Gustavo Kuerten

Gustavo Kuerten (born September 10, 1976 in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina) is a professional tennis player from Brazil. He is also known as "Guga", an affectionate nickname which is a common abbreviation of the name "Gustavo" in Brazil. He is a former World No. 1 and three-time French Open champion.

Personal and Early Career

Kuerten's early life is marked by two family tragedies. The first one concerns his youngest brother, who suffered prolonged oxygen deprivation and consequently irrepairable brain damage during birth and as a result suffers from mental retardation and severe physical disability. Kuerten has been deeply affected by his brother's daily struggles. Every year of his professional career so far, he has donated the entire prize money from one tournament he wins to a hometown NGO that provides assistance for people suffering from similar disabilities. In his own family, Kuerten gives every trophy he wins to his younger brother as a souvenir (including the three miniature replicas of the French Open men's singles trophy).

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The second tragedy concerns Kuerten's father, who was a former amateur tennis player and in his later life a tennis umpire. In 1985, when Kuerten was only 8 years old, he died of a heart attack while umpiring a juniors match in Florianópolis.

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Kuerten began playing tennis when he was six, and met Larri Passos, his coach for the next 15 years, when he was 14 years old. Passos convinced Kuerten and his family that he was talented enough to make a living out of playing tennis, and the two started traveling all over the world to participate in Junior tournaments. Kuerten turned professional in 1995.

Related Topics:
Larri Passos - 1995

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