Rick Rudeen (born June 5, 1962) is a 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 from the United States.

Biography

Rudeen was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and grew up in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

. In the early 1980s he attended Clemson University, where he played collegiate tennis while he studied for a Computer Science degree. An

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n player, he won a total of 172

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

matches during his tennis career at Clemson University. In 1985 he began competing professionally and that year made the round of 16 at the Tokyo Outdoor Grand Prix tournament, by beating Danny Saltz then

Menno Oosting Menno Oosting (17 May 1964 – 22 February 1999) was a professional tennis player from the Netherlands, who won seven ATP Tour doubles titles out of 18 finals in his career. Born in Son en Breugel, North Brabant, Oosting reached a career-high ra ...

. It was as a doubles player he made more success, with one

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

final, at

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

in 1986, with regular doubles partner Karl Richter. He made it to 110 in the world in doubles, won two

Challenger Challenger, Challengers, or The Challengers may refer to: Entertainment Comics and manga * Challenger (character), comic book character * ''Challengers'' (manga), manga by Hinako Takanaga Film and TV * ''The Challengers'' (TV series), a 1979 ...

titles and played in the main draws of both the

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

and US Open. His first appearance at the US Open in 1986 came in unusual circumstances when he and partner Derek Tarr were given a place in the first round as lucky losers after the pairing of Peter Fleming and

John McEnroe John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court beha ...

got stuck in traffic and were defaulted for not arriving in time. At the

1987 Australian Open The 1987 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the Kooyong Stadium in Melbourne in Victoria in Australia. It was the 75th edition of the Australian Open and was held from 12 through 25 January 1987; the first tournament ...

, Rudeen reached the second round of both men's and mixed doubles events. Retiring in 1988, Rudeen got married and was a tennis pro in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

for about a year before moving to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. He was Director of the Ralston/ Gorman International Tennis Academy until 1993, then moved to

Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...

and worked for a long period of time with Gateway. Rudeen, who has a son and a daughter, now lives in Dakota Dunes, South Dakota.

Grand Prix career finals

Doubles: 1 (0–1)

Challenger titles

Doubles: (2)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rudeen, Rick 1962 births Living people American male tennis players Tennis players from Chicago Tennis players from Tampa, Florida Clemson Tigers men's tennis players