| Biography | Richard Dennis Ralston (born July 27, 1942 in Bakersfield, California) is an American former professional tennis player. He attended the University of Southern California (USC) and won NCAA championships under their coach, George Toley. He was coached in his earlier years by the tennis player Pancho Gonzales. He was the highest-ranked American player at the end of three consecutive years in the 1960s with his career-high singles ranking of World No. 3 in 1963.
He lost in the Wimbledon 1966 Men's Singles Championship Finals to Manuel Santana.
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. |