Dudi Sela facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Dudi Sela
דודי סלע

Sela at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships
Country (sports)	Israel
Residence	Tel Aviv, Israel
Born	(1985-04-04) 4 April 1985 (age 40) Kiryat Shmona, Israel
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned pro	2002
Retired	2022
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Coach	Yoav Ben Zvi
Prize money	US$4,003,831
Singles
Career record	143–195 (42.31% in Grand Slam and ATP World Tour main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 29 (20 July 2009)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	3R (2009, 2015, 2016)
French Open	2R (2009, 2015)
Wimbledon	4R (2009)
US Open	2R (2007, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games	2R (2016)
Doubles
Career record	26–48 (35.14%)
Career titles	1
Highest ranking	No. 122 (22 February 2010)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	2R (2010)
French Open	2R (2010, 2012)
Wimbledon	2R (2016)
US Open	3R (2009, 2017)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	SF (2009)

David "Dudi" Sela (Hebrew: דודי סלע; born April 4, 1985) is a former professional tennis player from Israel. He reached his highest singles ranking of World No. 29 in July 2009.

Dudi Sela won the junior doubles title at the French Open in 2003. He played for Israel in the Davis Cup. Some of his best moments include beating Fernando González, who was ranked No. 7 in the world, in 2007. He also helped Israel reach the semifinals of the Davis Cup in 2009. In 2008, he defeated David Ferrer, then ranked No. 5, and in 2010, he beat Andy Roddick, who was No. 7.

Sela made it to the fourth round of the Wimbledon Championships in 2009. He also finished second in two major ATP tournaments in Beijing and Atlanta. By 2015, he had won 24 ATP Challenger events. This placed him second all-time for Challenger titles, just behind Lu Yen-hsun.

Early Life and Tennis Beginnings

Dudi Sela was born and grew up in Kiryat Shmona, a city in Israel close to the Lebanon border. His father, Michael, was a bus driver, and his mother, Anca, was a nurse. They moved to Israel from Romania. His family's original last name was Sălăjean, but his father changed it to Sela so it would be easier to say in Israel.

Dudi, which is a nickname for David, first held a tennis racket when he was two years old. He started playing tennis seriously at age seven. His tennis heroes were his older brother, Ofer Sela, who was also a professional player, and Israeli tennis star Amos Mansdorf. When he was 18, Sela did not have to join the Israel Defense Forces.

Junior Career Highlights (2000–2003)

Dudi Sela at the 2003 U.S. Open

Dudi Sela played his first junior tennis match in 1999 when he was 14. In 2000, he won doubles titles in Haifa and Corfu, Greece. The next year, 2001, he won a doubles title with Maor Zirkin and reached the singles finals at the Israel International. He also won his first singles title in the Netherlands.

In 2002, Sela reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open Junior Competition. He also made it to the top eight at the French Open Juniors. In 2003, his last year as a junior, he reached the quarterfinals in singles at the French Open. He then won the French Open 2003 doubles title with his partner, Győrgy Balázs from Hungary. He also reached the semifinals at the US Open Junior Championships.

Sela's highest junior world rankings were No. 9 in singles and No. 16 in doubles.

Junior Grand Slam Results

• Singles:
  • Australian Open: Quarterfinals (2002)
  • French Open: Quarterfinals (2002, 2003)
  • Wimbledon: Second Round (2003)
  • US Open: Semifinals (2003)

• Doubles:
  • Australian Open: First Round (2002)
  • French Open: Winner (2003)
  • Wimbledon: First Round (2003)
  • US Open: Semifinals (2002)

Professional Career

Early Years (2004–2006)

In 2004, Sela reached the semifinals at one Challenger tournament and the quarterfinals in four others. In 2005, he had a great year on the ATP Challenger circuit. He won tournaments in Vancouver, Canada, and Lexington, Kentucky, in back-to-back weeks. He had a strong record of 21 wins and 11 losses in Challenger events that year.

