Gustavo Kuerten

Gustavo Kuerten, fondly known as “Guga”, was born on September 10, 1976 in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina. He is a retired former World number 1 tennis player from Brazil and is known for many of his career distinctions. Guga won the French Open three times between the years 1997 to 2001. He was the Tennis Masters Cup Champion in 2000.

Guga first played tennis when he was just six years old. His father was a former amateur tennis player who died of a heart attack while he was umpiring a junior tennis match in 1985. Guga was known for being a compassionate tennis player, who dedicated each of his matches to younger brother suffering from mental retardation. Guga was deeply affected by his brother’s condition that he donated his entire prize money to a hometown NGO that provides assistance to people suffering from the same disabilities as his brother. He also gave every trophy he ever won to his younger brother as a souvenir. His brother passed away in the year 2007.

Growing up and learning tennis, Guga was heavily influenced by Oscar Wegner, who was his coach for eight years. When Guga was 14 years old, he met Larri Passos, who became his coach for the following 15 years. It was Passos who convinced Guga and his family that he should make a living out of his talent for tennis.

After two years of being a professional tennis player, Guga became the number 2 player in Brazil. However, the sudden rise to the top and the fame was too much pressure for Guga and this showed in his performance. His worst year, which was not due to injuries, was in 1998.

Guga’s favorite surface is clay and is evident in his three Grand Slam titles which all happen to be played at the clay surface of the French Open. He won the French Open in 1997, 2000 and 2001 and became the World Number 1 player in the year 2000.

Guga managed to win at least one title every year from the years 1997 to 2004. However, his successful streak ended in 2005 when his performance was marred by injuries and below-average performances. On May 25, 2008, Guga announced his retirement from professional tennis and did so with grandeur. He played his last professional singles event in front of 15,000 spectators at the Roland Garros wearing his “lucky” uniform. Guga had a record of 20 singles titles and 8 doubles titles. He was included in the 2005 Tennis Magazine’s list of “The 40 Greatest Players of the Tennis Era”.

After retiring, Guga settled back into his hometown. He spends his time teaching and playing tennis with local enthusiasts. He is known as the “Carchorro Grande” in his hometown. He was accepted to a drama college in Florianopolis and has recently began his studies there on February 16, 2009.