Dennis Ralston 1942-2020

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Bionic Poster
"Dennis Ralston, the 1966 Wimbledon finalist and five-time major doubles champion, passed away on Sunday due to brain cancer aged 78. The American, who dedicated his life to the sport, was a Davis Cup captain, a coach to former WTA Tour No. 1 Chris Evert, Yannick Noah, Gabriela Sabatini and Roscoe Tanner, and an inspirational figure, who overcame hardship later in his life. "



R I P Dennis!

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D

DMP

Professional
I am sorry to read this. I always remember him as a typical all-American with his crewcut hairstyle. Also watching him play doubles with Osuna,
 
U

urban

Legend
Maybe i am a bit incorrect here, but nobody in the obituaries mentions, that young Dennis the Menace was a rebel in his early years and was suspended by the USTA for a while, because of some court antics. Not as bad as Earl Cochell some years before, but even in the old amateur game, there were some Nasty or Mac types players, who were a bit of rebels against the establishment. Nobody mentions also his best pro year 1967, when as a rookie pro, he had good wins against Laver, Rosewall and Gimeno, and for a while he was even second on the prize money winners list behind Laver with around 40000$ in prize money won. His resilience in his later years was marvelous, he still coached and gave tennis lessons after having a half leg amputated.
 
S

Scott_tennis

Rookie
With regards to Urban's prior post - there were several articles in Sports Illustrated which may be of interest.

The first article is from his amateur days in 1963, the second is from his initial pro season of 1967, and the final article is from 1973 during his time as a leader of the US Davis Cup team

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U.S. TENNIS IS BACK ON THE CENTER COURT

American tennisprestige—withering away for four years—was restored to hopeful bloom lastweekend on the steamy courts of the Los Angeles Tennis Club. There,
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An amateur bad boy turns pro perfectionist

For six months now, Dennis Ralston, the onetime bad boy of amateur tennis, has been a pro—a pro in more senses than one. Dennis the Menace signed with the
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DENNIS, NO LONGER A MENACE

They come up every year, these kids with style and talent and the promise of doing things better than anyone has ever done them before. And then they
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