In 2006, Sela won five singles titles on the USTA Pro Circuit. These wins helped him climb the rankings.

Breaking into the Top 100 (2007)

In January 2007, Sela made it into the main part of the Australian Open. He surprised everyone by beating Paradorn Srichaphan, who was ranked No. 56 in the world. In the next round, he played against Marat Safin and lost in a very close five-set match.

Later in 2007, Sela won a Challenger title in Togliatti, Russia. This was his fourth career title. He also qualified for the US Open. In the first round, he beat Nicolás Lapentti, a player who used to be ranked as high as No. 6 in the world. This was Sela's fourth time beating a top 100 player that year.

In October, Sela defeated Juan Martín del Potro (ranked No. 51) at the Japan Open in Tokyo. He then won the Seoul Challenger tournament, winning all five of his matches easily. This win pushed him to his highest ranking yet, No. 73 in the world. By the end of 2007, Sela was the first Israeli man to finish the year in the top 100 since Harel Levy in 2001.

First ATP Final (2008)

Sela In New York (2008)

At the Australian Open in 2008, Sela won his first match but lost in the second round. He continued to beat higher-ranked players throughout the year. In July, he won the Vancouver Challenger title again.

Sela was very disappointed when the Israel Olympic Committee did not allow him to play in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Even though he met the rules to play, they said no because he wasn't in the top 50.

In September, Sela reached his first ever ATP Tour final at the China Open. He was ranked No. 92 at the time. He surprised everyone by beating the top seed and world No. 5, David Ferrer, easily. He kept winning, beating other top players, before losing to Andy Roddick in the final. This made Sela the first Israeli since Harel Levy in 2001 to reach an ATP final.

Reaching the Top 30 (2009)

Sela at the 2009 Indianapolis Tennis Championships

At the Australian Open in 2009, Sela had to win three qualifying matches just to get into the main tournament. In the final qualifying round, he saved six match points to win a very exciting match. In the main tournament, he beat two higher-ranked players, becoming the first Israeli man to reach the third round of a Grand Slam since 1994.

In May, Sela reached a new career-high ranking of No. 55. He won his first match ever at the French Open. In June, he reached another career-high ranking, No. 46.

At Wimbledon, Sela continued his amazing run. He beat the 18th seed, Rainer Schüttler, and then upset the 15th seed, Tommy Robredo. This win sent Sela to the fourth round, his best result ever at a Grand Slam. He was the first Israeli man in 20 years to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon. He then lost to Novak Djokovic, who was ranked No. 4 in the world.

After his great performance at Wimbledon, Sela's ranking rose to a career-high of No. 33 in July 2009. The next week, after a big Davis Cup win, he reached an even higher ranking of No. 29.

Challenger Tour Success (2010–2015)

On June 10, 2010, at the 2010 Aegon Championships, Sela surprised everyone again by beating Andy Roddick, who was ranked No. 7 in the world, in two sets. He also won the Rhodes Challenger in May. In August 2010, he won the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open title for the third time.

Dudi Sela at the 2013 US Open

Sela at the 2013 Aegon Championships

In 2013, Dudi Sela won Challenger events in Tashkent, Astana, and Busan. He also reached the finals of another Challenger event in Istanbul. In 2014, he reached the quarterfinals of the Chennai Open in India.

In 2015, Sela had another notable success on the ATP Challenger Tour. He won the Odlum Brown Vancouver Open for the fourth time. This made him one of only five men in history to win a specific ATP Challenger tournament four or more times. He also moved into second place on the all-time list for Challenger titles, with 24 wins. He won two more Challenger titles in 2015, in Batman, Turkey, and Suzhou, China.

First Doubles Title (2016)

At the 2016 Australian Open, Sela won two matches before losing in the third round. In March, he had a successful run in Challenger tournaments, reaching two semifinals and winning one title in Shenzhen, China.

