Tommy Robredo facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Tommy Robredo

Robredo at 2013 Roland Garros
Country (sports)	Spain
Residence	Barcelona, Spain
Born	(1982-05-01) 1 May 1982 (age 43) Hostalric, Spain
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Turned pro	1998
Retired	2022
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Coach	Jose Luis Aparisi
Prize money	US$13,456,460
Singles
Career record	533–358 (59.82% in ATP World Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	12
Highest ranking	No. 5 (28 August 2006)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	QF (2007)
French Open	QF (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2013)
Wimbledon	4R (2014)
US Open	QF (2013)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	RR (2006)
Olympic Games	3R (2004)
Doubles
Career record	158–177 (47.16% in ATP World Tour and Grand Slam main draw matches, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	5
Highest ranking	No. 16 (20 April 2009)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	QF (2003)
French Open	QF (2009)
Wimbledon	QF (2010)
US Open	SF (2004, 2008, 2010)
Mixed doubles
Career record	3–2
Career titles	0
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	SF (2009)
Wimbledon	1R (2010)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	W (2004, 2008, 2009)
Hopman Cup	W (2002, 2010)

Tomás Robredo Garcés (born May 1, 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was once ranked as high as number 5 in the world in August 2006. Robredo reached the quarterfinals at seven big tennis tournaments called Grand Slams. He also did very well in doubles, reaching the semifinals at the US Open men's doubles tournament and the Australian Open in mixed doubles.

Robredo became a professional player in 1998. He was coached by José Manuel "Pepo" Clavet and later by Karim Perona. Robredo thought his forehand was his best shot, and red clay was his favorite playing surface. He is famous for coming back from being two sets down in three matches in a row at the 2013 French Open. He was also very good at winning long matches that went to five sets.

Tommy Robredo's Tennis Journey

Starting Out in Tennis

Tommy Robredo started playing tennis regularly when he was five years old. His family moved to Olot, where his dad, Ángel, became the director of the local tennis club. Tommy's mother, Dolores, was also a former assistant coach. His father coached him until 1996. Then, he joined a special training center for professional sports in Sant Cugat del Vallès. He officially became a professional player in 1998.

As a junior player, Robredo won the Junior Orange Bowl 16-Under in both singles and doubles in 1998. In his first big tournament at the ATP Tour level in Barcelona, he beat Marat Safin, who was a top 30 player at the time.

First Big Wins (2000–2001)

In 2000, Robredo reached the finals of the boys' singles and doubles at the Roland Garros. He won the doubles title with his partner, Marc López. He also won the boys' doubles title at the Australian Open. Later that year, he won two Challenger events, which are tournaments for rising tennis players.

In 2001, Robredo reached his first ATP semifinals at the Gold Flake Open. He made his Grand Slam debut at the 2001 Australian Open, but lost in the first round. He then reached his first ATP final at the Grand Prix Hassan II, which helped him get into the top 100 players for the first time. At the 2001 French Open, he made it to the fourth round. He then won his first ATP title at the Idea Prokom Open. At the US Open, he had a big win against world number five Juan Carlos Ferrero. He finished the year as the second youngest player in the top thirty.

Reaching Grand Slam Quarterfinals (2002–2003)

In 2002, Robredo teamed up with Arantxa Sánchez Vicario to win the Hopman Cup for Spain. He struggled a bit at the start of the year but then reached his first Masters quarterfinal at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. He also made it to the semifinals at the Hamburg Masters, where he beat the world number 2 player, Tommy Haas. He finished 2002 ranked number 30 in the world.

In 2003, Robredo had a great run at the 2003 French Open. He reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal. On his way, he beat world number 1 Lleyton Hewitt and three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten. He famously said, "I've beaten the ace, I've beaten the king. Now I need to beat the jack, don't I? If I beat Costa, I'll have beaten the entire pack of cards," before his match against Albert Costa. He finished 2003 just outside the top 20.

Winning the Davis Cup (2004)

Robredo started 2004 well, winning his first doubles title with Rafael Nadal at the Chennai Open. He also helped Spain win the Davis Cup, a big team tennis competition. He won his second ATP singles title at the Torneo Godó after a long, five-set match. He ended 2004 inside the top 20 for the first time, ranked number 13.

More Grand Slam Success (2005)

In 2005, Robredo reached his second quarterfinal at the 2005 French Open. He had a tough five-set win against Marat Safin before losing to Nikolay Davydenko. He also reached the fourth round of the US Open. He finished the year as the world number 19.

