Tommy Robredo facts for kids
Robredo at 2013 Roland Garros
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| Country (sports) |  Spain |
|---|---|
| Residence | Barcelona, Spain |
| Born | 1 May 1982 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 French Open – Men'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, better known as Tommy Robredo, was a professional tennis player from Spain. He was born on May 1, 1982. Tommy reached his highest singles ranking of world No. 5 in August 2006. This happened after he won the Hamburg Masters tournament earlier that year.
Robredo made it to the quarterfinals at seven different major tournaments in singles. He was also a semifinalist three times at the US Open in men's doubles. He also reached the semifinals at the Australian Open in mixed doubles. He became a professional player in 1998. Tommy was known for his strong forehand shot and loved playing on red clay surfaces. He is the only player in the Open Era of tennis to come back and win three matches in a row after being two sets down. He achieved this amazing feat at the 2013 French Open.
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 father, 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, Tommy joined the Spanish Tennis Federation at a special training center for professional sports. He officially became a professional tennis player in 1998.
As a junior player, Tommy won the Junior Orange Bowl for players 16 and under in both singles and doubles in 1998. In 1999, he reached the semifinals of the boys' event at the French Open. He also won his first professional tournament at a Futures-level event in singles. That same year, at his hometown tournament in Barcelona, he beat Marat Safin, who was a top-30 player at the time.
First Big Wins (2000–2001)
In 2000, Tommy Robredo reached the singles and doubles finals of the boys' event at Roland Garros. He won the doubles title with his partner, Marc López. He also won the boys' doubles title at the Australian Open. In 2001, he made it to his first ATP semifinals at the Gold Flake Open. He also played in his first Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open.
Later in 2001, Tommy reached his first ATP final at the Grand Prix Hassan II. This result helped him get into the top 100 players in the world for the first time. He then won his first Grand Slam match at the French Open. He surprisingly reached the fourth round there. At the Idea Prokom Open, he won his first ATP title. At the US Open, he achieved his first win against a top-ten player, beating world No. 5 Juan Carlos Ferrero. He finished the year as the second youngest player in the world's top thirty.
Reaching Grand Slam Quarterfinals (2002–2003)
In 2002, Tommy Robredo teamed up with Arantxa Sánchez Vicario to win the Hopman Cup for Spain. He also reached his first Masters semifinal at the Hamburg Masters. He ended 2002 ranked No. 30 in the world.
In 2003, Tommy had a big moment at the French Open. He reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal. On his way, he beat world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt and three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten. He later lost in a close five-set match. After this, Robredo entered the top 20 players in the world.
Winning the Davis Cup (2004)
Tommy Robredo started 2004 by winning his first doubles title at the Chennai Open with Rafael Nadal. He also helped Spain win the Davis Cup for the first time. He won his second ATP singles title at the Torneo Godó in Barcelona. He finished 2004 inside the top 20 for the first time, ranked No. 13.
More Quarterfinals and Top 5 Ranking (2005–2007)
In 2005, Tommy reached his second quarterfinal at the French Open. He beat world No. 4 Marat Safin in a tough five-set match.
The year 2006 was a great one for Tommy. He reached the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time. He then had a fantastic clay court season. He reached his first Masters final at the Hamburg Masters and won the title. This win pushed him into the top 10 players in the world, at No. 7. He later reached his career-high ranking of world No. 5. He also won his second title of the year at the Swedish Open. Tommy finished 2006 in the top 10, at No. 7.
In 2007, Tommy Robredo reached his first hardcourt final at the Heineken Open. He then made it to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the first time. This was his first time reaching back-to-back Grand Slam quarterfinals. He also won two more titles that year: the Orange Prokom Open and the Open de Moselle. He ended 2007 ranked World No. 10.
More Success and Injuries (2008–2012)
In 2008, Tommy won his second Davis Cup title with Spain. He also won a doubles title with Rafael Nadal. He won the singles title at the Swedish Open. He reached the fourth round of the US Open for the fifth time.
In 2009, Tommy won his third Davis Cup title with Spain. He also won two singles titles in South America: the Brasil Open and the Copa Telmex. He reached the quarterfinals of the Roland Garros again.
