Guillermo Pérez Roldán (born 20 October 1969) 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 c ...

player from Argentina. Pérez Roldán was known particularly as a strong

clay court A clay court is one of the types of tennis court on which the sport of tennis, originally known as "lawn tennis", is played. Clay courts are made of crushed stone, brick, shale, or other unbound mineral aggregate depending on the tournament. T ...

player. He turned professional in 1986. Between 1987 and 1993, he won nine top-level singles titles. His best Grand Slam performance came at the

1988 French Open The 1988 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament was held from 23 May until 5 June. It was the 92nd staging of the French Open, and the second Grand ...

, where he reached the quarter-finals, beating

Alberto Mancini Alberto César Mancini (born 20 May 1969) is a former professional tennis player from Argentina. He won three top-level singles titles and four tour doubles titles. His career-high rankings were World No. 8 in singles and No. 79 in doubles (b ...

Tore Meinecke Tore Meinecke (born 21 July 1967) is a former professional tennis player from West Germany. Career As a junior, Meinecke won the Orange Bowl doubles champion 16-under in 1982 (partnering Boris Becker) and was runner-up at the European Junior Cha ...

, Patrik Kühnen and

Stefan Edberg Stefan Bengt Edberg (; born 19 January 1966) is a Swedish former professional tennis player. A major proponent of the serve-and-volley style of tennis, he won six Grand Slam singles titles and three Grand Slam men's doubles titles between 19 ...

on the way, before being knocked out by

Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time major champion and an Olympic gold medalist, as well as a runner-up in seven other majors. Agassi is the second of five men to ac ...

Tennis career

Juniors

Pérez Roldán had an excellent junior career, winning the French Open Boys' Singles championship on his favored red clay in both 1986 and 1987 – since the

open era The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Birmingham, England now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sp ...

, he is the only individual to have captured the Boys' Singles championship at the French Open more than once. Junior Grand Slam results: Australian Open: -
French Open: W (

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

)
Wimbledon: 2R (

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

)
US Open: 3R (

)

Pro tour

He burst onto the scene as a teenager in 1988 by reaching the final of the

Italian Open Italian Open may refer to: *Italian Open (tennis), a Masters 1000 level tennis tournament played in Rome each year. *Italian Open (golf) The DS Automobiles Italian Open ( it, Open d'Italia) is the men's national open golf championship of Italy. It ...

, where he battled

Ivan Lendl Ivan Lendl (; born March 7, 1960) is a Czech–American former professional tennis player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Lendl was ranked world No. 1 in singles for 270 weeks and won 94 singles titles. ...

in five grueling sets. Later that year, at the US Open,

John McEnroe John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court beha ...

famously expressed outrage at being seeded significantly lower than Pérez Roldán, who had not yet won a match on hard courts. However, Pérez Roldán silenced critics by progressing further in the tournament than McEnroe, beating

, Patrik Kühnen and

before losing to

. He was named Rolex Rookie of the Year in 1988, influenced no doubt by his run to the finals of the Italian Open and the quarter-finals of the French Open that year. Pérez Roldán is currently tied for tenth on the list of most titles won by a teenager in the

Open Era The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Birmingham, England now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sp ...

(five). His career-high singles ranking was World No. 13 (in 1988), and his career prize-money earnings totalled $1,686,341. In the early 1990s, his career was hamstrung by injuries, and he finally retired from the professional tour in 1996.

Personal life

He is married to Daniela with whom he has three sons. He has alleged suffering extensive physical, mental and financial abuse during his tennis career from his coach and father Raúl Pérez Roldán.

Junior Grand Slam finals

Singles: 2 (2 titles)

Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)

ATP career finals

Singles: 20 (9 titles, 11 runner-ups)

Doubles: 3 (3 runner-ups)

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures Finals

Singles: 5 (4–1)

Doubles: 2 (1–1)

Performance timelines

Singles

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Perez Roldan, Guillermo Argentine male tennis players French Open junior champions People from Tandil 1969 births Living people Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' doubles Sportspeople from Buenos Aires Province