He represented Israel in men's singles at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He won his first match but lost in the second round to David Goffin. In May 2016, Sela won his first ATP doubles title at the Istanbul Open with his partner, Flavio Cipolla.

Wimbledon Run and Yom Kippur (2017)

In 2017, Sela reached one semifinal and two quarterfinals on the ATP Tour. He also won two more Challenger Tour titles, in Canberra, Australia, and Nottingham, Great Britain. He won at least one match in the three Grand Slam tournaments he played that year.

At the 2017 Wimbledon Championships, Sela had a good run, reaching the third round. He beat Marcel Granollers and the 23rd seed, John Isner. His run ended when he had to stop playing in the third set against Grigor Dimitrov due to an injury.

Sela famously stopped his quarterfinal match at the 2017 ATP Shenzhen Open in the third set against Alexandr Dolgopolov. He did this so he could begin observing Yom Kippur by sunset. This meant he gave up a possible $34,000 in prize money and 90 ranking points. Sela finished 2017 with his highest year-end ranking in eight years, at No. 67 in the world.

Later Career and Retirement (2018–2022)

In 2018, Sela reached the third round of the Indian Wells Masters. He beat Peter Gojowczyk and the 21st seed, Kyle Edmund. His run ended in the next round. This was his last Masters 1000 tournament. At the 2018 Wimbledon Championships, Sela played against the world No. 1, Rafael Nadal, in the first round and lost. This was his last Grand Slam match.

Sela ended his 2018 season early to recover from wrist and back injuries. His year-end ranking was 236, which was the first time in five years he finished outside the top 100.

In 2019, Sela won the 2019 Little Rock Challenger. This helped his ranking go from 208 to 164 in the world. He also reached the final of the 2019 Cassis Challenger but lost quickly. He played his last ATP match at the 2019 St. Petersburg Open. For the first time since 2006, Sela did not win an ATP match during the entire year.

In 2020, Sela did not win any matches at any level. After the COVID-19 pandemic stopped tennis in March, he decided not to play for the rest of the year.

In 2021, Sela played his first match in over a year at the qualifying rounds of the 2021 Wimbledon Championships. He won his first match but lost in the second round. He also planned to play in the qualifying rounds of the 2021 US Open but had to withdraw because he tested positive for COVID-19.

In January 2022, Dudi Sela announced that he planned to retire from professional tennis after the 2022 season. He played in the qualifying rounds of the 2022 Australian Open and his last US Open as a qualifier. He officially retired in 2022.

Davis Cup Performances

Sela playing Davis Cup

Dudi Sela joined the Israeli Davis Cup team in late 2005. He has a strong record in Davis Cup matches. In April 2007, he helped Israel defeat Italy.

In September 2007, Sela played a huge role in Israel's victory over Chile. He first upset Nicolás Massú in a very long match that lasted over 5 hours. Sela called it "definitely the biggest win in my career." Later in the same match, he defeated Fernando González, who was ranked No. 7 in the world, in another long match. This win helped Israel move into the World Group for 2008. Sela was congratulated by the Prime Minister and President of Israel after this amazing victory.

In the 2008 World Group, Sela won his first match against Jonas Björkman from Sweden. In the 2008 World Group Playoffs, Sela led the Israeli team to a 4–1 victory over Peru, winning both of his singles matches.

In March 2009, Israel faced Sweden again. Sela helped Israel come back from behind to win 3–2. He won both of his singles matches in five sets, including a win over former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson. This was a huge win for Israel, as Sweden had never lost a tie after being ahead 2–1 in their 84-year Davis Cup history. This victory moved Israel into the top eight tennis nations in the world for the first time since 1987.

In July 2009, Israel hosted Russia in a Davis Cup quarterfinal. Russia was the top-ranked country in Davis Cup standings. Before the match, Russian player Marat Safin said Israel was "lucky to get to the quarterfinals." The Israeli team, including Sela, responded by winning their first three matches to win the tie. Sela beat Mikhail Youzhny. The Israeli captain said his players were like "two F-16s" on the court. The crowd of 10,500 people was the largest ever for a tennis match in Israel. Israel won the tie 4–1. However, Israel later lost to Spain in the semifinals.