Reaching Top 5 in the World (2006)

Robredo at the Australian Open

The year 2006 was a big one for Robredo. He reached the fourth round of the 2006 Australian Open for the first time. He had a fantastic clay court season, reaching his first Masters final at the Hamburg Masters. He won the title there, which pushed him into the top 10 players in the world. He then won his second title of the year at the 2006 Swedish Open. After reaching the semifinals at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, he entered the top 5, reaching his career-high ranking of world number 5. He ended 2006 ranked number 7.

Consistent Performance (2007–2009)

Robredo reaches the quarterfinal of the Australian Open.

In 2007, Robredo reached the final of the Heineken Open, his first hardcourt final. He then made it to the quarterfinals of the 2007 Australian Open and the 2007 French Open, showing great consistency. He won two more titles that year, including his first hardcourt and indoor title at the Open de Moselle. He finished 2007 ranked world number 10.

Robredo at the 2008 Indian Wells Masters

In 2008, Robredo won his second Davis Cup title with Spain. He also won a doubles title with Rafael Nadal. He won a singles title at the 2008 Swedish Open. He reached the fourth round of the US Open for the fifth time.

Robredo at the 2009 Davis Cup match against Germany

In 2009, Robredo won two titles in South America, the Brasil Open and the Copa Telmex. He also won a doubles title at the Brasil Open. He reached his fifth French Open quarterfinal. He was part of the Spanish team that won the Davis Cup for the third time.

Later Career (2010–2014)

Tommy Robredo at Wimbledon

Robredo started 2010 by winning the Hopman Cup for Spain with his partner, María José Martínez Sánchez. This was his second Hopman Cup win. He reached the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open. He also made it to the fourth round of the US Open for the third year in a row.

Tommy Robredo at the Boodles Challenge

In 2011, Robredo won his first title in almost two years at the Movistar Open. However, he faced some injuries that made him miss tournaments, including the French Open. In 2012, he was out for five months due to a knee injury. He came back and won two Challenger titles in Italy.

Tommy Robredo at the French Open

In 2013, Robredo had a great comeback year. He won his first title in two years in Casablanca. He reached his fifth French Open quarterfinal, making history by being the first man since 1927 to win three Grand Slam matches in a row after being two sets down. He also reached his first US Open quarterfinal, where he beat Roger Federer for the first time. He won another title at the ATP Vegeta Croatia Open Umag. He was named the Spanish Tennis Writers Association player of the year.

Robredo at the 2014 Australian Open

In 2014, Robredo continued to play well, reaching the fourth round at the 2014 Australian Open, 2014 Wimbledon, and US Open.

Retirement (2021–2022)

Tommy Robredo announced that he would retire after his final tournament at the 2022 Barcelona Open in April 2022. He played his last match there, losing in the first round.

How Tommy Robredo Played Tennis

Robredo was a baseline player, meaning he mostly played from the back of the court. He was good at both attacking and defending. He was known for his strong shots from both sides. Like many Spanish players, he put a lot of spin on his forehand and single-handed backhand. This made his shots consistent and powerful. His backhand was considered one of the best one-handed backhands on the tour.

He used his strong shots to move opponents around the court and make them hit weak returns. Because of the spin on his shots, it was sometimes hard for players with one-handed backhands to return his high balls.

Robredo's first serve wasn't super fast, but it was good enough that opponents couldn't easily attack it. His second serve had a lot of spin, which made it slower but pushed his opponents far back.

One thing Robredo sometimes did was stay too defensive. Even when he had a good chance to win a point, he would sometimes stay at the baseline instead of trying to finish the point quickly. This could make it harder for him against players who were very good at turning points around.

Tommy Robredo's Life Off the Court

Tommy Robredo was named after the rock opera Tommy by the band The Who, which his father really liked.

He was sponsored by several companies for his sportswear, shoes, tennis racquets, and watches.

When he was a kid, Robredo looked up to tennis players like Stefan Edberg, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, and Andre Agassi. Among female players, he admired Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, with whom he won the Hopman Cup in 2002.

Some fans called Robredo "Disco Tommy" because of his long, wavy hair in 2006. Fans also called him "Disco Jack" because he mentioned calling his coach "President Palmer" and his coach calling him "Jack Bauer" from the TV show 24.

In 2007, Robredo started getting more attention from magazines like Men's Health and Marie Claire in Spain.

On November 16, 2019, Robredo married his longtime girlfriend, Patricia Berga Alzamora. They welcomed their first child, a girl, in 2021.

Tommy Robredo's Career Stats

Grand Slam Tournament Results

Here's how Tommy Robredo performed in the biggest tennis tournaments, the Grand Slams:

Images for kids

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  Robredo at 2013 Roland Garros

See also

In Spanish: Tommy Robredo para niños