Marcelo Andrés Ríos Mayorga (born December 26, 1975) is a former
World No. 1 tennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player from
ChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. Nicknamed
El Chino ("The Chinese") and
El zurdo de VitacuraVitacura is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It is one of the most expensive and fashionable areas of Santiago...
("The Vitacura's Lefthanded"), he became the first Latin American player to reach the top position on the
Association of Tennis ProfessionalsThe Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
(ATP) singles rankings in 1998. He held the World No. 1 ranking for six weeks. He has held the top ranking in both juniors and seniors. He was the first player to win the three clay-court
Masters SeriesThe ATP Masters Series was a series of nine tennis tournaments that formed part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America...
tournaments (Monte Carlo,
RomeThe Italian Open is an annual tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is the most prestigious red clay tennis tournament in the world after the French Open, with the men's competition being an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, and the women's...
, and
HamburgThe German Open Hamburg, established in 1892, is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Hamburg, Germany and part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour. Originally a Grand Prix Tennis Tour event between 1978 and 1989 it was part of the Grand Prix Championship...
) since the format began in 1990. He is the only male player in the open era to have been World No. 1 while never managing to win a Grand Slam singles tournament in his career. He did reach the
1998 Australian OpenPete Sampras was the defending champion, but lost to Karol Kučera in the quarterfinals.Petr Korda ended up winning the tournament, defeating Marcelo Ríos in the final to claim what would be his only Grand Slam title, and Ríos' only Grand Slam final.-Seeds:...
final, losing to
Petr KordaPetr Korda is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. He is best known for winning the Australian Open in 1998 and for testing positive for the banned substance, nandrolone, following a match at Wimbledon that same year.-Career:Korda was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia.He first...
.
He retired prematurely in 2004, after being overtaken by a back injury. He played his last ATP level tournament while only 27 years old at the
2003 French OpenThe 2003 French Open was the second Grand Slam event of 2003 and the 102nd edition of the French Open. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from May 26 through June 8, 2003.-Men's singles:...
.
Early years
Ríos began playing tennis at the age of 11 at the
Sport Francés golf club in
VitacuraVitacura is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It is one of the most expensive and fashionable areas of Santiago...
(Greater Santiago), adjacent to his house.
Juniors
In 1993. Ríos became the first male player from Latin America to be ranked world number one in juniors. That year, he won the boys' singles title at the
US OpenThe US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...
and his first satellite tournament in Chile.
1994
Ríos turned professional in 1994 and quickly began to acquire international fame after his participation at Roland Garros, where in the second round, at just 18 years of age, he confronted
Pete SamprasPete Sampras is a retired American tennis player and former world no. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles and became recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all time....
, fighting a hard battle to lose 6-7, 6-7, 4-6. His great left-handed ability, plus his novel long hair and backwards visor, drew the attention of the media, marking his first step towards international stardom. That same year he won his first challenger in
DresdenDresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, Germany.
1995
In May 1995, aged 19, Ríos won his first tournament title in
BolognaBologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
defeating
Marcelo FilippiniMarcelo Filippini is a former professional tennis player from Uruguay.In 1996, Filippini played what was longest known game in ATP Tour history at Casablanca, going to deuce 20 times with Alberto Berasategui in one game of a 6–2, 6–3 first round loss...
of
UruguayUruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
6-2, 6-4, and breaking into the world's top fifty for the first time. Then in June he won at
AmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
in both singles (against
Jan SiemerinkJohannes Martinus Siemerink is a former professional tennis player from the Netherlands.-Career:...
, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4) and doubles (with
Sjeng SchalkenSjeng Schalken is a former professional tennis player from the Netherlands.-Playing style:A right-handed baseliner with a single-handed backhand, Schalken's game is characterised by his consistency of both wings and his continental technique on both the forehand and backhand...
) and won the tournament in
Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
against
Mark PhilippoussisMark Anthony Philippoussis is an Australian tennis player. He turned professional in 1994. His father is Greek, while his mother is of Italian ancestry....
7-6, 6-2. He also reached the final of his home country's ATP tournament in
Santiago de ChileThe Movistar Open is an ATP International Series men's tennis tournament held in February 2010 in Las Condes commune, and it's played on clay. It was previously played in Viña del Mar.-History:In 1992, Brazil suspended its three ATP tournaments...
. Ríos ended the year ranked No. 25 in the world.
1996
Ríos's achievements this year included stellar performances in the
Masters SeriesThe ATP World Tour Masters 1000 is a series of nine tennis tournaments that are part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America and Asia...
(then called Super 9) tournaments. He reached the quarterfinals in
StuttgartStuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
and the
Masters SeriesThe ATP World Tour Masters 1000 is a series of nine tennis tournaments that are part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America and Asia...
of Rome, and the semifinals in
Indian WellsIndian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley , in between Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,958....
,
Monte CarloMonte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
, and Canada. In
Sankt PoltenSankt Pölten is the capital city of the State of Lower Austria in northeast Austria. With inhabitants , it is Lower Austria's largest city...
, Austria, he won his fourth career title by defeating the Spaniard
Félix MantillaFélix Mantilla Botella is a former Spanish professional tennis player, born in Barcelona. In common with many of his fellow countrymen, Mantilla's best surface is clay. While not as successful away from the clay, Mantilla also produced good hardcourt results...
6-1, 6-4. Ríos again reached the final in Santiago de Chile (where a sort of curse seemed to deny him victory in front of his home crowd), and also reached the finals in
BarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
and
ScottsdaleScottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
. For much of the year Ríos would be ranked in the top ten, becoming the first
ChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an in history to do so. He finished the year ranked number 11.
1997
In 1997 Ríos for the first time reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament at the Australia Open and again at the
US OpenThe US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...
. He also won the Super 9 tournament at
Monte CarloMonte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
; after a first round bye, he beat
Andrea GaudenziAndrea Gaudenzi is a former tennis player from Italy, who turned professional in 1990.Gaudenzi was born in Faenza, Emilia-Romagna. A right-hander, he represented his native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was defeated in the third round by America's eventual...
,
Albert CostaAlbert Costa i Casals is a former professional tennis player from Spain. He is best remembered for winning the men's singles title at the French Open in 2002.-Tennis career:...
