R.I.P. - Robert Redford, Tennis Player

[jimlosaltos]

Another Utah man with tennis connections passes, Robert Redford was an avid tennis player longer before he was famous.
Bill Simons surfaces an interview. Excerpt.

RR: I related more to Pancho Gonzalez { than Jack Kramer}, because he came from the same neighborhood I did. I was very rebellious as a kid and I related to the fact that he was denied playing when he was between 16 and 21 because the guy who was the head of the USLTA at that time [Perry Jones] was very conservative. And because Gonzalez dropped out of high school, [Jones] wouldn’t let him play. [Pancho] was at his prime and he took five years out of his life. That got me. I related to him because he was angry, and then I watched him play. He was such a natural, and stronger than he appeared to be. His serve was amazing. It looked so easy.

IT: It had such a rhythm to it. It was flawless.

RR: Like a wave. He and Ted Williams were my two heroes.

IT: Did you know that Budge taught Ted Williams tennis?

RR: I didn’t. Budge learned tennis from baseball also. I related to Williams because he was left-handed and was from California. I would study his swing in Sport Magazine and try to copy it. But getting to hit with Gonzalez was my biggest thrill.

https://www.insidetennis.com/2025/09/the-sundance-kid-sets-our-interview-with-robert-redford/

Photo: Inside Tennis

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[stotty]

It’s really sad to lose Robert…and of course Paul who died some years ago now. It’s hard to think of one without the other in those great movies — the perfect doubles combination.

I saw a documentary once where Robert was talking about tennis and Gonzales. He truly understood tennis and talked knowledgeable about it. I can imagine he moved well as a tennis player because in the parts where he ran in movies you could tell he was really athletic. I notice these things.

RIP Robert. I loved all your movies. You were simply great.