Dennis Ralston passes away at the age of 78...

[don_budge]

Dennis Ralston passed away at the age of 78 on Sunday. Ralston was an important character in the American tennis scene for many, many years. He ranked right up there over the years in the early years of the professional game of tennis. His playing career began in 1958 as an amateur and he turned professional in 1966 at the age of 24. The game was vastly different from the modern game in every sense. Truly a great character who showed true grit in battling injuries through the years as well as his opponents. He finally succumbed to brain cancer but as tough as stone to the end. Apparently a very religious man. God bless Dennis Ralston. Rest in peace.

All white tennis clothes, white balls and a respect for tennis etiquette. He played when tennis was tennis. Before the over sized equipment.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/denn...-2020-obituary

[don_budge]

A superb volleyer I might add.

[John Yandell]

I met Dennis a few times when he was teaching in the desert area. Has super smart, very gracious and did a couple of articles for us. This one I think holds up really well:

https://www.tennisplayer.net/article/secrets-of-the-wide-slice/

[don_budge]

I met Dennis a few times when he was teaching in the desert area. Has super smart, very gracious and did a couple of articles for us. This one I think holds up really well:

https://www.tennisplayer.net/article...he-wide-slice/

Dennis Ralston was not one of the names that necessarily lit up the marquee in the era of relatively non-glamourous tennis. But from all indications this man was a tough as nails competitor in the old school sense who fit neatly into my teaching paradigm. The tennis student's paradigm. A classic player and the old school, hard nosed approach to the game. Give no quarter and ask no quarter. I wonder what his true feelings would be about the modern era of tennis. Classic volleys, underpin backhand and all the rest of the repertoire. A tremendous coach as well. Yeah...he was about twelve years older than me. When I started to play my coach insisted that the player was also a student of the game. Ralston was definitely on my radar screen. He may not have been one of the elite...The Big Four or other big accolades, but his endurance and his tenacity certainly deserves recognition. He flew somewhat under the radar but he was a player who wouldn't just disappear because he was facing a big name on the other side of the net. Below are his head to head records against Richard Gonzalez, Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall. Look how he dealt harshly with Ilie Nastase who maybe predictably did not have the necessary cojones to hang with the tough nosed Ralston. You can see that while he may have been on the losing end more often than not against the elite he didn't just go away. He fought to the bitter end like a true warrior of the game. I hesitate to use the word "warrior" when talking about the modern crop of players because compared to guys like Ralston they are spoiled and pampered prima donnas.

https://www.atptour.com/en/players/atp-head-2-head/richard-pancho%20gonzales-vs-dennis-ralston/G077/R064

https://www.atptour.com/en/players/atp-head-2-head/rod-laver-vs-dennis-ralston/L058/R064

https://www.atptour.com/en/players/atp-head-2-head/ken-rosewall-vs-dennis-ralston/R075/R064

https://www.atptour.com/en/players/atp-head-2-head/ilie-nastase-vs-dennis-ralston/N008/R064

[don_budge]

Dennis Ralston...inspirational tennis teacher. Life coach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZe-6LUF_mw

Tennis metaphoring life. How to bounce back from a bad call, a bad bounce...an amputated leg. Very touching and clearly a wonderful portrait of the man. Tennis is God's gift to mankind in terms of recreation. Golf is too. Dennis illustrates to us why it is. Tennis is a teacher. If you teach tennis you should be well versed in life as well. He takes the student to be an individual. Everyone is different and he doesn't train robots. He is old school to his core. It served him well.