Although born and raised in Peru, Olmedo moved to
Southern California and was mentored by
Perry T. Jones, president of the Southern California Tennis Association at the
Los Angeles Tennis Club (LATC).
George Toley recruited him to play for the
University of Southern California (USC). Olmedo graduated with a business degree from USC. While there, he won the
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Singles and Doubles Championships in 1956 and 1958. (In 1957, USC was excluded from NCAA competition due to a financial contribution violation involving the football program which also suspended the tennis team.) Olmedo was ranked as the world No. 2 in 1959 by Lance Tingay of
The Daily Telegraph. Although he was not a U.S. citizen, he was technically eligible to represent the U.S. in Davis Cup because he had lived in the country for at least three years (since February 1954) and because Peru, his country of citizenship, did not have a Davis Cup team in those particular years. However, his participation was very controversial. Sports columnist Arthur Dailey at
The New York Times wrote "This would seem to be the saddest day in the history of American tennis. A few more such rousing victories and the prestige of this country in tennis will sink to a new low." At the time, Olmedo, who held a student visa, refused to file for U.S. citizenship, said he was content to remain a Peruvian citizen, and denied he was refusing to apply for U.S. citizenship to avoid being drafted into the military. Still, many Americans "took a dim view of the largest nation in the competition stooping to borrow a little player from Peru to win the Cup". Olmedo eventually became a U.S. citizen many years later. He spent over 40 years teaching tennis at
the Beverly Hills Hotel in California. His clients included
Katharine Hepburn,
Robert Duvall, and
Jon Lovitz. Olmedo's marriage to Ann Olmedo ended in divorce. He had a son Alejandro Jr., two daughters Amy and Angela, and four grand children. ==Grand Slam finals ==