Jurek Stasiak (born 23 April 1978) is a former professional
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
player from Australia.
Biography
Born in
Gdańsk
Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
, Stasiak emigrated from Poland to Australia with his family in 1985. He grew up in Parramatta and started playing tennis at the age of nine, along with his identical twin brother Wojtek. The brothers were coached by their father Bogdan and became highly ranked Australian juniors, featuring together in the Junior Davis Cup in 1994.
Stasiak, a right-handed player, began playing
Challenger
Challenger, Challengers, or The Challengers may refer to:
Entertainment
Comics and manga
* Challenger (character), comic book character
* ''Challengers'' (manga), manga by Hinako Takanaga
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* ''The Challengers'' (TV series), a 1979 ...
tournaments in 1996. He took part in the qualifying draw for the
Australian Open
The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...
for three years without success before being granted a wildcard spot into the
1998 Australian Open
The 1998 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at Albert Park in Melbourne in Victoria in Australia. It was the 86th edition of the Australian Open and was held from 19 January through 1 February 1998.
Seniors
M ...
. In the first round he lost a five-set match to American
Vince Spadea. Later in the year he represented the
Poland Davis Cup team
The Poland men's national tennis team represents Poland in Davis Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Polski ZwiÄ…zek Tenisowy.
Poland currently compete in World Group I Play-offs.
Current team (2022)
* Kamil Majchrzak
* Kacper Z ...
in ties against
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤠(Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤠ðž ...
and
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
.
His brother Wojtek went missing in 2001, aged 23. He left the family home and hasn't been seen since. After he went missing, posters were put up in the local area, which prompted people to report sightings, not realising they had instead spotted his identical twin. In 2008 Wojtek was declared deceased by a NSW coroner.
See also
*
List of Poland Davis Cup team representatives
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stasiak, Jurek
1978 births
Living people
Australian male tennis players
Polish male tennis players
Sportspeople from Gdańsk
Polish emigrants to Australia
Identical twins
Australian twins
Tennis people from New South Wales