,
Carlos MoyáCarlos Moya Llompart is a retired former world no. 1 tennis player from Spain. He was the French Open singles champion in 1998 and was the singles runner-up at the 1997 Australian Open. In 2004, he helped his country win the Davis Cup. He currently resides in Switzerland...
,
Magnus LarssonPer Henrik Magnus Larsson is a former professional tennis player from Sweden.Larsson turned professional in 1989 and won his first top-level singles title at Florence in 1990. His first doubles title was also won in Florence, in 1991.Some of the most significant highlights of Larsson's career came...
, and, in the final,
Àlex CorretjaÀlex Corretja i Verdegay is a former professional tennis player from Spain. During his career, he finished runner-up twice at the French Open . He won the ATP Tour World Championships in 1998 and reached his career-high singles ranking of world no. 2 in 1999...
, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. Two weeks later he lost in the final of the
Rome MastersThe Italian Open is an annual tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is the most prestigious red clay tennis tournament in the world after the French Open, with the men's competition being an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, and the women's...
against the same Spaniard. Other successes for the year included the quarterfinals (again) in the
Madrid MastersThere are two sporting events named the Madrid Masters:*Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open — a men's and women's tennis tournament*Madrid Masters...
and the finals in
MarseilleMarseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
,
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, and (for the third time) in
SantiagoSantiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
. Ríos went as high as No. 6 during the year, and ended the year in the top ten for the first time, being No. 10.
1998: World No.1
The year 1998 brought the peak of the career of Ríos, who reached the number 1 spot in the world. The year began with success. He won the tournament (the first of the year) in
AucklandThe Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand, against
Richard FrombergRichard James Fromberg is a former professional tennis player from Australia.Fromberg began playing tennis at the age of 10. In 1987, he reached the Australian Open Junior finals in both singles and doubles. He turned professional in 1988...
, then reached the final of the
Australian OpenThe Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
, losing to
Petr KordaPetr Korda is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. He is best known for winning the Australian Open in 1998 and for testing positive for the banned substance, nandrolone, following a match at Wimbledon that same year.-Career:Korda was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia.He first...
(who would be sanctioned by the
ATPThe Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...
in December 1998 after testing positive for
nandroloneNandrolone is an anabolic steroid that may be present naturally in the human body, albeit in minute quantities of less than 0.4 ng/ml. Nandrolone is most commonly sold commercially as its decanoate ester and less commonly as a phenylpropionate ester...
following a doping test at Wimbledon). The following months brought successes such as the title of the Super 9 (the current Masters Series) at
Indian WellsIndian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley , in between Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,958....
, where he defeated hard-serving
Greg RusedskiGregory "Greg" Rusedski is a British Canadian former tennis player who turned professional in 1991 and played until his retirement on 7 April 2007, at the age of 33...
in the final.
The consummation came in the final Super 9 at
Key BiscayneKey Biscayne is an island located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. It is the southernmost of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Florida, and lies south of Miami Beach and southeast of Miami...
, Florida, under the guidance of his coach
Larry StefankiLarry Stefanki , is an American tennis coach and former professional tennis player.-Tennis career:...
. After victories over Hendrik Dreekman,
Tommy HaasTommy Haas is a German and recently naturalized American professional tennis player. He has competed on the ATP Tour since 1996. After breaking into the world top 100 in 1997, and reaching a career-high ranking of world no...
, and
Goran IvaniševićGoran Ivanišević is a retired Croatian professional tennis player. He is best remembered for being the only person to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon as a wildcard. He achieved this in 2001, having previously been runner-up at the championships in 1992, 1994 and 1998. Ivanišević is famous...
, Ríos beat
Thomas EnqvistThomas Karl Johan Enqvist is a former professional tennis player from Sweden.He was quickly touted as the only Swede who could follow in the footsteps of Stefan Edberg and Björn Borg, and was ranked as high as No. 4 on the ATP Rankings.Enqvist was a force on the Swedish Davis Cup team...
in the quarterfinals and
Tim HenmanTimothy Henry "Tim" Henman OBE is a retired English professional tennis player and former British Number One. Henman played a serve-and-volley style of tennis that suited the grass courts of Wimbledon. He was the first player from the United Kingdom since Roger Taylor in the 1970s to reach the...
in the semis. In the final on March 29, Ríos defeated
Andre AgassiAndre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...
7-5, 6-3, 6-4. In
ChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate the triumph of the first Chilean to reach the sport's number one ranking, grabbing the position from
Pete SamprasPete Sampras is a retired American tennis player and former world no. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles and became recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all time....
(who had maintained 102 consecutive weeks at number one, and 5 years ending the season as the leader). In the days ahead, there was a crowded reception leading Ríos to former president
Eduardo FreiEduardo Alfredo Juan Bernardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle is a Chilean politician and civil engineer who was President of Chile from 1994 to 2000. He is currently Senator for Los Ríos and was President of the Senate from 2006 to 2008. He attempted a comeback as the candidate of the ruling Concertación...
on the balcony of La Moneda, with ten thousand people cheering outside the palace. Ríos's number one ranking lasted four weeks; he lost it after being unable to defend the title at Monte Carlo because of an injury suffered in the
Davis CupThe Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
while defeating
Hernán GumyHernán Gumy is a former tennis player from Argentina, who turned professional in 1991. He represented his native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was defeated in the first round by Venezuela's Nicolas Pereira. Gumy made two finals in his career; both of them ATP...
in
Buenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
,
ArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. On August 10, however, Ríos recovered the number one spot for another two weeks. During this extraordinary season Marcelo also won the Rome Masters against
Albert CostaAlbert Costa i Casals is a former professional tennis player from Spain. He is best remembered for winning the men's singles title at the French Open in 2002.-Tennis career:...
in the final, Saint Poelten beating Vincent Spadea, the
Grand Slam CupThe Grand Slam Cup was a tennis tournament held annually at the Olympiahalle in Munich in Germany from 1990 through 1999. The event was organized by the International Tennis Federation , which invited the best-performing players in the year's Grand Slam events to compete in the Grand Slam Cup.The...
against
Andre AgassiAndre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...
, and
SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
against
Mark WoodfordeMark Woodforde is a former professional tennis player from Australia. He is best known as one half of "The Woodies", a doubles partnership with Todd Woodbridge....
