(Olmedo Family Photo)
In June, Alex Olmedo Junior, who played Aztec Tennis in the 1980s, was struck and seriously injured by a hit-and-run driver on a street in Chicago. He died in September.
Olmedo’s death is a sad chapter in a remarkable story of international tennis.
Born in Peru, Olmedo’s father, Alex Senior, won Wimbledon and the Australian Championships in 1959 after playing college tennis at USC, where he won the NCAA singles and doubles titles. He won the U.S. Open doubles title in 1958 and was the head teaching pro for 30 years at the Beverly Hills Hotel. He died in 2020.
His son, Alex Junior, played college tennis at San Diego State. His son, Alex III, also attended San Diego State.
Alex III praised his father, Alex Jr., for playing a vital role in the family’s transition to life in the United States,
“My dad has been, and will always be, one of the greatest men I have ever known,” he wrote in a note to Aztec Tennis Reporter readers and friends from whom he sought financial support for his father’s medical expenses:
He added: “He is a pillar of our family and loved by his friends, family, and even strangers because he truly is just such a wonderful man, friend, uncle, brother, cousin, son, and father.”
At year’s end, the passing of Alex Olmedo Jr. remains a painful moment.
— John Martin