Tennis: Riven to Victory

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The family that plays together stays together. At least that's the motto of the Richeys of San Angelo, Texas.

They could play a mean game of mixed doubles. Papa George, 46, was a promising righthanded baseball pitcher until he injured his elbow and took up tennis—mainly because it was the only one-armed game he knew of. Now he is a lefthanded teaching pro. Mama Betty, 42, is also a pro. Daughter Nancy, 23, shares No. 1 ranking among U.S. women amateurs with Wimbledon Champion Billie Jean King, and son Cliff, 19, is the No. 3-ranked amateur male player in the U.S.

Lately the Richeys have been allowing outsiders into their games—with the result that in Milwaukee last week, Cliff won the national men's clay-court championship, while Nancy was walking off with the ladies' title, thus becoming the first brother and sister ever to win national championships simultaneously. Neither so much as lost a set, as Cliff overwhelmed six opponents and Nancy defeated five.

Accentuate the Negative. The Richey kids are about as relaxed as any normal, healthy, sibling-rivalry-riven American youngsters. "It's a good thing I came first, or I never would have got any attention," complains Nancy, a freckle-faced introvert who hides her dark hair under sun visors and prefers to wear mannish flannel shorts instead of frilly tennis skirts.

Cliff is a chunky high school dropout whose shirttail flaps in the breeze and whose hair-trigger temper has at one time or another 1) brought him an official reprimand from the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association and 2) cost him a place on the U.S. Davis Cup team. Psychologists would probably trace Cliff's troubles back to his formative years—between twelve and 14—when he played with his sister and "she beat me every time." Says Cliff: "She used to beat me so often that she didn't even want to play me any more. It was the most frustrating time of my life."

Mama Richey, who travels the amateur circuit every year with Husband George, can be counted on to spur on her little darlings. "I guess we've never had a real vacation," she says. "Everywhere we go there is tennis, a tournament or something." On the tour, Nancy and Cliff spend all their spare time together, hew to strict training rules: up at 9 a.m., in bed by 11 p.m. Nancy has not had a date in eight months, and Cliff has abstained since January—but neither seems to miss the social swirl. "People tell us that tennis isn't everything," explains Cliff, "but to us it is. These people who try to influence us aren't happy themselves, and they're trying to push us away from the deep happiness we've found in the game."