. Furthermore, he reached the quarterfinals in the
MadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and Paris Masters. The year 1998 was a milestone in the career of Marcelo and the sports history of
ChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
. Ríos won 7 titles, including 3 Masters Series, and reached the final of the Australian Open. On July 27 of that year, he reached the maximum number of points achieved throughout his career: 3719 (by the scoring system used prior to the year 2000). He ended the year ranked No. 2 behind Pete Sampras, who topped the world rankings for a sixth consecutive year.
1999
Ríos maintained a high level throughout 1999, although his game was interrupted by repeated injuries and surgeries. This prevented him from defending the points achieved by reaching the final of the Australian Open the previous year, so he fell several positions in the rankings. He reached the final of the
Monte CarloMonte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco....
Masters, but after trailing 4-6, 1-2, had to retire due to a new injury, awarding the tournament to
Gustavo KuertenGustavo Kuerten is a retired former World No. 1 tennis player from Brazil. He won the French Open three times between 1997 and 2001, and was the Tennis Masters Cup champion in 2000...
. Ríos subsequently won the
Hamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
Masters in a match that lasted more than four hours against
Mariano ZabaletaMariano Zabaleta is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. He turned professional in 1996. He had an unusual but effective service motion and fighting spirit...
; 2 weeks later he became champion in
Sankt PöltenSankt Pölten is the capital city of the State of Lower Austria in northeast Austria. With inhabitants , it is Lower Austria's largest city...
for the third consecutive time. In October, he won at
SingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and reached the final in
BeijingBeijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, losing to the Swede
Magnus NormanMagnus Norman is a retired Swedish professional tennis player who is best known for being the runner-up at the French Open in 2000 and for briefly being ranked World Number 2. He won 12 singles titles, including a Tennis Masters Series tournament in Rome, Italy.Norman reached his career high...
. He also reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and the Madrid Masters. Despite the many injuries and surgeries he suffered, Ríos would complete his third consecutive year as a Top Ten player, at the No. 9 world ranking.
2000
This year was marked by repeated and disabling injuries that would prevent Ríos from staying among the top players in the world. He won the tournament of
UmagUmag is a coastal city in Istria, Croatia.The city hosts the yearly Croatia Open ATP tennis tournament on clay courts.-Geography:It is the westernmost city of Croatia, and the municipality includes Savudrija which is westernmost point of Croatia....
,
CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
beating the
ArgentineArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
Mariano PuertaMariano Ruben Puerta is a former Argentine professional male tennis player best known for making the final of the French Open in 2005, where he lost to Rafael Nadal in four sets.-Career:...
in the final. Ríos also reached the semifinals at the
Hamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
Masters losing to
Marat SafinMarat Mikhailovich Safin is a retired Russian tennis player of Tatar descent. Safin won two grand slams and reached the world number 1 ranking during his career. He was also famous for his emotional outbursts and sometimes fiery temper on court. Safin also holds the record for most broken...
, one of the new stars of the circuit. Ríos finished the year No. 37 in the world.
2001
In 2001 Ríos won the first tournament of the year in
DohaDoha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
. However, his performance in the following tournaments was weaker, weakened by an ankle operation, which resulted him to drop out of the top 50 in the world for the first time since he was a teenager. In September Ríos won another title, this time in
Hong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, defeating
GermanThe Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
Rainer SchüttlerRainer Schüttler is a German professional tennis player, ranked World No. 113 in the ATP rankings. He is the last German player who reached a final in a grand slam tournament....
in the final. Ríos decided to return in October to play a
ChallengerThe ATP Challenger Tour, known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series, is a series of international men's professional tennis tournaments...
tournament, winning the final of
SantiagoSantiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
beating the Argentine
Edgardo MassaEdgardo Massa is a former tennis player from Argentina, who turned professional in 1998. Massa plays right-handed, and uses a single-handed backhand.-Career:...
in the final. Also reached a doubles final in
ScottsdaleScottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
. Ríos ended the year as No.39 in the world.
2002
In early 2002 he had some good results, but a back injury prevented him from continuing the season successfully. It was the same injury that he had had two operations with already, and finally prevented him from returning to a competitive level. His best results were the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, the semifinal at the Miami Masters, and the final in the
StockholmStockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
tournament playing the Thai
Paradorn SrichaphanParadorn Srichaphan is a retired professional tennis player from Thailand. He is the highest ranked men's singles player from Thailand and Asia in history, reaching a career high World No. 9. His nickname is "Ball".-Career:...
. Ríos would again finish among the 25 best players in the world in position No. 24, but without managing to recover from injuries that beset him since late 1999.
2003
In
Viña del MarThe Movistar Open is an ATP International Series men's tennis tournament held in February 2010 in Las Condes commune, and it's played on clay. It was previously played in Viña del Mar.-History:In 1992, Brazil suspended its three ATP tournaments...
tournament (formerly Santiago tournament) Ríos reached the final, losing to Spaniard David Sánchez, losing the fourth of four finals he participated in his home country. However, representing Chile together with
Fernando González----Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina and Mano de Piedra...
and
Nicolás MassúNicolás Alejandro Massú Fried , nicknamed Vampiro , is a Chilean tennis player, a former world number nine in singles, and a two-time Olympic gold medalist...
, he won the
World Team CupThe World Team Cup is the international team championship of the Association of Tennis Professionals . The tournament has been contested annually since 1978 and is generally considered to be second most prestigious men's team competition in tennis after the Davis Cup.Every year, the eight nations...
in
DüsseldorfDüsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
. The same year he also won silver medals in singles and doubles alongside
Adrián GarcíaAdrián Alonso García Sobarzo is a Chilean tennis player.García was born in Concepción, Chile. On September 13, 2004, he achieved a career-high singles ranking of 103.-Source:* ATP Tour profile for...
in the
2003 Pan American GamesThe 14th Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from 1 to 17 August 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when this country had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America....
. In May Ríos played his last ATP-level match, losing in the first round at Roland Garros to
Mario AnčićMario Ančić is a retired Croatian professional tennis player. He won three singles titles and five doubles titles. His highest international ranking came during the 2006 ATP Tour, when he reached no. 7 in singles...
after withdrawing at 1-6 0-1. In 2003 Ríos played very few tournaments, in most of which he had to withdraw. This resulted in ending the year only as No. 105 in the world.
