Inductee Profile

Richard Cohen

shof-2012-Richard_Cohen In 1965 at The Haverford School, Richard Cohen was the 5th ranked high school tennis player in the United States. He won the Middle States Inter -Scholastics Tennis Championships a record setting six straight years. From 1963-1965, he was the #1 ranked junior in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey.
Cohen played Varsity tennis at The University of Pennsylvania for three years with an outstanding record of 42 wins and only three defeats. Throughout the sixties, he defeated several players that were ranked in the top ten in the world in men’s tennis. Cohen also was the top player on Penn’s national champion squash team in 1968.

During medical school and residency, Cohen was the head varsity men’s tennis coach at La Salle University where his teams set a national record for GPA. Over sixty percent of his players went on to medical school.

But Cohen’s greatest pride is his family’s accomplishments in the sport he loves so much. He coached both his children, Josh and Julia, for many years and both became nationally ranked players. Julia is a world class player on the WTA pro-circuit and was the second ranked college player in the country as an All-American at The University of Miami. Josh was also an All-American tennis player at Miami. He was ranked number one in the U.S. as a junior and currently is head pro at Green Valley Country Club and Head Coach of the Philadelphia Freedoms.

Cohen’s wife, Nancy, was formerly highly ranked in women’s tennis in the Middle States and holds a national title for winning the mother/daughter championship with Julia. Richard, along with his children, has won five U.S. father/son and father/daughter national championships setting a USTA record by winning consecutive titles in 2007.
At the age of 65, Cohen remains extremely active in the world of tennis consistently maintaining the top position in the Middle States Senior rankings, and is currently ranked #1 in Mens 30s, 50s, and 60s Singles and #16 in the USA.

Cohen has lectured nationally on Sports Psychology and mental toughness and has appeared on numerous talk shows and is a well-known Board Certified Psychiatrist who taught at Jefferson Medical College.