Reynaldo Garrido (4 August 1934 – 27 March 2024) was a tennis player and
jai alai
Jai alai ( : ) is a Basque sport involving bouncing a ball off a walled-in space by accelerating it to high speeds with a hand-held wicker, commonly referred to as a ''cesta''. It is a variation of Basque pelota. The term ''jai alai'', coined by ...
player from
Havana, Cuba
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Canadian Open in 1959, defeating his brother Orlando H. Garrido in the final of the tournament. After moving to the United States in 1965, he became a tennis instructor at the Palm Bay Club in Miami, and played professionally at Miami Jai-Alai.
Early life and education
Born in Cuba, Garrido attended the
University of Miami
The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...
on a tennis scholarship from 1952 to 1955.
Tennis career
Garrido was the reigning Cuban national champion in tennis from 1952 to 1959, and played for 9 years on the Cuba Davis Cup team.
His best Grand Slam performance was reaching the third round of the 1956 U.S. National Championships.
In Cuba under
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...
, Garrido continued playing and teaching tennis, until finally obtaining an exit visa in 1965.
Jai alai career
Garrido also played
jai alai
Jai alai ( : ) is a Basque sport involving bouncing a ball off a walled-in space by accelerating it to high speeds with a hand-held wicker, commonly referred to as a ''cesta''. It is a variation of Basque pelota. The term ''jai alai'', coined by ...
in Cuba and in Miami in the 1960s at the same time that he was the tennis professional at Miami's Jockey Club.
Personal life and death
Garrido lived in Miami with his wife, Maria Garrido. They had two sons. He died in Miami on March 27, 2024, at the age of 89.