Tour retirement
In 2004, six years after claiming the World No. 1 ranking, and after a long absence from the tour, Ríos returned to competition with a 6–0, 6–0 victory at a Challenger Series tournament in
EcuadorEcuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. He played his last competitive match in early April 2004 at a challenger in
San Luis PotosíSan Luis Potosí officially Estado Libre y Soberano de San Luis Potosí is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is San Luis Potosí....
, Mexico, where he retired in the round of 16.
Finally, on July 16, 2004, after years of constant injuries and back discomfort—and at just 28 years old—Rios announced his retirement from tennis during a press conference in Santiago. He organized a farewell tour across his home country, travelling through several cities, meeting with fans, offering tennis clinics, and playing friendly matches with international and local tennis players such as Petr Korda and Goran Ivanišević. The tour ended on December 22, 2004, at a soccer stadium in Santiago, where he played his final tennis match against
Guillermo CoriaGuillermo Sebastián Coria , nicknames include El Mago , is a retired professional tennis player from Argentina who was runner-up in the 2004 French Open...
of
ArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
.
Ríos intended to return to ATP competition in February 2007 at the
Viña del MarViña del Mar , is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Its long stretches of white sandy beaches are a major attraction for national and international tourists. The city is Chile's main tourist attraction. Known as "La Ciudad Jardín" , Viña del Mar is a Chilean Municipality located...
tournament (
Movistar OpenThe Movistar Open is an ATP International Series men's tennis tournament held in February 2010 in Las Condes commune, and it's played on clay. It was previously played in Viña del Mar.-History:In 1992, Brazil suspended its three ATP tournaments...
); however, he retired because of the same back injury that made him retire from the tour.
On March 30, 2007, Ríos played an exhibition match in the Movistar Arena against
Andre AgassiAndre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...
, both as a way to commemorate the match where Ríos rose to World No. 1 and as a way of having the American play in Chile. On June 24, 2008, Ríos defeated
Pete SamprasPete Sampras is a retired American tennis player and former world no. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles and became recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all time....
in an exhibition match that commemorated the ten years anniversary of having reached the Number 1 ranking in the world.
Champions Tour
On March 29, 2006, Ríos, aged 30, debuted on the ATP Champions Tour, a tour for former tour players. At his first tournament on the tour in
DohaDoha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
,
QatarQatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
, he defeated
Thomas MusterThomas Muster is a former world no. 1 tennis player from Austria. One of the world's leading clay court players in the 1990s, Muster won the 1995 French Open and at his peak was known as "The King of Clay." In addition, he won eight Masters 1000 series titles, placing him sixth on the all-time list...
,
Henri LeconteHenri Leconte is a former French professional tennis player. He reached the men's singles final at the French Open in 1988, won the French Open men's doubles title in 1984, and helped France win the Davis Cup in 1991.-Biography and career:...
,
Pat CashPatrick Hart "Pat" Cash is a retired Australian professional tennis player who won the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 1987.-Early career:...
, and
Cédric PiolineCédric Pioline is a retired French professional tennis player who played on the professional tour from 1989 to 2002. He reached the men's singles final at the 1993 US Open and at Wimbledon in 1997...
to claim the title. The following week he repeated, this time winning the crown in
Hong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, where he won the final before an also former world No. 1
Thomas MusterThomas Muster is a former world no. 1 tennis player from Austria. One of the world's leading clay court players in the 1990s, Muster won the 1995 French Open and at his peak was known as "The King of Clay." In addition, he won eight Masters 1000 series titles, placing him sixth on the all-time list...
. Rios won six tournaments in a row, adding
Algarve GrazThe more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
, Paris and
Eindhoven to the above. His inclusion on the senior circuit caused mild controversy, as he was significantly younger than many of his fellow competitors. He ended the year as number one, winning a total of six tournaments and holding a winning streak of 25 matches, achieving the record of being the only player in history to be No. 1 in the world as a junior, professional and veteran.
In 2008 Ríos came back to veteran's tour where he won the tournaments in
BarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
and
Algarve. On June 22, 2008, he was defeated by
Pete SamprasPete Sampras is a retired American tennis player and former world no. 1. During his 15-year tour career, he won 14 Grand Slam singles titles and became recognized as one of the greatest tennis players of all time....
in the final of a seniors tournament in São Paulo, Brazil. Ríos ended the year as No.3 in the veteran's world rankings.
Personal life
Ríos was born in Santiago, Chile to Jorge Ríos Jarvis, an engineer and businessman, and Alicia Mayorga, a teacher. He has an older sister, Paula.
Ríos had a girlfriend named Patricia Larraín, between 1996 and 1998.
Ríos met Costa Rican, Giuliana Sotela, in September 1998 while he was training at the
Nick Bollettieri Tennis AcademyThe Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy is located in Bradenton, Florida, and was founded in 1978 by Nick Bollettieri as a full-time tennis boarding school that combines intensive tennis training with an academic curriculum....
in
FloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Ríos and Sotela got married in December 2000, in Santiago. They have a daughter, Constanza, who was born in June 2001. In March 2004, the marriage ended in
divorceDivorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
, which legally took place in Costa Rica, as Chile did not allow married couples the right of
divorceDivorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
until November 2004. During 2004, Ríos worked as a sports commentator for a radio station in Chile.
In April 2005, Ríos married model, María Eugenia "Kenita" Larraín, a former fiancée of football player
Iván ZamoranoIván Luis Zamorano Zamora is a retired Chilean football striker. Along with former world-class forward Marcelo Salas and former world player of the year Elias Figueroa he is regarded as one of Chile's most recognized footballers.He was a member of the Chilean national team and played in the 1998...
. The couple subsequently experienced a very public break-up in September of the same year after an incident in
Costa RicaCosta Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
in which Larraín was injured when Ríos allegedly threw her out of his car while he was driving to visit his daughter. Ríos claimed that marrying Larraín was "the biggest mistake of my life."
In May 2009, Ríos married Paula Pavic. They have two daughters together, Isidora (born December 2008) and Colomba (born 2010).
