Born in Ludwigshafen, Rittersbacher played collegiate tennis in the United States for Texas Christian University in the early 1980s.

[1] Rittersbacher, a right-handed player, made his grand slam main draw debut at the 1986 French Open in the men's doubles with Anthony Emerson.

At the 1987 Wimbledon Championships he and partner Russell Barlow faced top seeds Guy Forget and Yannick Noah for a first round loss.

He made his third and final grand slam appearance in the mixed doubles with Marise Kruger at the 1988 French Open.

[2] Now a tennis coach, Rittersbacher was formerly based in Mannheim, the birthplace of Steffi Graf, who had him as a hitting partner for several years.