Ron Hightower (born December 12, 1958) 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

Hightower grew up in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and attended the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

on a scholarship, where he achieved All-American status. His best individual performance on the Grand Prix circuit was a quarter-final appearance in Auckland in 1981. He also won a

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 ...

tournament in Kyoto that year and made it to the main draw 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

Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, All England Club in ...

. It was in doubles that he had most success in Grand Prix tournaments, with a total of five semi-finals appearances. He was a top 100 player in the double format. He was later involved in coaching and became head coach of the University of Arkansas in 1984, a position he held for four years. During this time he was also an assistant coach with the USTA Junior Davis Cup team. In 2006, he was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor. More recently, in 2019, he was inducted into the Eagle Rock Sports Hall of Fame. Currently he runs a tennis academy in

Pacific Palisades, California Pacific Palisades is a neighborhood in the Westside Los Angeles, Westside region of Los Angeles, California, situated about west of Downtown Los Angeles. Pacific Palisades was formally founded in 1921 by a Chautauqua, Methodist organization, an ...

Challenger titles

Singles: (1)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hightower, Ron 1958 births Living people American male tennis players Arkansas Razorbacks men's tennis players Tennis players from Los Angeles