Raúl Ramírez (born 20 June 1953) is a Mexican former professional tennis player.
He attended and played tennis at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
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Personal life
Ramírez was born in Ensenada, Baja California. In 1981, he married the Venezuelan-born former Miss Universe Maritza Sayalero. The couple lives in Ensenada and have three children: Rebecca (born 1982), Raúl (born 1984), and Daniel Francisco (1989).
Career
Ramírez was active during the 1970s and 1980s.
He was in 40 singles finals where he won 19 titles and 21 runner-up titles, and participated in 101 doubles finals where he won 60 titles and 41 runner-up titles.
Ramírez was the first player to finish No. 1 in both singles and doubles Grand Prix point standings, accomplishing the feat in 1976.
He was ranked as high as World No. 4 in singles (achieved on November 7 1976) by the ATP ranking and he is one of the all-time leading doubles winners, having spent 62 weeks ranked World No. 1 in doubles, beginning 12 April 1976.
He participated in a total of 5 editions of the season-ending tournaments known in his time as the Masters Grand Prix or ATP Finals, in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978
Ramírez won 19 singles titles, including titles at the ATP Masters Series events in Rome (1975) and Monte Carlo (1978).
He won 60 doubles titles, including Wimbledon (1976), the French Open (1975 & '77), and at ATP Masters Series events in Cincinnati (1978), Canada (1976, ’77 & ’81), Monte Carlo (1979), Paris (1977), and Rome (1974, ’75, ’76 & ’77). He won the WCT World Doubles twice in 1975 and 1980. He won the men's singles in the Ojai Tennis Tournament in 1971.
He played tournaments of the two world tennis circuits played at the time, the Grand Prix tennis circuit and the World Championship Tennis (WCT). These circuits were predecessors of the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour (ATP Tour). In 1975 he won the Grand Prix, the present day equivalent of the Race.