Rafael Osuna
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Rafael Osuna Herrera (15 September 1938 – 4 June 1969), nicknamed "El Pelón" (The Bald), was a former world No. 1
tennis player Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
, and an Olympian. He was born in
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
, and is best remembered for his singles victory at the U.S. Open Championships in
1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...
, winning the 1960 and 1963 Wimbledon Doubles championships, the 1962 U.S. Open Championships doubles, and for leading Mexico to its only Davis Cup Final round appearance in 1962. He is the only Mexican to date to be inducted into the
International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, 13 grass tennis courts, an ...
, in 1979.


Career

His first successes as an athlete occurred before he was ten years old, when he competed in the open category of the Mexican National Table Tennis Championships. In the course of the tournament, he upset the Mexico City Table Tennis Champion in singles, a feat remarkable both for Osuna's young age and the fact that it was his first tournament. Osuna also won the Doubles Championship, with Alfredo Ramos Uriarte as his partner. From age 10 to 14 he was ranked in the top 10 in Mexico's Open singles in table tennis. He was awarded a full scholarship to attend the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
(USC) in the US, by Head Coach George Toley, who quickly identified Osuna as a major talent. Toley had to literally reteach Osuna how to play tennis because of his poor technique but, in Toley's own words ¨he moves on the tennis court like a God¨. Osuna participated in the 1960 Wimbledon championships, competing only in the doubles category with
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 ...
(soon to be his roommate at school). The two unknown youngsters soon made history, as the first unseeded pair to win the men's doubles at Wimbledon. This victory marked the beginning of Osuna's career and fame. Described as an "agile and cerebral player" who "moves on the tennis court with the grace of a panther" (Tony Mottram), his subsequent achievements include: * He is the only Mexican tennis player ever ranked World No. 1, in 1963, by the International Tennis Federation. * He is the only Mexican tennis player ever to win a Grand Slam event singles title, the United States Tennis Association National Championships US Open Singles (1963). He is one of only three Latin Americans to win the US Championships, along with two Argentines
Guillermo Vilas Guillermo Vilas (; born 17 August 1952) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. He was the world No. 1 of the Grand Prix tennis circuit, Grand Prix seasons in 1974, 1975 and 1977. He won 62 singles titles and 16 doubles titles during ...
and
Juan Martín del Potro Juan Martín del Potro (; born 23 September 1988) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), in August 2018. Del Potro won 22 ATP Tour-level sing ...
. * Osuna and Palafox are the only Mexican tennis players ever to win the US Open doubles title, in 1962. * In 1962, as the leader of the Mexican Davis Cup Team, Osuna led the team to its only Davis Cup Final to date, which was also the first-ever final reached by a Latin American country. * His last victory (two weeks before his death in a plane crash) was an almost single-handed defeat of Australia in Davis Cup competition; Osuna won both his singles matches and the doubles. At that time Australia had won the Davis Cup 17 times, and the defeat was considered a major upset. * USTA National Hard Courts singles and doubles champion 1962 and doubles champion 1969. * Osuna was NCAA singles champion in 1962, doubles champion from 1961 to 1963, and team champion in 1962–63. The 1963 USC tennis team is regarded by some as the best collegiate tennis team of all time. * Osuna won Mexico's only Olympic gold medals in tennis, in singles and in men's doubles with Vicente Zarazua in 1968, though they were both exhibition events. In the simultaneously run demonstration event, Osuna reached the semifinals in the singles and won the doubles tournament (again alongside Zarazua). * Osuna earned a Bachelor in Science in Business Administration from the University of Southern California in 1963. In that same year, the International Tennis Federation would declare him the year-end No. 1 player in the world.


Playing style

Osuna was known for his footspeed, touch, and tactical awareness. Commentator Bud Collins dubs him "Mexico's greatest player...Ubiquitous on court, confusing to foes, ever seeking the net". His U.S. Open victory came against big server Frank Froehling, a dangerous unseeded opponent who had upset top-seeded
Roy Emerson Roy Stanley Emerson (born 3 November 1936) is an Australian former tennis player who won 12 Grand Slam singles titles and 16 Grand Slam doubles titles, for a total of 28 Grand Slam titles. All of his singles Grand Slam victories and 14 of his ...
in the fourth round. Collins describes Osuna's victory as a triumph of tactical play: He is also remembered by his bold strategy against
Bill Bowrey William Bowrey (born 25 December 1943) is a former Australian tennis player. He was ranked world No. 8 in 1967. Bowrey was born in Sydney, Australia and is best remembered as the last amateur to win the Australian Open, Australian Championship ...
on the 4th match of the Mexico vs Australia Davis Cup tie in 1969. Coming back after the obligatory break after three sets (Osuna leading 2 sets to one), after holding serve on the first game, Osuna hits out, going for the lineas and keeping the ball away from Bowrey on each of all his service returns. While the knowledgeable public interprets this actions as trying to get loose, as the match progresses the public is baffled by Osuna continuing to do so after holding serve. Then, after holding serve and going up 4–3, Osuna changes his manner of play drastically by chipping in his return low to his opponents feet. At this precise moment Bowrey, in the entire 4th set and coming out of the rest period, has not hit one volley after his service motion due to the ¨hitting out¨strategy that Osuna implemented on this set. Bowrey is startled by the change of strategy on the first point. Osuna plays a superb second point to go up 0-30. Being love – 30 gets Bowrey extremely tight and gets broken. Osuna closes the match on his next service game.


