Michael-Ray Pallares González (born December 15, 1980) is a professional tennis player from the Dominican Republic. He was a member of the Dominican Republic Davis Cup team and represented his country at the Central American and Caribbean Games.

He won the men's singles gold medal at the 2022 State Games of America, an Olympic-style multi-sport event held in North America. It is organized by the National Congress of State Games as part of the United States Olympic Committee in which athletes qualify for the Games by earning a medal in their respective State Games in the previous two years. Pallares was the men's singles gold medalist at the 2020 Commonwealth Games of Virginia (Virginia).

Biography

Michael-Ray Pallares González is a second cousin once-removed of the Dominican Mirabal sisters. He was named after former professional basketball player Michael Ray Richardson.

Pallares' father played professional soccer in the Football League Second Division for Norwich City F.C.

Junior career

As a junior, Michael-Ray was a two-time USTA National Champion winning the USTA National Interscholastic Championships in Lexington, Kentucky as well as the USTA National Port Washington Easter Classic at the famed Port Washington Tennis Academy in Port Washington, New York.

Past winners of these events include Jim Courier, John McEnroe, Butch Buchholz, Arthur Ashe, Roscoe Tanner, Harold Solomon, Bryan Shelton, Chris Woodruff, Luke Jensen, Brian Baker, and Donald Young amongst others.

College career

Michael-Ray accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama where he played for the Alabama Crimson Tide men's tennis team which was ranked Top 10 in NCAA Division I Men's Tennis. In 2003, he was voted the Most Improved Player and was an instrumental part of the team that advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 in Athens, Georgia. He graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Business Administration.

Professional career

ATP World Tour

Pallares González turned professional in 2004, competing predominantly on the ITF Men's Circuit and ATP Challenger Tour.

He's held an ATP ranking in singles & doubles for over ten years, posting wins over six players who were each ranked inside the ATP Top-300 and advanced to the doubles final of the $15K Algeria F3 Futures Tournament in 2011.

Doubles: (1 Runner-up) LegendATP Challenger Tour (0–0)ITF Futures (0–1) OutcomeNo.DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreRunner–up1.8 October 2011Algeria F3 AlgiersClay Murphey Parker Lukas Jastraunig Mark Vervoort0–6, 6–7(3–7)

Davis Cup

Michael-Ray Pallares González has represented the Dominican Republic as a member of four Davis Cup selections, posting a 1–0 record competing in the 2004 Davis Cup Americas Zone Groups II.

Davis Cup: Singles (1-0) EditionRoundDateSurfaceOpponentW/LResult2004 Americas Zone Group IISemifinal 11 April 2004 Hard (O) Federico SansonettiW 6–3, 6–3

European League Club Tennis

While playing European League Club Tennis for teams in Italy (TC Volpago), Germany (SV Blankenese e.V.), Austria (TC Grün Weiß Steyr) & (UTC Casa Moda Steyr), and France (Racing Club de France), Michael-Ray compiled a 57–13 record, helping his teams get promoted four times in their respective leagues.

European League Club Tennis: Record (57-13)

SeasonCountryClubLeagueWinsLosses2010GermanySV BlankeneseOberliga Hamburg1022011Oberliga Hamburg1202012Oberliga Hamburg312013Regionalliga Nord20Total2732013AustriaTC Grün Weiß SteyrLandesliga022014Landesliga402017UTC Casa Moda SteyrBundesligaTotal422013ItalyTC VolpagoSerie D1402014Serie C1002015Serie C802017Serie CTotal2202014FranceRacing Club de FranceLigue 2112015Ligue 1372017Ligue 1Total48Career Total5713

USTA Tournaments The United States Tennis Association Open Tournaments are the most competitive on the USTA schedule and provide a high level of competition and prize money for experienced players. Players of all abilities and ages can play in Open events, including former and current pros, teaching professionals, college players and top-ranked juniors.

In 2009, Pallares won the prestigious 83rd Annual National Public Parks Tennis Championships. The National Public Parks Tennis Association was founded by Dwight Davis and established the inaugural event in 1923.

Past winners of this event include Gardnar Mulloy, Seymour Greenberg, Fred Kovaleski, Noel Brown, Bill Tym, Steve Wilkinson, Ken Stuart, Larry Parker, Juan Farrow, and Carlos Gómez-Díaz amongst others.

While competing at the Men's Open Singles division, Michael-Ray achieved a #1 Final Ranking 12 times in 8 different sections. The USTA is made up of 17 individual sections, each representing distinct geographic locations throughout the United States.

Since 2021, the USTA Competition Committee approved changes to the Nationwide Competitive Structure, paving the way for a standardized nationwide structure and ranking system for tennis events across the 17 USTA Sections.

Michael-Ray was the #1 ranked player in the United States in the Men's Open Singles division for the years 2021 and 2022.

