Andreas Seppi is a former Italian professional tennis player, who has competed professionally since 2001.
Date of Birth: | 21 February 1984 |
Birthplace: | Bolzano, Italy |
Residence: | Kaltern an der Weinstraße, South Tyrol, Italy |
Height: | 6'3" (191 cm) |
Weight: | 170 lbs (77 kg) |
Plays: | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Turned Pro: | 2001 |
Former professional tennis player Andreas Seppi was born on February 21, 1984, in Bolzano, Italy. Sports tended to be a passion in his family, with his mum, Maria-Luise, working in a sports shop. Due to the proximity of his hometown to Italy's Alps, he grew up with a love for skiing as well as for the boyhood football club AC Milan.
Seppi decided to focus on tennis, picking up a racquet at the age of 7. His talent shone through, and he made rapid progress through the lower ranks. Just ten years after starting to play, he turned pro in 2001. For the first years of his professional career, he made exclusive use of the Futures and ATP Challenger circuits to hone his skills for the main tour.
Success on the main tour in the form of silverware proved elusive for the Italian, with his first title coming in 2011 after a long stint amongst the best. This period of his career turned out to be the best in his tennis journey, though, with two more trophies arriving the following year to take his career total to 3 ATP singles titles.
In terms of rankings, his best year was yet to come, with the Italian reaching his career-high of number 18 in the world a year later in 2013. This was, in part, thanks to his best results at three of the four majors, reaching the fourth round in the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and US Open in the same year.
He was consistent across the board at the four Slams, reaching his peak at the fourth round, but it was not necessarily his results, which are one of his defining features. His longevity on tour was proven in 2022 when he competed at his 66th consecutive Grand Slam event at the Australian Open – the third-longest streak behind only Spain’s Fernando Verdasco (67) and Feliciano Lopez (79).
This was the final event for him, however, as the Italian decided to call time on a wonderful career after failing to qualify for the subsequent Grand Slams that season.
For now, the Italian is enjoying his retirement and has not joined the bandwagon of entering the world of professional coaching on tour, and what the future will hold for him remains to be seen.