Richard Russell (born 8 September 1945) is a Jamaican former professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player.

Biography

Russell is the only Jamaican to progress past the first round at all four grand slam tournaments. At the

1966 Australian Championships The 1966 Australian Championships was a tennis tournament that took place on outdoor Grass courts at the White City Tennis Club, Sydney, Australia from 21 to 31 January. It was the 54th edition of the Australian Championships (now known as the A ...

he won his first round match over Richie Chopra, 6-0, 6-0, 6-0. Russell won the 1966 Kingston International Championships at Kingston, Jamaica defeating

Arthur Ashe Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam singles titles. He started to play tennis at six years old. He was the first black player selected to the Unite ...

in the final in three sets. This was an annual tournament in the international circuit and Russell would be the only Jamaican to win the event. Outside of grand slam competition, he had a noted win over

Dennis Ralston Richard Dennis Ralston (July 27, 1942 – December 6, 2020) was an American professional tennis player whose active career spanned the 1960s and 1970s. As a young player, he was coached by tennis pro Pancho Gonzales. He attended the University o ...

in 1972 at an invitational tournament in Puerto Rico. In 1975 he took part in the inaugural Nations Cup (then the name of the

World Team Cup The World Team Cup was the international men's team championship of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The inaugural edition of the tournament was contested in 1975 in Kingston, Jamaica and was called the Nations Cup. No tourname ...

), as a member of the Caribbean team.

Davis Cup

A national champion at the age of 16, Russell represented the Caribbean/West Indies in

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

competition. He was the team's most successful player during its existence, winning a record ten rubbers between 1964 and 1976, eight of those in singles. In the

1966 Davis Cup The 1966 Davis Cup was the 55th edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 32 teams entered the Europe Zone, 8 teams entered the Eastern Zone, and 6 teams entered the America Zone. For this ye ...

competition he won the deciding fifth rubber over Venezuela's

Isaías Pimentel Isaías "Iyo" S. Pimentel (16 February 1933 – 26 June 2017) was a Venezuelan international tennis player. He was a quarter finalist in singles at the 1961 Wimbledon Championships. He was active from 1952 to 1974 and won 6 career singles titles ...

to give the Caribbean/West Indies their first ever win in a tie and also won a doubles match against the American duo of

and

Charlie Passarel Charles Manuel Pasarell Jr. (born February 12, 1944) is a Puerto Rican former tennis player, tennis administrator and founder of the current Indian Wells tournament. He has also commented for the Tennis Channel and with Arthur Ashe and Sheridan ...

. In 1972 he won a singles rubber against

Erik van Dillen Erik van Dillen (born February 21, 1951) is an American retired tennis player who played over 25 Grand Slam championships at Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. Tennis career Born in San Mateo, California, van Dillen first play ...

of the United States. His son

Ryan Ryan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Ryan (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) *Ryan (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Australia * Division of Ryan, an elector ...

played Davis Cup for Jamaica.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Richard 1945 births Living people Jamaican male tennis players Sportspeople from Kingston, Jamaica Tennis players at the 1967 Pan American Games Pan American Games competitors for Jamaica