USTA Men's Open Singles: Sectional Rankings

YearRankingDivisionUSTA SectionAbout2002 3 Men's Open Singles Florida The USTA Florida section comprises the entire state of Florida.2003 1 Men's Open Singles Southern The USTA Southern section includes the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.2004 1 Men's Open Singles Florida The USTA Florida section comprises the entire state of Florida.2009 1 Men's Open Singles Southern The USTA Southern section includes the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.2011 1 Men's Open Singles Midwest The USTA Midwest section consists of the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin as well as designated counties in West Virginia and Kentucky.2012 1 Men's Open Singles Missouri Valley The USTA Missouri Valley comprises the five-state area of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.2013 1 Men's Open Singles Southwest The USTA Southwest section is made up of the states of Arizona, New Mexico and El Paso county in Texas.2019 1 Men's Open Singles New England The USTA New England section consists of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine.2020 1 Men's Open Singles Missouri Valley The USTA Missouri Valley comprises the five-state area of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.2021 1 Men's Open Singles Florida The USTA Florida section comprises the entire state of Florida.2022 1 Men's Open Singles Hawaii Pacific The Hawaii Pacific Section embraces members in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas.2023 1 Men's Open Singles Southern The USTA Southern section includes the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.2024 1 Men's Open Singles Texas The USTA Texas section comprises the State of Texas, except El Paso and Bowie counties.

USTA Men's Open Singles: National Rankings

YearRankingDivisionUSTA SectionAbout2021 1 Men's Open Singles National The USTA comprises the United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, province of British Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.2022 1 Men's Open Singles National The USTA comprises the United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, province of British Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.2023 2 Men's Open Singles National The USTA comprises the United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, province of British Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.2024 2 Men's Open Singles National The USTA comprises the United States, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, province of British Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Coaching career Michael-Ray Pallares González is the Owner & Head Professional of Crown Elite Tennis Academy, a high performance tennis academy specializing in junior development in Tampa, Florida.

He has served as Professional Tour Coach and/or hitting partner for several Top 10 ATP & WTA Players including Nicolas Almagro, John Isner, Maxime Janvier, Vera Zvonareva, Alla Kudryavtseva & Kristina Brandi.

He also served as Director of Tennis for the Panamanian Tennis Federation, Turkmenistan Tennis Federation and Guam National Tennis Federation as the International Tennis Federation Expert Coach undertaking the Development of National Sport Structure, creating an action plan to strengthen the tennis program approved by the NOC, International Olympic Committee and Olympic Solidarity.

Philanthropy Michael-Ray Pallares González founded One Love Tennis Inc. in 2011, which is a non-profit organization designed to reach underprivileged and low income youth through affordable tennis, education, and fitness. In 2019, the Professional Tennis Registry (PTR) named Michael-Ray the PTR Humanitarian of the Year at its annual awards week, during the PTR International Tennis Symposium. He has travelled all over the world, organizing Play-Day events designed to introduce kids to tennis providing them with the opportunity to continue to develop and enhance their skills. Play-Days are a welcoming way for kids to experience the social and competitive aspects of tennis, promoting a sense of achievement through a fun and spirited atmosphere.

Africa In July 2016, Pallares González traveled to Southern Africa and teamed up with Jane Kaye-Bailey's Butterfly Tree Charity along with John Nomad's Nomad Sports Academy to conduct an Exhibition and Play-Day event for a group of 20 orphans from the Mukuni Village in Livingstone - Southern Province, Zambia.

Michael-Ray's second trip to the African continent came in May 2018, as he traveled to Ethiopia located in the Horn of Africa. He hosted a “Play-Day” event in collaboration with the Senai Foundation, for a group of 15 children from Hannah's Orphans Home in the heart of Addis Ababa, most of which have tragically lost their parents to either the HIV/AIDS epidemic or imprisonment of their parents.

Pallares González next visited the East African country of Zimbabwe in June 2018, to host a tennis academy “Stage & Clinic” for a group of 25 children from Mutasa Primary School in the Highfield township of Harare. The event was held at the historic Harare Sports Club in collaboration with the National Tennis Federation of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee, and the Zimbabwe Sports & Recreation Commission.

That same month, Michael-Ray traveled to Rwanda, one of the smallest countries on the African mainland located in the Great Lakes Region of Central Africa. He collaborated with the Rwanda Tennis Federation and the Rwanda National Olympic and Sports Committee to host a training session for ten of the top juniors in the nation along with several national coaches to assist in further developing the sport of tennis in Rwanda, providing opportunities for young players and coaches to gain knowledge and have access to tennis supplies. The event took place during the final weekend of the Genocide Memorial Tennis Tournament at the National Training Center based out of the Stade National Amahoro in Kigali, Rwanda's capital and largest city.

Asia In December 2015, North Okkalapa Township located in the eastern part of Yangon, Myanmar in southeast Asia was host to an event. The event was held at the Damayaketa Monastery for 25 children from the Myat Mingalar Orphanage.