Late Longboat Key tennis icon Bob Ruff honored with one last set

Bob Ruff's family and friends played one last set for "The Professor of Tennis" on Oct. 16. Ruff, who notably organized the Ruff Group on Longboat Key and organized thousands of men's tennis games over the years, died in July 2021 at age 93. 

Those celebrating came dressed in their best tennis whites — which Ruff's daughter Kay said he himself preferred to wear — and played one last set as a memorial at the Longboat Key Club's Tennis Gardens, where Ruff sometimes sent players from the Ruff Group.

The Key Club's general manager Rick Konsavage and director of tennis Briana Francois presented the Ruff family with a portrait of Ruff by Mary Lou Johnson. As friends and family, including Ruff's daughters Kay and Liz Rutledge, shared stories of the man, Kay said there was a lot of "love" on the court that day.