The Most Famous
TENNIS PLAYERS from Chile
This page contains a list of the greatest Chilean Tennis Players. The pantheon dataset contains 1,569 Tennis Players, 6 of which were born in Chile. This makes Chile the birth place of the 36th most number of Tennis Players behind Taiwan, and Montenegro.
Top 8
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Chilean Tennis Players of all time. This list of famous Chilean Tennis Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Marcelo Ríos (b. 1975)
With an HPI of 48.28, Marcelo Ríos is the most famous Chilean Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 40 different languages on wikipedia.
Marcelo Andrés Ríos Mayorga (Latin American Spanish: [maɾˈselo ˈri.os]; born 26 December 1975) is a Chilean former world No. 1 tennis player. He became the first Latin American player to reach the top position on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles rankings in March 1998, holding the spot for six weeks. He also held the top ranking in juniors. At 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in), Ríos is the shortest man to hold the number 1 ranking in men's tennis. Ríos was the first player to win all three clay-court Masters Series tournaments (Monte Carlo, Rome, and Hamburg) since the format began in 1990. He was also the third man in history (after Michael Chang and Pete Sampras) to complete the Sunshine Double (winning Indian Wells and Miami Masters in one year), which he achieved in 1998. Despite winning those five Masters titles, Ríos is also the only man in the Open Era to have been world No. 1 without ever winning a Grand Slam singles tournament. His best major result was as runner-up at the 1998 Australian Open, losing to Petr Korda in straight sets. Ríos retired early from professional tennis in July 2004, after being overtaken by a back injury. He played his last ATP Tour level tournament while only 27 years old at the 2003 French Open.
2. Luis Ayala (1932 - 2024)
With an HPI of 48.19, Luis Ayala is the 2nd most famous Chilean Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Luis Alberto Ayala Salinas (18 September 1932 – 4 September 2024) was a Chilean tennis player who competed during the 1950s and 1960s.
3. Anita Lizana (1915 - 1994)
With an HPI of 45.59, Anita Lizana is the 3rd most famous Chilean Tennis Player. Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Anita Lizana de Ellis (19 November 1915 – 21 August 1994) was a world No. 1 tennis player from Chile. She was the first Latin American, and first Hispanic person, to be ranked World Number 1 tennis player. Also, Lizana was the first Latin American to win a Grand Slam singles championship. She won the U.S. Championships singles title in 1937, defeating Jadwiga Jędrzejowska in the final in straight sets.
4. Fernando González (b. 1980)
With an HPI of 45.10, Fernando González is the 4th most famous Chilean Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 42 different languages.
Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi (Latin American Spanish: [feɾˈnando ɣonˈsales]; born 29 July 1980) is a Chilean former professional tennis player. During his career, he reached at least the quarterfinals of all four major tournaments. He contested his only major final at the 2007 Australian Open, losing to top-seeded Roger Federer. González is the fourth man in history to have won an Olympic tennis medal in every color, with gold in doubles and bronze in singles at Athens 2004, and silver in singles at Beijing 2008. The gold medal that González won partnering Nicolás Massú at the 2004 Olympics in men's doubles was Chile's first-ever Olympic gold medal. During his career, González defeated many top players, including Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi, Federer (all while they held the top spot), Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Roddick, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Moyá, Gustavo Kuerten, Marat Safin, Pete Sampras, and Andy Murray. González qualified twice for the year-end Masters Cup event and was runner-up at two Masters Series tournaments. González was known for having one of the strongest forehands on the tour. In Spanish he is nicknamed El Bombardero de La Reina ("The Bomber from La Reina") and Mano de Piedra ("Hand of Stone").
5. Nicolás Massú (b. 1979)
With an HPI of 44.76, Nicolás Massú is the 5th most famous Chilean Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 38 different languages.
Nicolás Alejandro Massú Fried (Spanish pronunciation: [nikoˈlas maˈsu]; born 10 October 1979), nicknamed El Vampiro (Spanish, 'the vampire'), is a Chilean tennis coach and a former professional player. A former world No. 6 in singles, he won the singles and doubles gold medals at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He is the only man to have won both gold medals at the same Games since the re-introduction of Olympic tennis in 1988, and they were the first two Chile's Olympic gold medals. Massú also reached the final of the 2003 Madrid Masters and won six singles titles. He was the coach of 2020 US Open champion and former world No. 3 Dominic Thiem from 2019 to 2023.
6. Nicolás Jarry (b. 1995)
With an HPI of 36.13, Nicolás Jarry is the 6th most famous Chilean Tennis Player. Her biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Nicolás Jarry Fillol (Spanish pronunciation: [nikoˈlas ˈʝari]; born 10 October 1995) is a Chilean professional tennis player. He achieved his highest ATP singles ranking of world No. 16 in May 2024 and is the current Chilean No. 2. His highest doubles ranking of No. 40 was achieved in March 2019. He has won three ATP Tour titles in singles, at Båstad 2019, Santiago 2023 and Geneva 2023, and also reached a Masters 1000 final at the 2024 Italian Open. He has also won two ATP doubles titles.
7. Cristian Garín (b. 1996)
With an HPI of 32.92, Cristian Garín is the 7th most famous Chilean Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.
Cristian Ignacio Garín Medone (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkɾistjaŋ ɡaˈɾin]; born 30 May 1996) is a Chilean professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 17 by the ATP in singles, achieved on 13 September 2021. He also has a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 206, achieved on 10 May 2021. He is the current Chilean No. 3. Garín became the youngest Chilean player to win an ATP Tour match, by defeating Dušan Lajović at 16 years and 8 months old in the first round of the 2013 VTR Open. He was the winner of the 2013 Junior French Open, beating Alexander Zverev in the final. Garín has won five ATP tour titles, all on clay courts. In early 2019, he achieved his first consistent results in the ATP Tour, reaching three finals in five tournaments: he finished runner-up in the 2019 Brasil Open, won his first ATP title at the 2019 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships, and won his second title at the 2019 BMW Open. Garín obtained his third title at the 2020 Córdoba Open. By winning his first ATP Tour 500 title at the 2020 Rio Open, Garín became the sixth-ever Chilean man to be ranked in the top 20.
8. Paul Capdeville (b. 1983)
With an HPI of 28.94, Paul Capdeville is the 8th most famous Chilean Tennis Player. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.
Paul Gerard Capdeville Castro (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpol kaβðeˈβil]; born 2 April 1983) is a Chilean former tennis player. He was born in Santiago.
People
Pantheon has 8 people classified as Chilean tennis players born between 1915 and 1996. Of these 8, 6 (75.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Chilean tennis players include Marcelo Ríos, Fernando González, and Nicolás Massú. The most famous deceased Chilean tennis players include Luis Ayala, and Anita Lizana. As of April 2024, 2 new Chilean tennis players have been added to Pantheon including Luis Ayala, and Anita Lizana.
Living Chilean Tennis Players
Go to all Rankings
Marcelo Ríos
1975 - Present
HPI: 48.28
Fernando González
1980 - Present
HPI: 45.10
Nicolás Massú
1979 - Present
HPI: 44.76
Nicolás Jarry
1995 - Present
HPI: 36.13
Cristian Garín
1996 - Present
HPI: 32.92
Paul Capdeville
1983 - Present
HPI: 28.94