In November 2011, an English language book was published by Mark 'Scoop' Malinowski about Rios titled, 'Marcelo Rios: The Man We Barely Knew.'
Controversies
Ríos' career has been marked by a number of controversies.
- After achieving the number one in singles, an Argentine reporter ask him what it felt like to be at the same status as Guillermo Vilas
Guillermo Apolinario Vilas is a retired and former World No. 2 professional tennis player from Argentina. He was the second Latin-American to win a Grand Slam tournament.-Career:...
; he answered "Vilas was No. 2 and I'm No. 1."
- He was fined US$10,000 for speeding during the 1998 Stuttgart tournament.
- In a confusing incident, he ran over his physical trainer, Manuel Astorga, with his jeep, leaving him gravely injured at the foot. Astorga was later fired as trainer.
- After a magazine published some photos of him dancing seductively with a woman at a Paris disco, his girlfriend (later to be his first wife), Giuliana Sotela, broke up with him. During a Davis Cup press conference, Ríos read a letter, asking Sotela for forgiveness. He ended the press conference in tears.
- He was accused by his second wife, María Eugenia Larraín, of throwing her out of his car while driving to visit his daughter in Costa Rica. Larraín arrived to Santiago's airport in dramatic fashion, in a wheelchair and showing multiple bruises on her legs. He claimed those bruises were caused by falling while skiing.
- He was arrested in Rome in 2001 after he punched a taxi driver in the nose and then had a fight with the policemen arresting him.
- In 2003, while training for a Davis Cup tie with Ecuador, he allegedly urinated on some men in a La Serena bar's bathroom and was later expelled from his hotel after being accused of swimming nude. As a consequence, the Chilean team missed a flight to Ecuador the following day. He later apologized for the incidents.
- In 2003, he and a friend were expelled from a Santiago bar after insulting other clients and being involved in a brawl with some waiters. Both were arrested and later released.
- He reportedly told Monica Seles
Monica Seles is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player and a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She was born in Novi Sad, Serbia, former Yugoslavia to Hungarian parents. She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1994 and also received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007...
to move her "fat ass" while on a lunch queue, but he has denied this.
- During the 1997 Wimbledon tournament
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
he commented that grass was for "cows and soccer" and not suitable for tennis play.
- He was disqualified from the 2000 Mercedes-Benz Cup tennis tournament in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
during a first round match with Gouichi Motomurais a retired Challenger tour and Japan Davis Cup team tennis player. Over a 16-year period, Motomura captured four Challenger titles, all in doubles, and is tied for the most Davis Cup ties played by a Japanese player, with 23. His career high singles ranking is World No. 134 and doubles ranking is...
of Japan and fined US$5,000 for saying "fuck you" to the chair umpireIn tennis, an official is a person who ensures that a match or tournament is conducted according to the International Tennis Federation Rules of Tennis and other competition regulations....
.
- During a post-match interview at the Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
tournament, he insulted a journalist under his breath after she asked him whether he had Native American ancestry.
- He tried to moon
Mooning is the act of displaying one's bare buttocks by removing clothing, e.g., by lowering the backside of one's trousers and underpants, usually bending over, whether also exposing the genitals or not...
some reporters who were recording him while partying outside his apartment in Reñaca.
- He fired his coach Larry Stefanki
Larry Stefanki , is an American tennis coach and former professional tennis player.-Tennis career:...
shortly after he became World No. 1, claiming that he wanted to go in a different direction.
- He won the Prix Citron 'award' several different years (many in a row) for being the most disagreeable player on tour.
Singles: 31 (18-13)
Wins (18)
EWLINE
| Legend |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Tennis Masters Cup (0) |
| Grand Slam Cup (1) |
| ATP Masters Series (5) |
| ATP International Series Gold (2) |
| ATP International series (10) |
|
| Titles by Surface |
| Hard (7) |
| Clay (9) |
| Grass (0) |
| Carpet (2) |
|
| No. |
Date |
Tournament |
Surface |
Opponent in the final |
Score in the final |
| 1. |
May 28, 1995 |
Bologna The Bologna Outdoor is a defunct Grand Prix and ATP affiliated tennis tournament played from 1985 to 1998. It was held in Bologna in Italy and held on outdoor clay courts.-Singles:-Doubles:-External links:*...
, Italy |
Clay |
 Uruguay Marcelo FilippiniMarcelo Filippini is a former professional tennis player from Uruguay.In 1996, Filippini played what was longest known game in ATP Tour history at Casablanca, going to deuce 20 times with Alberto Berasategui in one game of a 6–2, 6–3 first round loss...
|
6–2, 6–4 |
| 2. |
July 30, 1995 |
Amsterdam, Netherlands |
Clay |
 Netherlands Jan SiemerinkJohannes Martinus Siemerink is a former professional tennis player from the Netherlands.-Career:...
|
6–4, 7–5, 6–4 |
| 3. |
October 8, 1995 |
Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Malaysia |
Carpet (i) |
 Australia Mark PhilippoussisMark Anthony Philippoussis is an Australian tennis player. He turned professional in 1994. His father is Greek, while his mother is of Italian ancestry....
|
7–6(6), 6–2 |
| 4. |
May 26, 1996 |
Sankt Pölten The Hypo Group Tennis International was an annual tennis tournament held in Pörtschach, Austria. The event was part of the ATP Tour's ATP International Series. The tournament had been held since 1981, on clay courts.-List of singles winners:...
, Austria |
Clay |
 Spain Fèlix MantillaFélix Mantilla Botella is a former Spanish professional tennis player, born in Barcelona. In common with many of his fellow countrymen, Mantilla's best surface is clay. While not as successful away from the clay, Mantilla also produced good hardcourt results...
|
6–2, 6–4 |
| 5. |
April 27, 1997 |
Monte Carlo, MonacoMonaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
|
Clay |
Spain Àlex Corretja Àlex Corretja i Verdegay is a former professional tennis player from Spain. During his career, he finished runner-up twice at the French Open . He won the ATP Tour World Championships in 1998 and reached his career-high singles ranking of world no. 2 in 1999...
|
6–4, 6–3, 6–3 |
| 6. |
January 18, 1998 |
Auckland, New Zealand |
Hard |
Australia Richard Fromberg Richard James Fromberg is a former professional tennis player from Australia.Fromberg began playing tennis at the age of 10. In 1987, he reached the Australian Open Junior finals in both singles and doubles. He turned professional in 1988...
|
4–6, 6–4, 7–6(3) |
| 7. |
March 15, 1998 |
Indian Wells The Indian Wells Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California....