1968 Olympic Summer Games

Osuna competed for Mexico in
tennis at the 1968 Summer Olympics Tennis returned to the Summer Olympic program as an exhibition and a demonstration event in 1968 Summer Olympics, 1968. It would become an official sport 20 years later at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Men's and women's singles and doubles and mixed do ...
, which was a
demonstration sport A demonstration sport, or exhibition sport, is a sport which is played to promote it, rather than as part of standard medal competition. This occurs commonly during the Olympic Games but may also occur at other sporting events. Demonstration sport ...
with no medals awarded. He finished in first place in three events: * Demonstration events – Men's doubles (with Vicente Zarazúa) * Exhibition events – Men's singles * Exhibition events – Men's doubles (with Vicente Zarazúa) According to ESPN Latin America, Osuna's latest achievements such as reaching the World No. 1 and winning the US Open in 1963 were highly influential factors for the organizers to create a tennis event for the Olympics. ;Demonstration events (
Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...
) ;Exhibition events (
Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
)


Death and Family

Osuna was one of 79 people killed in the crash of Mexicana de Aviación Flight 704 on 4 June 1969 near
Monterrey, Nuevo León Monterrey (, , abbreviated as MtY) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León. It is the ninth-largest city and the second largest metropolitan area, after Greater Mexico City. Located at the foothills of th ...
, "Pico del Fraile", Tres Cerros. He was 30 years old. He left behind a wife, Leslie, and a daughter, Claudia.


Posthumous honors

Osuna has received numerous posthumous honors, including: * During the 1969 National Championships, the
Intercollegiate Tennis Association The Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) is the governing body and coaches' association of United States college tennis, both an advocate and authority, overseeing men's and women's varsity tennis at all levels – NCAA Division I, NCAA Divi ...
NCAA instituted the Rafael Osuna Sportsmanship Award, the first new award added since 1881. Given to the most outstanding college tennis player, the criteria for the award are competitive excellence, sportsmanship, and contribution to tennis. * During the 1969 US Open Championships at Forest Hills, two months after his death, the US Open Committee declared 28 August to be Rafael Osuna Day, honoring the memory of the former champion. This was the first time the tournament had honored a tennis player in this manner. * In 1969 the Chapultepec Club, the cathedral of Mexican tennis and home to the majority of its history, named its stadium "Rafael Osuna". * In 1972, with the intent to strengthen ties between the US and Mexico and to honor the memory of the only player ever to win the US Championships and the Mexican Open championships in singles, the "Osuna Cup" event was instituted. It is disputed annually by the official teams from both nations, and is the longest international tennis event played on Mexican territory, and the only one sanctioned by the USTA and the MTF. * In 1970 Mr. Joseph F. Cullman, Honorary Chairman of the Board of the
International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, 13 grass tennis courts, an ...
, presented to the Chancellor of the
National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico (, UNAM) is a public university, public research university in Mexico. It has several campuses in Mexico City, and many others in various locations across Mexico, as well as a presence in nine countri ...
, Ing. Javier Barrios Sierra, ten scholarships in the name of Rafael Osuna to be awarded to outstanding Mexican students. * On 14 July 1979, Osuna was inducted as a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, in Newport, Rhode Island. To date, Osuna is the only Mexican to receive this honor, and the second Mexican-born player (after John Doeg). * In 1979, Mexican President José López Portillo y Pacheco unveiled an statue of Rafael Osuna, erected by the Mexican National Athletics Institute at the Olympic plaza at the Mexican Olympic Committee. * In 1983, the Intercollegiate Tennis College Association (NCAA) inaugurated their Tennis Hall of Fame, in Athens, Georgia. The inaugural class was the All Time NCAA Champions of Excellence. with 10 Players and 5 Head Coaches. Osuna was one of the ten along with such other great players as:
Arthur Ashe Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player. He won three Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, Grand Slam titles in singles and two in doubles. Ashe was the first Black player selected ...
,
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 ...
, Alex Olmedo,
Ted Schroeder Frederick Rudolph "Ted" Schroeder (July 20, 1921 – May 26, 2006) was an American tennis player who won the two most prestigious amateur tennis titles, Wimbledon and the U.S. National. He was the No. 1-ranked American amateur player in 1942 ...
, Tony Trabert, and his Coach George Toley. * In 1990 Mrs. Elena Osuna de Belmar published the biography ''Rafael Osuna: Sonata in Set Mayor''. The book has been included in the International Tennis Hall of Fame Museum, Wimbledon Museum, USTA library, and Doheney library at USC. It is a collector's item, with only 2000 copies in the first edition. * On 28 November 2000, Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon presented an homage to the most outstanding Mexican athletes of the 20th Century, awarded by the Secretary of Public Education of Mexico. Osuna was selected "Sportsman of the 20th Century" in the Category of Tennis. * On 14 October 2006, the
University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...
USC Hall of Fame Selection Committee selected Osuna to be inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame on May 5, 2007. * In November 2010 CNN Mexico selected Osuna's accomplishments as one of the top 10 sports highlights of all time.


Grand Slam finals


Singles (1 title)


Doubles (3 titles, 2 runners-up)


Grand Slam tournament performance timeline


Singles


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Osuna, Rafael 1938 births 1969 deaths Mexican male tennis players Tennis players from Mexico City International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees United States National champions (tennis) Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Tennis players at the 1968 Summer Olympics Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Mexico Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1969 Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in tennis Central American and Caribbean Games gold medalists for Mexico World number 1 ranked male tennis players USC Trojans men's tennis players Mexican expatriate tennis players in the United States 20th-century Mexican sportsmen