Federico Luzzi (3 January 1980 – 25 October 2008) was an Italian 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 cov ...

player who had been ranked as high as World No. 92. Luzzi had been suspended from professional tennis in 2008 for six months after a determination was made that he had gambled on the outcome of matches over a three-year span. He was diagnosed with leukemia on a Wednesday and died four days later. While he was on suspension and awaiting the outcome of the case he studied acting in Hollywood. He screen tested and was to return to Hollywood in 2009 to begin filming two movies. The FedeLux charity was founded in his honor, searching for a cure for cancer.

Tennis career

The 1.87m (6ft 2in) Luzzi, coached by Umberto Rianna, turned pro in 1999.ATP Player Profile: Federico Luzzi

Association of Tennis Professionals The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is the governing body of the men's professional tennis circuits – the ATP Tour, the ATP Challenger Tour and the ATP Champions Tour. It was formed in September 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, a ...

. His best season was in 2001 when he finished with the year ranked 96, having reached the quarterfinals at the Ciutat de Barcelona Tennis Tournament, won two

ATP Challenger Series The ATP Challenger Tour, known until the end of 2008 as the ATP Challenger Series, is a series of international men's professional tennis tournaments. The Challenger Tour events are the second-highest tier of tennis competition, behind the ATP T ...

titles and made his

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organi ...

debut. In February 2002, Luzzi attained a world ranking of 92, the highest in his career. A serious shoulder injury plagued him for the remainder of his career.Staff
"Tennis-Italy's Luzzi dies of leukemia at 28"
''

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...

'', 25 October 2008. Accessed 25 October 2008. Officials at the 2007 U.S. Open would not allow Luzzi to play while wearing a shirt with a ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

'' bunny, as the logo failed a United States Tennis Association policy that only allows logos for recognized clothing manufacturers. Luzzi had worn the shirt during an opening qualifying match, but the USTA imposed the restriction before his second match, which Luzzi lost to Gabriel Trujillo-Soler of Spain. In February 2008, the

found him guilty of wagering on the outcome of matches from May 2004 to April 2007. The ATP's Anti-Corruption Program prohibits all gambling on any form of tennis. The ATP banned Luzzi from playing for 200 days and fined him $50,000. The ATP determined that he had "wagered 273 times on 836 tennis matches", including a wager he had placed on himself to win a match, but the ATP stated that it had not uncovered any evidence that he had attempted to influence the result of any tennis match.Staff
"Fifth Italian banned for betting"
''

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC television, radio and online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside f ...

'', 29 February 2008. Accessed 25 October 2008.

Illness and death

Luzzi was forced to retire from a club match in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label= Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, aft ...

in mid-October due to a fever. He went to the hospital and on Wednesday 21 October was diagnosed with cancer. Luzzi had contracted a rapid form of fulmonic leukemia, and died four days later on 25 October 2008 in a hospital in his home town of

Arezzo Arezzo ( , , ) , also ; ett, 𐌀𐌓𐌉𐌕𐌉𐌌, Aritim. is a city and '' comune'' in Italy and the capital of the province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of above sea lev ...

at age 28. His funeral was held in his hometown of Arezzo and was attended by over 3500 people including all of the officials of the

Federazione Italiana Tennis The Italian Tennis Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Tennis, FIT) is the national governing body for the Tennis sport in Italy. History The FIT was born in Florence in 1910 with just 26 affiliated clubs. Davis and Fed Cup ATP Cup United ...

(FIT) along with previous and current tennis stars of Italy. His pall bearers were his best friends.

Singles titles

References

External links

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His official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luzzi, Frederico 1980 births 2008 deaths Deaths from cancer in Tuscany Deaths from leukemia Italian male tennis players Sportspeople from Arezzo