Robert Ruff swings into 90th birthday

After more than 30 years of organizing tennis matches for his friends, Robert Ruff’s friends paid him back.

On May 9, about 40 of his tennis friends gathered after their 10:30 a.m. matches to celebrate Ruff’s 90th birthday.

The party was supposed to be a surprise, and though it didn’t go totally as planned, Ruff said he was still surprised at how many people came to celebrate with him.

“It’s a great group of guys,” Ruff said. “Many of them have been with me for a long time.”

Ruff’s son-in-law and daughters, one of whom he shares a birthday with, came to join the party that took place on the upper deck of The Resort at Longboat Key Club’s Tennis Gardens.

Bob Coyne, who helped organize the event, called Ruff one of “the finest gentlemen most of us have met,” before presenting him with a golden racket – don’t ask who made the golden racket, though. It’s a secret.