In 2010, Tommy started the year by winning the Hopman Cup with his partner María José Martínez Sánchez. This was his second time winning the Hopman Cup. However, he faced some challenges with injuries and his ranking dropped.
In 2011, Tommy reached the fourth round of the 2011 Australian Open. He then won his first title in almost two years at the Movistar Open. Unfortunately, a left leg injury made him miss the French Open, which ended his long streak of playing in 41 Grand Slams in a row. In 2012, he didn't play for the first five months because of a knee injury. He returned later in the year and won two Challenger titles.
A Strong Comeback (2013)
In 2013, Tommy Robredo made a great comeback. He won his first title in two years in Casablanca. He also beat world No. 6 Tomáš Berdych, which was his first win against a top-10 player in three years. He reached his fifth French Open quarterfinal. He made history by becoming the first man since 1927 to win three Grand Slam matches in a row after being two sets down.
At the US Open, he reached the fourth round for the eighth time. He then achieved a huge win by beating Roger Federer in three sets, reaching his first US Open quarterfinal. This was Federer's first loss before the quarterfinals at a hard-court Grand Slam since 2003. Tommy won his second title of the year at the ATP Vegeta Croatia Open Umag. He finished 2013 ranked world No. 18.
Later Career and Retirement (2014–2022)
In 2014, Tommy continued his strong play. He reached the fourth round at three Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open, 2014 Wimbledon, and the 2014 US Open (tennis). He finished the year in the top 20.
Tommy Robredo announced that he would retire after his final tournament at the 2022 Barcelona Open. He played his last professional match there, losing in the first round.
How Tommy Robredo Played
Tommy 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 groundstrokes, which are shots hit after the ball bounces. Like many Spanish players, he put a lot of topspin on his shots, especially his forehand and his one-handed backhand. This made his shots consistent and powerful.
His backhand was considered one of the best one-handed backhands on the tour. It was very powerful and effective in important moments. However, his slice shot (a shot with backspin) was not as strong. Because of the topspin on his shots, it was often hard for players with one-handed backhands to return his high balls.
Tommy was also very versatile. He could control points by moving his opponents around the court, forcing them to hit weak returns. He could also play defensively, using the height of his shots to give himself time to get back into position. He usually hit flatter shots only when his opponents hit weak returns.
His first serve wasn't super fast, but it was still good enough that opponents couldn't easily attack it. For his second serve, he used a lot of topspin, which made it slower but pushed his opponents further back, making it harder for them to hit strong returns.
One of Tommy's main weaknesses was that he sometimes played too defensively. Even when he had a good chance to win a point, he might not try to hit a clean winner or come to the net. Instead, he would stay at the baseline. This made him vulnerable against players who were good at turning points around, like Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic.
About Tommy's Life
Tommy Robredo was named after the rock opera Tommy by the band The Who, because his father was a big fan.
Tommy was sponsored by several companies during his career, including Sergio Tacchini for sportswear, Asics for shoes, and Wilson for tennis racquets.
When he was a child, Tommy looked up to tennis players like Stefan Edberg, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, and Andre Agassi. He also admired many Spanish tennis players. Among retired female players, he liked Arantxa Sánchez Vicario the most. Among active players, he admired Roger Federer and Justine Henin.
Some fans called Tommy "Disco Tommy" because of his long, wavy hair. Later, fans also started calling him "Disco Jack" after he mentioned that he and his coach called each other "President Palmer" and "Jack Bauer" from the TV show 24.
Tommy Robredo married his longtime girlfriend, Patricia Berga Alzamora, on November 16, 2019. Their first child, a girl, was born in 2021.
Images for kids
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Robredo at 2013 Roland Garros
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Tommy Robredo at the Australian Open in 2006.
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Tommy Robredo reached the quarterfinal of the Australian Open in 2007.
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Tommy Robredo at the 2008 Indian Wells Masters.
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Tommy Robredo playing in the 2009 Davis Cup against Germany.
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Tommy Robredo at Wimbledon in 2010.
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Tommy Robredo at the Boodles Challenge in 2011.
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Tommy Robredo at the French Open in 2013.
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Tommy Robredo at the 2014 Australian Open.