Playing Style

Dudi Sela's playing style is known for being very fast and aggressive. Some people describe him as a serve and volley player, meaning he often hits the ball and then quickly moves to the net.

Coaching and Mentors

Throughout his career, Dudi Sela was coached by several people. These included his brother Ofer Sela, Tomi Schnitzer, and former Israeli Davis Cup coach Ron Steele. He also worked with Israeli coaches Noam Behr, Yoav Shab, Yoram Menahem, and Amos Mansdorf.

Jewish Heritage

Dudi Sela is one of several highly ranked Jewish tennis players, including Diego Schwartzman and Camila Giorgi. Sela has said that it is "very special" to play around the world because Jewish people often come to watch him play.

He also has a fan group called the "Hebrew Hammer." This group cheers for him in both English and Hebrew, trying to create the loud and exciting atmosphere of tennis matches in Tel Aviv. The Hebrew Hammer group has even been featured on TV during tennis broadcasts.

Personal Life

Dudi Sela is married to Marina, and they have three children: a son named Elai, a daughter named Talia, and another son named Roy. His brother, Ofer Sela, was also a tennis player.

ATP Career Finals

Singles: 2 (2 runner-ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Sep 2008	China Open, China	International	Hard	Andy Roddick	4–6, 7–6(8–6), 3–6
Loss	0–2	Jul 2014	Atlanta Open, United States	250 Series	Hard	John Isner	3–6, 4–6

Doubles: 1 (1 title)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1–0	May 2016	Istanbul Open, Turkey	250 Series	Clay	Flavio Cipolla	Andrés Molteni Diego Schwartzman	6–3, 5–7, [10–7]

