Luis Ayala (tennis)

Luis Alberto Ayala Salinas (born 18 September 1932) is a Chilean former world-ranked tennis player who competed in the 1950s and 1960s. He was twice a singles runner-up at the French Championships. In 1958 he was seeded fifth and reached the final after a victory against first-seeded and world No. 1 Ashley Cooper in the semifinal. In the final, however, he was defeated in straight sets by Mervyn Rose while in 1960 he lost the final in fives sets to Nicola Pietrangeli. Together with Thelma Coyne Long he won the mixed doubles title at the 1956 French Championships. He won the prestigious singles title at the Italian Open in 1959, defeating Neale Fraser in the final in four sets. The following year,1960, he again reached the final but lost in five sets to Barry MacKay.

Between 1952 and 1960 Ayala played in 18 ties for the Chilean Davis Cup team and compiled a record of 37 wins and 14 losses. During this period the best performance was reaching the semifinal of the Europe zone in 1955 which they lost to Sweden, despite Ayala winning both his singles matches against Lennart Bergelin and Sven Davidson.

In 1961 he turned professional and joined Jack Kramer's tour. When he retired, he became a tennis professional at River Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas. Currently, he is the Director of Tennis at the Forest Club in Houston, Texas.

Ayala was ranked World No. 5 for 1958 by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph (and No. 6 for 1959, No. 7 for 1960 and 1961).

Singles (2 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1958	Roland Garros	Clay	Mervyn Rose	3–6, 4–6, 4–6
Runner-up	1960	Roland Garros	Clay	Nicola Pietrangeli	6–3, 3–6, 4–6, 6–4, 3–6

Mixed doubles: (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1955	French Championships	Clay	Jenny Staley Hoad	Darlene Hard Gordon Forbes	7–5, 1–6, 2–6
Winner	1956	French Championships	C;ay	Thelma Coyne Long	Doris Hart Bob Howe	4–6, 6–4, 6–1