The Most Famous

TENNIS PLAYERS from Brazil

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This page contains a list of the greatest Brazilian Tennis Players. The pantheon dataset contains 1,569 Tennis Players, 15 of which were born in Brazil. This makes Brazil the birth place of the 25th most number of Tennis Players behind Poland, and China.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Brazilian Tennis Players of all time. This list of famous Brazilian Tennis Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Brazilian Tennis Players.

Photo of Maria Bueno

1. Maria Bueno (1939 - 2018)

With an HPI of 55.71, Maria Bueno is the most famous Brazilian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 40 different languages on wikipedia.

Maria Esther Andion Bueno (11 October 1939 – 8 June 2018) was a Brazilian professional tennis player. During her 11-year career in the 1950s and 1960s, she won 19 major titles (seven in women's singles, 11 in women's doubles, and one in mixed doubles), making her the most successful South American tennis player in history, and the only one to ever win Wimbledon. Bueno was the year-end No. 1 female player in 1959 and 1960 and was known for her graceful style of play. In 1960, Bueno became the first woman to win the Grand Slam in doubles (all four majors in a year), three of them partnering Darlene Hard and one with Christine Truman.

Photo of Gustavo Kuerten

2. Gustavo Kuerten (b. 1976)

With an HPI of 52.34, Gustavo Kuerten is the 2nd most famous Brazilian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 45 different languages.

Gustavo "Guga" Kuerten (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɡusˈtavu ˈkiʁtẽ]; born 10 September 1976) is a Brazilian former world No. 1 tennis player. He won the French Open singles title three times (1997, 2000, 2001), and was the Tennis Masters Cup champion in 2000. During his career he won 20 singles and eight doubles titles. Kuerten suffered from injuries that limited his attendances at tournaments in 2002 and from 2004 and 2008. After two hip surgeries and a few attempted comebacks, he retired from top-level tennis in May 2008. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2012. In 2016, Kuerten was asked to be a torch bearer for the Rio Olympics.

Photo of Marcelo Melo

3. Marcelo Melo (b. 1983)

With an HPI of 38.91, Marcelo Melo is the 3rd most famous Brazilian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Marcelo Pinheiro Davi de Melo (Portuguese pronunciation: [maʁˈsɛlu ˈmɛlu]; born September 23, 1983) is a Brazilian professional tennis player who is a doubles specialist. He is a former world No. 1, which he achieved in November 2015. Melo is the only Brazilian player who has reached number one in the ATP doubles rankings. He is a two-time Grand Slam champion in doubles, having won the 2015 French Open alongside Ivan Dodig and the 2017 Wimbledon Championships with Łukasz Kubot. Melo was also the first Brazilian man ever to win a Grand Slam doubles title. He has won 35 doubles titles on the ATP Tour, including nine at Masters 1000 level. He reached the final at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships and 2018 US Open in men's doubles, as well as at the 2009 French Open in mixed doubles. Melo also finished runner-up in doubles at the ATP Finals in 2014 and 2017. He has represented Brazil in the Davis Cup since 2008, often playing doubles alongside André Sá or Bruno Soares, and has also competed at three editions of the Summer Olympic Games.

Photo of Beatriz Haddad Maia

4. Beatriz Haddad Maia (b. 1996)

With an HPI of 37.38, Beatriz Haddad Maia is the 4th most famous Brazilian Tennis Player.  Her biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Beatriz "Bia" Haddad Maia (Brazilian Portuguese: [beaˈtɾiz ʁadaˈdʒi ˈmajɐ]; born 30 May 1996) is a Brazilian professional tennis player. She reached a career-high of world No. 10 in singles and in doubles, becoming the first Brazilian woman to enter the top 10 in singles in the history of the WTA rankings since Maria Esther Bueno in 1959. Haddad Maia has won four singles titles and seven doubles titles on the WTA Tour, and reached a Grand Slam semifinal at the 2023 French Open. Playing for the Brazil Fed Cup team, Haddad Maia has a win–loss record of 29–12 (10–2 in doubles) as of November 2024.

