FRA}} Françoise Dürr	{{flagicon\|AUS}} Margaret Court {{flagicon\|USA}} Marty Riessen	4–6, 5–7

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

=Singles=

class=wikitable style=text-align:center

!Tournament !!1958 !!1959 !!1960 !!1961 !!1962 !!1963 !!1964 !!1965 !!1966 !!1967 !!1968 !!1969 !!1970 !!1971 !!1972 !!1973 !!1974 !!1975 !!1976 !!colspan=2|1977!!{{Tooltip| SR | Strike rate}}

align=left bgcolor=#efefef|Australian Open

| A