Richard Akel (born February 12, 1962) is an American former professional
tennis player.
Akel grew up in
Little Rock, Arkansas and comes from a family which has origins in Palestine.
A left-handed player, Akel won two state championships during his high school career and played collegiate tennis at
Clemson University, where he was a member of three
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...
championship teams.
On the professional tour he had a best singles world ranking of 345 and appeared in qualifying draws for grand slam tournaments. He reached a career high doubles ranking 182 in the world and won one title at
ATP Challenger
The ATP Challenger Tour, known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series, is a series of international men's professional tennis tournaments. The Challenger Tour events are the second-highest tier of tennis competition, behind the ATP T ...
level.
In 2019 he was an inductee into the
Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame.
ATP Challenger titles
Doubles: (1)
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Akel, Richard
1962 births
Living people
American male tennis players
Clemson Tigers men's tennis players
Tennis players from Arkansas
American people of Palestinian descent
Sportspeople from Little Rock, Arkansas