Photo of Bruno Soares

5. Bruno Soares (b. 1982)

With an HPI of 37.19, Bruno Soares is the 5th most famous Brazilian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Bruno Fraga Soares (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈbɾunu soˈaɾis]; born 27 February 1982) is a Brazilian former professional tennis player who specialised in doubles. A doubles specialist, Soares won six major titles, the Australian Open and US Open in 2016 alongside Jamie Murray, and the 2020 US Open with Mate Pavić in men's doubles. In mixed doubles, Soares won the 2012 US Open partnering Ekaterina Makarova, the 2014 US Open with Sania Mirza, and the 2016 Australian Open with Elena Vesnina. He also finished runner-up at the 2013 US Open and 2020 French Open in men's doubles, and the 2013 Wimbledon Championships in mixed doubles. Soares was the fourth Brazilian to win a major title in any discipline, following Maria Bueno, Thomaz Koch and Gustavo Kuerten. He reached his career-high doubles ranking of world No. 2 in October 2016, and has won 35 titles on the ATP Tour, including four at Masters 1000 level. Soares was part of the ATP Doubles Team of the year in both 2016 and 2020. In singles, his highest ranking was world No. 221, achieved in March 2004. Soares has represented Brazil in the Davis Cup since 2005, and competed at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.

Photo of Thomaz Bellucci

6. Thomaz Bellucci (b. 1987)

With an HPI of 36.86, Thomaz Bellucci is the 6th most famous Brazilian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Thomaz Cocchiarali Bellucci (born 30 December 1987, in Tietê) is a Brazilian former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 21 in July 2010. Bellucci used a string of ATP Challenger Tour victories early in 2008 to break into the top 100 rankings of the ATP World Tour as a 20-year-old. He has won 4 ATP Tour titles (the 2009 and 2012 Swiss Open, the 2010 Movistar Open and the 2015 Geneva Open), reached the quarterfinals at the 2016 Olympics and reached the semi-finals of the 2011 Madrid Masters.

Photo of André Sá

7. André Sá (b. 1977)

With an HPI of 35.46, André Sá is the 7th most famous Brazilian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

André Rezende Sá (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐ̃ˈdɾɛ ˈsa]; born 6 May 1977) is a former Brazilian tennis player. In singles, he was a Wimbledon quarterfinalist in 2002. Sá reached the semifinals of ATP tournaments in Memphis and Hong Kong in 2000 and 2001 respectively. He reached a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 17, winning 11 doubles titles.

Photo of Marc-Kevin Goellner

8. Marc-Kevin Goellner (b. 1970)

With an HPI of 34.85, Marc-Kevin Goellner is the 8th most famous Brazilian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Marc-Kevin Peter Goellner (born 22 September 1970) is a former professional tennis player from Germany. He won two singles titles, achieved a bronze medal in doubles at the 1996 Summer Olympics and attained a career-high singles ranking of World No. 26 in April 1994. Goellner reached the quarterfinals of the 1997 Rome Masters, defeating top tenners Richard Krajicek and Albert Costa en route.

Photo of Jaime Oncins

9. Jaime Oncins (b. 1970)

With an HPI of 33.93, Jaime Oncins is the 9th most famous Brazilian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Jaime Oncins (born 16 June 1970) is a former professional tennis player from Brazil. Oncins represented his native country at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, where he reached the quarterfinals before falling to Russia's Andrei Cherkasov. The right-hander won two individual career titles (Bologna and Búzios, both in 1992). He reached his highest singles ATP-ranking on May 3, 1993, when he became world No. 34. Oncins' best performance at a major was at the 1992 French Open, where he reached the Round of 16, losing to eventual finalist, Petr Korda. In the second round of the tournament, Oncins had a famous victory from two sets down against former world No. 1 and three-time French Open champion, Ivan Lendl. Oncins was also the last player that Jimmy Connors beat at the US Open. Connors beat Oncins in straight sets in the first round of the 1992 US Open. Oncins was a runner-up in the Roland Garros mixed doubles in 2001, with Paola Suárez from Argentina.

Photo of Ricardo Mello

10. Ricardo Mello (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 32.47, Ricardo Mello is the 10th most famous Brazilian Tennis Player.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Ricardo Mello (born 21 December 1980) is a Brazilian retired tennis player. His preference is for clay courts. He has had the occasional win in hard court tournaments. His best singles rank was No. 50 in 2005. He won one singles tournament (Delray Beach in 2004) and reached the semifinals three times at the Brasil Open. He played most of his tennis in Challenger tournaments, where he won 15 singles titles and three doubles titles.

People

Pantheon has 23 people classified as Brazilian tennis players born between 1939 and 2000. Of these 23, 22 (95.65%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Brazilian tennis players include Gustavo Kuerten, Marcelo Melo, and Beatriz Haddad Maia. The most famous deceased Brazilian tennis players include Maria Bueno. As of April 2024, 8 new Brazilian tennis players have been added to Pantheon including Jaime Oncins, Ricardo Mello, and Tomas Behrend.

Living Brazilian Tennis Players

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Deceased Brazilian Tennis Players

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Newly Added Brazilian Tennis Players (2024)

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