, USA |
Hard |
 United Kingdom Greg RusedskiGregory "Greg" Rusedski is a British Canadian former tennis player who turned professional in 1991 and played until his retirement on 7 April 2007, at the age of 33...
|
6–3, 6–7(15), 7–6(4), 6–4 |
| 8. |
March 29, 1998 |
Miami The Miami Masters is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held in Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida. It is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the men's tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the women's tour and is played on hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park...
, USA |
Hard |
 United States Andre AgassiAndre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...
|
7–5, 6–3, 6–4 |
| 9. |
May 17, 1998 |
Rome The Italian Open is an annual tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is the most prestigious red clay tennis tournament in the world after the French Open, with the men's competition being an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, and the women's...
, Italy |
Clay |
Spain Albert CostaAlbert Costa i Casals is a former professional tennis player from Spain. He is best remembered for winning the men's singles title at the French Open in 2002.-Tennis career:...
|
walkover |
| 10. |
May 24, 1998 |
Sankt Pölten, Austria |
Clay |
United States Vincent Spadea |
6–2, 6–0 |
| 11. |
October 5, 1998 |
Grand Slam Cup The Grand Slam Cup was a tennis tournament held annually at the Olympiahalle in Munich in Germany from 1990 through 1999. The event was organized by the International Tennis Federation , which invited the best-performing players in the year's Grand Slam events to compete in the Grand Slam Cup.The...
, MunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany |
Hard (i) |
United States Andre AgassiAndre Kirk Agassi is a retired American professional tennis player and former world no. 1. Generally considered by critics and fellow players to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, Agassi has been called the best service returner in the history of the game...
|
6–4, 2–6, 7–6(1), 5–7, 6–3 |
| 12. |
October 18, 1998 |
Singapore The WTA Singapore Open is a defunct WTA Tour affiliated tennis tournament played from 1986 to 1994. It was held at the National Stadium in Singapore. The tournament was held on indoor hard courts in 1986 and on outdoor hard courts from 1987 to 1994.-Singles:...
|
Carpet (i) |
Australia Mark Woodforde Mark Woodforde is a former professional tennis player from Australia. He is best known as one half of "The Woodies", a doubles partnership with Todd Woodbridge....
|
6–4, 6–2 |
| 13. |
May 9, 1999 |
Hamburg The German Open Hamburg, established in 1892, is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Hamburg, Germany and part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour. Originally a Grand Prix Tennis Tour event between 1978 and 1989 it was part of the Grand Prix Championship...
, Germany |
Clay |
 Argentina Mariano ZabaletaMariano Zabaleta is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. He turned professional in 1996. He had an unusual but effective service motion and fighting spirit...
|
6–7(5), 7–5, 5–7, 7–6(5), 6–2 |
| 14. |
May 23, 1999 |
Sankt Pölten, Austria |
Clay |
Argentina Mariano ZabaletaMariano Zabaleta is a retired professional male tennis player from Argentina. He turned professional in 1996. He had an unusual but effective service motion and fighting spirit...
|
4–4, retired |
| 15. |
October 17, 1999 |
Singapore |
Hard (i) |
 Sweden Mikael Tillström |
6–2, 7–6(5) |
| 16. |
July 23, 2000 |
Umag, CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
|
Clay |
Argentina Mariano Puerta Mariano Ruben Puerta is a former Argentine professional male tennis player best known for making the final of the French Open in 2005, where he lost to Rafael Nadal in four sets.-Career:...
|
7–6(1), 4–6, 6–3 |
| 17. |
January 7, 2001 |
Doha, QatarQatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
|
Hard |
 Czech Republic Bohdan UlihrachBohdan Ulihrach is a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic.-Career:Ulihrach turned professional in 1993. He won his first top-level singles title in July 1995 at Prague, where he defeated Javier Sánchez in the final...
|
6–3, 2–6, 6–3 |
| 18. |
September 30, 2001 |
Hong Kong The Hong Kong Open is a defunct tennis tournament that was held in Hong Kong on the Grand Prix tour from and the ATP Tour from...
, China |
Hard |
 Germany Rainer SchüttlerRainer Schüttler is a German professional tennis player, ranked World No. 113 in the ATP rankings. He is the last German player who reached a final in a grand slam tournament....
|
7–6(3), 6–2 |
Runners-ups (13)
| No. |
Date |
Tournament |
Surface |
Opponent in the final |
Score in the final |
| 1. |
October 29, 1995 |
Santiago The Movistar Open is an ATP International Series men's tennis tournament held in February 2010 in Las Condes commune, and it's played on clay. It was previously played in Viña del Mar.-History:In 1992, Brazil suspended its three ATP tournaments...
, ChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
|
Clay |
Czech Republic Sláva Doseděl |
7–6(3), 6–3 |
| 2. |
March 10, 1996 |
Scottsdale The Tennis Channel Open was a tennis tournament on the ATP International Series which was held for the first time in Las Vegas, Nevada from February 27 to March 5, 2006. In the men's singles final, James Blake defeated Lleyton Hewitt 7–5, 2–6, 6–3...
, USA |
Hard |
 South Africa Wayne FerreiraWayne Richard Ferreira is a former tennis player from South Africa. He attended Parktown Boys' High School....
|
2–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
| 3. |
April 21, 1996 |
Barcelona The Barcelona Open also known as Torneo Godó, Trofeo Conde de Godó, Open Banco Sabadell, is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players. The event has been held annually in Barcelona, Spain since 1953, and is played on clay courts. Originally an event of the Grand Prix tennis circuit...
, Spain |
Clay |
 Austria Thomas MusterThomas Muster is a former world no. 1 tennis player from Austria. One of the world's leading clay court players in the 1990s, Muster won the 1995 French Open and at his peak was known as "The King of Clay." In addition, he won eight Masters 1000 series titles, placing him sixth on the all-time list...
|
6–3, 4–6, 6–4, 6–1 |
| 4. |
November 10, 1996 |
Santiago The Movistar Open is an ATP International Series men's tennis tournament held in February 2010 in Las Condes commune, and it's played on clay. It was previously played in Viña del Mar.-History:In 1992, Brazil suspended its three ATP tournaments...
