Marty Riessen (born December 4, 1941) is an American former amateur and professional tennis player active from the 1960s to the 1980s. He was ranked as high as No. 11 in the world in singles on the ATP rankings in September 1974, though was ranked as high as world No. 8 by Lance Tingay of ''The Daily Telegraph'' in 1971 before the computer rankings. Renowned for his doubles play, Riessen was also a regular doubles partner of Australian tennis great Margaret Court, winning six of his seven major mixed titles and a career Grand Slam alongside her. Additionally a winner of two men's doubles Grand Slams, his highest doubles ranking was No. 3 in March 1980.

Career

Riessen played collegiate tennis at Northwestern University, where he reached the

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(NCAA) singles finals three times: 1962 (falling to Rafael Osuna of University of Southern California); 1963 and 1964 (falling to

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 ...

of USC both times). He was a semifinalist at the NCAA Doubles Championship with Clark Graebner in 1963 and 1964. He won six singles titles in the open era, with the biggest coming in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

in 1974. (He won numerous other pre-open era titles, including two other Cincinnati titles in the pre-Open Era.) He also reached the quarterfinals in singles at both the Australian Open and the US Open in 1971. He also won 53 doubles titles, including the US Open (in 1976), the French Open (1971, with

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 Un ...

), and seven ATP Masters Series events: Paris Indoor (1976),

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(1971 & 1970),

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(1970),

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

(1968 and 1969), and

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(1968). He reached the doubles final at the US Open in 1978 and 1975, the Australian Open in 1971, and Wimbledon in 1969.

Distinctions and honors

* He was a member of the U.S.

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 organi ...

team in 1963, 1965, 1967, 1973 and 1981. * The Marty Riessen tennis courts are in

Osmond, Nebraska Osmond is a city in Pierce County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Norfolk, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 791 at the 2020 census. History Osmond was established in 1890 when the Chicago, Burlington and Q ...

. * Dunlop named one of its wooden racquets the "Marty Riessen." * Riessen has been enshrined in the

United States Tennis Association The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, ...

/Midwest Hall of Fame. * He is one of two high school tennis players from the state of Illinois to win the singles title four years in a row, 1957–1960, representing Hinsdale Township, now

Hinsdale Central High School Hinsdale Central High School, or HCHS (locally referred to as simply "Central") is a public four-year high school located at the corner of W. 55th St. and S. Grant St. in Hinsdale, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United ...

. * Riessen was also noted for his sportsmanship, not infrequently arguing that a judgement was incorrect and that points should be given against him.

Open era career finals

Singles: 22 (9 titles, 13 runner-ups)

Doubles: 80 (52–28)

Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 6 (2–4)

Mixed doubles: 9 (7–2)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Riessen, Marty 1941 births Living people American male tennis players Australian Open (tennis) champions French Open champions Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball players Northwestern Wildcats men's tennis players Sportspeople from Boca Raton, Florida People from Hinsdale, Illinois American people of German descent Tennis people from Florida Tennis people from Illinois US Open (tennis) champions Wimbledon champions Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles American men's basketball players