Challenger and Futures Finals

Singles: 42 (30–12)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Mar 2003	Australia F1, Burnie	Futures	Hard	Paul Baccanello	4–3 ret.
Loss	1–1	May 2003	Italy F8, Verona	Futures	Clay	Tomas Tenconi	6–4, 0–6, 2–6
Win	2–1	Jul 2003	Togliatti, Russia	Challenger	Hard	Juan Pablo Brzezicki	6–2, 6–4
Win	3–1	Feb 2005	Australia F2, Gosford	Futures	Hard	Sadik Kadir	6–1, 6–1
Win	4–1	Jul 2005	Lexington, United States	Challenger	Hard	Bobby Reynolds	6–3, 3–6, 6–4
Win	5–1	Aug 2005	Vancouver, Canada	Challenger	Hard	Paul Baccanello	6–2, 6–3
Win	6–1	Sep 2006	USA F22, Claremont	Futures	Hard	Sascha Klör	5–1 ret.
Win	7–1	Sep 2006	USA F23, Costa Mesa	Futures	Hard	Robert Yim	7–5, 6–4
Win	8–1	Oct 2006	USA F27, Baton Rouge	Futures	Hard	Izak Van der Merwe	5–7, 6–4, 6–3
Win	9–1	Nov 2006	USA F28, Waikoloa	Futures	Hard	Lesley Joseph	6–1, 6–4
Win	10–1	Nov 2006	USA F29, Honolulu	Futures	Hard	Fritz Wolmarans	6–3, 6–3
Loss	10–2	Jul 2007	Córdoba, Spain	Challenger	Hard	Adrián Menéndez Maceiras	4–6, 6–0, 5–7
Win	11–2	Jul 2007	Togliatti, Russia	Challenger	Hard	Mikhail Ledovskikh	7–6(7–4), 6–3
Win	12–2	Oct 2007	Seoul, Korea, Rep.	Challenger	Hard	Konstantinos Economidis	6–4, 6–4
Loss	12–3	Nov 2007	Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei	Challenger	Hard	Lu Yen-hsun	3–6, 3–6
Win	13–3	Nov 2007	Yokohama, Japan	Challenger	Hard	Takao Suzuki	6–7(5–7), 6–4, 6–2
Win	14–3	Aug 2008	Vancouver, Canada	Challenger	Hard	Kevin Kim	6–3, 6–0
Win	15–3	May 2010	Rhodes, Greece	Challenger	Hard	Rainer Schüttler	7–6(7–3), 6–3
Win	16–3	Aug 2010	Vancouver, Canada	Challenger	Hard	Ričardas Berankis	7–5, 6–2
Win	17–3	May 2011	Busan, Korea, Rep.	Challenger	Hard	Tatsuma Ito	6–2, 6–7(5–7), 6–3
Win	18–3	May 2011	Fergana, Uzbekistan	Challenger	Hard	Greg Jones	6–2, 6–1
Win	19–3	Jun 2011	Nottingham, Great Britain	Challenger	Grass	Jérémy Chardy	6–4, 3–6, 7–5
Loss	19–4	Nov 2011	São Paulo, Brazil	Challenger Tour Finals	Hard (i)	Cedrik-Marcel Stebe	2–6, 4–6
Win	20–4	Sep 2012	Bangkok, Thailand	Challenger	Hard	Yūichi Sugita	6–1, 7–5
Win	21–4	May 2013	Busan, Korea, Rep.	Challenger	Hard	Alex Bogomolov Jr.	6–1, 6–4
Loss	21–5	Jul 2013	Istanbul, Turkey	Challenger	Hard	Benjamin Becker	1–6, 6–2, 2–3 ret.
Win	22–5	Jul 2013	Astana, Kazakhstan	Challenger	Hard	Mikhail Kukushkin	5–7, 6–2, 7–6(8–6)
Win	23–5	Oct 2013	Taskhent, Uzbekistan	Challenger	Hard	Teymuraz Gabashvili	6–1, 6–2
Loss	23–6	Nov 2014	Helsinki, Finland	Challenger	Hard (i)	Jürgen Zopp	4–6, 7–5, 6–7(6–8)
Win	24–6	Apr 2015	Batman, Turkey	Challenger	Hard	Blaž Kavčič	6–7(5–7), 6–3, 6–3
Win	25–6	Aug 2015	Vancouver, Canada	Challenger	Hard	John-Patrick Smith	6–4, 7–5
Win	26–6	Nov 2015	Suzhou, China, P.R.	Challenger	Hard	Matija Pecotić	6–1, 1–0 ret.
Loss	26–7	Jan 2016	Happy Valley, Australia	Challenger	Hard	Taylor Fritz	6–7(7–9), 2–6
Win	27–7	Mar 2016	Shenzhen, China, P.R.	Challenger	Hard	Wu Di	6–4, 6–3
Loss	27–8	May 2016	Karshi, Uzbekistan	Challenger	Hard	Marko Tepavac	6–2, 3–6, 6–7(4–7)
Loss	27–9	Sep 2016	Istanbul, Turkey	Challenger	Hard	Malek Jaziri	6–1, 1–6, 0–6
Win	28–9	Jan 2017	Canberra, Australia	Challenger	Hard	Jan-Lennard Struff	3–6, 6–4, 6–3
Win	29–9	Jun 2017	Nottingham, Great Britain	Challenger	Grass	Thomas Fabbiano	4–6, 6–4, 6–3
Loss	29–10	Feb 2019	Bangkok, Thailand	Challenger	Hard	Henri Laaksonen	2–6, 4–6
Loss	29–11	May 2019	Gwangju, Korea, Rep.	Challenger	Hard	Jason Jung	4–6, 2–6
Win	30–11	Jun 2019	Little Rock, United States	Challenger	Hard	Lee Duck-hee	6–1, 4–3 ret.
Loss	30–12	Sep 2019	Cassis, France	Challenger	Hard	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	1–6, 0–6