, Chile |
Clay |
Argentina Hernán Gumy Hernán Gumy is a former tennis player from Argentina, who turned professional in 1991. He represented his native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was defeated in the first round by Venezuela's Nicolas Pereira. Gumy made two finals in his career; both of them ATP...
|
6–4, 7–5 |
| 5. |
February 16, 1997 |
Marseille, France |
Hard (i) |
Sweden Thomas Enqvist Thomas Karl Johan Enqvist is a former professional tennis player from Sweden.He was quickly touted as the only Swede who could follow in the footsteps of Stefan Edberg and Björn Borg, and was ranked as high as No. 4 on the ATP Rankings.Enqvist was a force on the Swedish Davis Cup team...
|
6–4, 1–0, retired |
| 6. |
May 18, 1997 |
Rome The Italian Open is an annual tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is the most prestigious red clay tennis tournament in the world after the French Open, with the men's competition being an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, and the women's...
, Italy |
Clay |
Spain Àlex Corretja Àlex Corretja i Verdegay is a former professional tennis player from Spain. During his career, he finished runner-up twice at the French Open . He won the ATP Tour World Championships in 1998 and reached his career-high singles ranking of world no. 2 in 1999...
|
7–5, 7–5, 6–3 |
| 7. |
August 24, 1997 |
Boston The U.S. Pro Tennis Championships was the oldest professional tennis tournament played until its final year of 1999 and is considered as a part of the professional grand slam from 1927 - 1967 until the advent of Open Era...
, USA |
Hard |
Netherlands Sjeng Schalken Sjeng Schalken is a former professional tennis player from the Netherlands.-Playing style:A right-handed baseliner with a single-handed backhand, Schalken's game is characterised by his consistency of both wings and his continental technique on both the forehand and backhand...
|
7–5, 6–3 |
| 8. |
November 9, 1997 |
Santiago The Movistar Open is an ATP International Series men's tennis tournament held in February 2010 in Las Condes commune, and it's played on clay. It was previously played in Viña del Mar.-History:In 1992, Brazil suspended its three ATP tournaments...
, Chile |
Clay |
Spain Julián Alonso Julián Alonso Pintor is a retired tennis player from Catalonia, Spain, who turned professional in 1996 and retired five years later....
|
6–2, 6–1 |
| 9. |
February 1, 1998 |
Australian OpenThe Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
, MelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia |
Hard |
Czech Republic Petr Korda Petr Korda is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. He is best known for winning the Australian Open in 1998 and for testing positive for the banned substance, nandrolone, following a match at Wimbledon that same year.-Career:Korda was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia.He first...
|
6–2, 6–2, 6–2 |
| 10. |
April 25, 1999 |
Monte Carlo, MonacoMonaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
|
Clay |
 Brazil Gustavo KuertenGustavo Kuerten is a retired former World No. 1 tennis player from Brazil. He won the French Open three times between 1997 and 2001, and was the Tennis Masters Cup champion in 2000...
|
6–4, 2–1, retired |
| 11. |
October 10, 1999 |
Shanghai, ChinaChina , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
|
Hard |
Sweden Magnus Norman Magnus Norman is a retired Swedish professional tennis player who is best known for being the runner-up at the French Open in 2000 and for briefly being ranked World Number 2. He won 12 singles titles, including a Tennis Masters Series tournament in Rome, Italy.Norman reached his career high...
|
2–6, 6–3, 7–5 |
| 12. |
October 27, 2002 |
Stockholm The If Stockholm Open is a tennis event on the ATP Tour held in Stockholm, Sweden in the end of October or beginning of November each year. The organizer of the tournament is The Royal Lawn Tennis Club of Stockholm....
, Sweden |
Hard (i) |
 Thailand Paradorn SrichaphanParadorn Srichaphan is a retired professional tennis player from Thailand. He is the highest ranked men's singles player from Thailand and Asia in history, reaching a career high World No. 9. His nickname is "Ball".-Career:...
|
6–7(2), 6–0, 6–3, 6–2 |
| 13. |
February 16, 2003 |
Viña del Mar The Movistar Open is an ATP International Series men's tennis tournament held in February 2010 in Las Condes commune, and it's played on clay. It was previously played in Viña del Mar.-History:In 1992, Brazil suspended its three ATP tournaments...
, Chile |
Clay |
Spain David Sánchez |
1–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
Doubles: 2 (1-1)
Win (1)
| No. |
Date |
Tournament |
Surface |
Partner |
Opponent in the final |
Score in the final |
| 1. |
July 30, 1995 |
Amsterdam, Netherlands |
Clay |
Netherlands Sjeng Schalken Sjeng Schalken is a former professional tennis player from the Netherlands.-Playing style:A right-handed baseliner with a single-handed backhand, Schalken's game is characterised by his consistency of both wings and his continental technique on both the forehand and backhand...
|
Australia Wayne Arthurs
United Kingdom Neil BroadNeil Broad is a tennis player who represented Great Britain for most of his playing career. He won 7 ATP tour doubles titles in his career, and won the Silver Medal in doubles at the 1996 Summer Olympics....
|
7–6, 6–2 |
Runner-up (1)
| No. |
Date |
Tournament |
Surface |
Partner |
Opponent in the final |
Score in the final |
| 1. |
March 11, 2001 |
Scottsdale The Tennis Channel Open was a tennis tournament on the ATP International Series which was held for the first time in Las Vegas, Nevada from February 27 to March 5, 2006. In the men's singles final, James Blake defeated Lleyton Hewitt 7–5, 2–6, 6–3...
, USA |
Hard |
Netherlands Sjeng Schalken Sjeng Schalken is a former professional tennis player from the Netherlands.-Playing style:A right-handed baseliner with a single-handed backhand, Schalken's game is characterised by his consistency of both wings and his continental technique on both the forehand and backhand...
|
United States Donald Johnson ----Donald James "Don" Johnson is a former professional tennis player from the United States who reached the World No. 1 doubles ranking in 2002. Although born in Bethlehem, PA he was raised and learned the sport of tennis in the Pittsburgh suburb of Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania...
United States Jared PalmerJared Eiseley Palmer is a professional tennis player who won 28 professional doubles titles and one singles title in his career on the ATP Tour. He also won four double titles on the challenger's circuit...
|
7–6(3), 6–2 |
Team competition wins
- May 25, 2003: World Team Championship
The World Team Cup is the international team championship of the Association of Tennis Professionals . The tournament has been contested annually since 1978 and is generally considered to be second most prestigious men's team competition in tennis after the Davis Cup.Every year, the eight nations...
, DüsseldorfDüsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, Germany (Clay)
Other wins
- August 2003: Men's Singles, Silver medal, Pan American Games
The 14th Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from 1 to 17 August 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when this country had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America....
, Santo DomingoSanto Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
, Dominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
- August 2003: Men's Doubles, Silver medal, Pan American Games
The 14th Pan American Games were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from 1 to 17 August 2003. The successful bid for the games was made in the mid-1990s, when this country had one of the highest growth rates in Latin America....
, Santo DomingoSanto Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
, Dominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
Singles performance timeline
| Tournament | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | |Career SR | |Career W-L | |Win % |
| Grand Slams The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
|
|
Australian OpenThe Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
|
A |
A |
A |
1R |
QF |
F |
A |
A |
1R |
QF |
A |
0 / 5 |
14–5 |
73.68 |
| French Open |
A |
2R |
2R |
4R |
4R |
QF |
QF |
1R |
2R |
A |
1R |
0 / 9 |
17–9 |
65.38 |
| Wimbledon |
A |
A |
1R |
A |
4R |
1R |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
0 / 3 |
3–3 |
50.00 |
US OpenThe US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...
|
A |
2R |
1R |
2R |
QF |
3R |
4R |
3R |
3R |
3R |
A |
0 / 9 |
17–9 |
65.38 |
| Grand Slam W-L |
0–0 |
2–2 |
1–3 |
4–3 |
14–4 |
12–4 |
7–2 |
2–2 |
3–3 |
6–2 |
0–1 |
0 / 26 |
51–26 |
66.23 |
| ATP Masters Series The ATP Masters Series was a series of nine tennis tournaments that formed part of the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, held annually throughout the year in Europe, North America...
|
|
| Indian Wells The Indian Wells Masters is an annual tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California....
|
A |
A |
3R |
SF |
2R |
W |
3R |
2R |
1R |
3R |
2R |
1 / 9 |
16–8 |
66.67 |
| Miami The Miami Masters is an annual tennis tournament for men and women held in Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida. It is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the men's tour and a Premier Mandatory event on the women's tour and is played on hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park...
|
A |
A |
3R |
3R |
3R |
W |
4R |
4R |
2R |
SF |
4R |
1 / 9 |
20–7 |
74.07 |
| Monte Carlo |
A |
A |
LQ |
SF |
W |
A |
F |
1R |
2R |
3R |
A |
1 / 6 |
16–4 |
80.00 |
| Rome The Italian Open is an annual tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is the most prestigious red clay tennis tournament in the world after the French Open, with the men's competition being an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, and the women's...
|
A |
A |
2R |
QF |
F |
W |
1R |
1R |
2R |
A |
A |
1 / 7 |
15–6 |
71.43 |
| Hamburg The German Open Hamburg, established in 1892, is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Hamburg, Germany and part of the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour. Originally a Grand Prix Tennis Tour event between 1978 and 1989 it was part of the Grand Prix Championship...
|
A |
A |
A |
SF |
3R |
2R |
W |
SF |
2R |
A |
A |
1 / 6 |
14–5 |
73.68 |
CanadaThe Canada Masters , currently sponsored as the Rogers Cup, is an annual tennis tournament held in Canada. The men's competition is a Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour. The women's competition is a Premier 5 tournament on the Women's Tennis Association tour...
|
A |
A |
A |
SF |
A |
A |
A |
3R |
A |
3R |
A |
0 / 3 |
7–3 |
70.00 |
CincinnatiThe Cincinnati Open is an annual outdoor hardcourts tennis event held in the Cincinnati suburb of Mason, Ohio, USA. The event started on September 18, 1899 and is the oldest tennis tournament in the United States played in its original city., Between...
|
A |
A |
1R |
A |
3R |
2R |
A |
2R |
A |
2R |
A |
0 / 5 |
4–5 |
44.44 |
| Madrid (Stuttgart) There are two sporting events named the Madrid Masters:*Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open — a men's and women's tennis tournament*Madrid Masters...
|
A |
A |
A |
QF |
QF |
QF |
QF |
A |
3R |
2R |
A |
0 / 6 |
11–5 |
68.75 |
| Paris The Paris Masters is an annual tennis tournament for male professional players held in Paris, France. It is played indoors at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy. The event is part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 on the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour...
|
A |
A |
A |
2R |
2R |
QF |
2R |
A |
A |
1R |
A |
0 / 5 |
2–5 |
28.57 |
| Masters W-L |
0–0 |
0–0 |
5–4 |
20–8 |
16–7 |
20–3 |
14–6 |
10–7 |
4–5 |
12–7 |
3–1 |
5 / 56 |
104–48 |
68.42 |
| Year End Ranking |
562 |
107 |
25 |
11 |
10 |
2 |
9 |
37 |
39 |
24 |
105 |
Career money: $9,713,771 |
ATP Tour career earnings
| Year | Majors | ATP wins | Total wins | Earnings ($) | Money list rank |
| 1997 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1,397,445 |
12 |
| 1998 |
0 |
7 |
7 |
3,420,054 |
2 |
| 1999 |
0 |
3 |
3 |
1,794,244 |
5 |
| 2000 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
493,816 |
40 |
| 2001 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
466,025 |
43 |
| 2002 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
506,160 |
39 |
| 2003 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
308,140 |
73 |
| Career |
0 |
18 |
18 |
9,713,771 |
39 |
Records
- Ríos has the record for being the only player in history to have been world No. 1 as a junior, as a professional and as a senior
- He was the first Latin American to reach the world No. 1 ranking, first achieved on March 30, 1998
- He was the first player to win all three clay-court ATP Masters Series since the format started in 1990
- He is the only No.1 ATP ranked player in the open era not to win a Grand Slam title in his entire career.
External links