Doubles: 12 (6–6)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Jul 2003	Recanati, Italy	Challenger	Hard	Rodolphe Cadart	Manuel Jorquera Frank Moser	4–6, 5–7
Loss	0–2	Oct 2004	USA F28, Lubbock	Futures	Hard	Lazar Magdinčev	Julien Cassaigne Philip Gubenco	6–2, 6–7(5–7), 4–6
Win	1–2	Dec 2005	Israel F2, Ramat HaSharon	Futures	Hard	Victor Kolik	Oleksandr Nedovyesov Deniss Pavlovs	6–3, 6–3
Loss	1–3	Mar 2006	Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam	Challenger	Hard	Jacob Adaktusson	Lee Hyung-taik Cecil Mamiit	4–6, 2–6
Loss	1–4	May 2006	Atlanta, USA	Challenger	Clay	Harel Levy	Hugo Armando André Sá	4–6, 4–6
Loss	1–5	May 2007	Lanzarote, Spain	Challenger	Hard	Noam Okun	Luke Bourgeois Rik de Voest	3–6, 1–6
Win	2–5	Nov 2007	Kaohsiung, Chinese Taipei	Challenger	Hard	Stephen Amritraj	Rik de Voest Pierre-Ludovic Duclos	6–4, 7–6(7–4)
Win	3–5	Jul 2012	Binghamton, USA	Challenger	Hard	Harel Srugo	Adrien Bossel Michael McClune	6–2, 3–6, [10–8]
Win	4–5	Mar 2013	Le Gosier, Gouadeloupe	Challenger	Hard	Jimmy Wang	Philipp Marx Florin Mergea	6–1, 6–2
Win	5–5	Oct 2015	Ningbo, China, P.R.	Challenger	Hard	Amir Weintraub	Nikola Mektić Franko Škugor	6–3, 3–6, [10–6]
Loss	5–6	May 2017	Seoul, Korea, Rep.	Challenger	Hard	Thomas Fabbiano	Hsieh Cheng-peng Peng Hsien-yin	1–5 ret.
Win	6–6	Jan 2019	Burnie, Australia	Challenger	Hard	Lloyd Harris	Mirza Bašić Tomislav Brkić	6–3, 6–7(3–7), [10–8]

Junior Grand Slam Finals

Doubles: 1 (1 title)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	2003	French Open	Clay	György Balázs	Lado Chikhladze Kamil Čapkovič	5–7, 6–1, 6–2

Performance Timelines

Singles

¹ Held as Hamburg Masters (clay) until 2008, Madrid Masters (clay) 2009–present.

² Held as Madrid Masters (indoor hardcourt) from 2002 to 2008, Shanghai Masters (outdoor hardcourt) 2009–present.

Doubles

Current as far as the 2018 Australian Open.

Wins Over Top 10 Players

#	Player	Rank	Event	Surface	Rd	Score	DS Rank
2007
1.	Fernando González	6	Davis Cup, Israel	Hard	RR	4–6, 7–6(7–5), 5–7, 7–6(9–7), 6–3	105
2008
2.	David Ferrer	5	Beijing, China	Hard	2R	6–3, 6–3	92
2010
3.	Andy Roddick	7	London, United Kingdom	Grass	3R	6–4, 7–6(10–8)	63

Record vs. No. 1 Ranked Players

•  Safin, MaratMarat Safin (RUS) 0-1
•  Hewitt, LleytonLleyton Hewitt (AUS) 0-4
•  Ferrero, Juan CarlosJuan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) 0-4
•  Roddick, AndyAndy Roddick (USA) 1-1
•   Federer, RogerRoger Federer (SUI) 0-2
•  Nadal, RafaelRafael Nadal (ESP) 0-3
•  Djokovic, NovakNovak Djokovic (SRB) 0-2
•  Medvedev, DaniilDaniil Medvedev (RUS) 0-1

See also

In Spanish: Dudi Sela para niños

• List of select Jewish tennis players