Federico Luzzi (; 3 January 1980 – 25 October 2008) was an Italian professional
tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
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 (6 ft 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 and the ATP Challenger Tour. It was formed in September 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to p ...
. 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 titles and made his
Davis Cup 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. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency ...
, 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'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'' 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
Association of Tennis Professionals
The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) is the governing body of the men's professional tennis circuits – the ATP Tour and the ATP Challenger Tour. It was formed in September 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to p ...
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 BBC Television, television, BBC Radio, radio and BBC Online, online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadc ...
, 29 February 2008. Accessed 25 October 2008.
Illness and death
Luzzi was forced to retire from a club match in
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
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 ( , ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Italy and the capital of the Province of Arezzo, province of the same name located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about southeast of Florence at an elevation of Above mean sea level, above sea level. As of 2 ...
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 (FIT) along with previous and current tennis stars of Italy. His pall bearers were his best friends.
]
Singles titles
References
External links
*
*
His official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luzzi, Frederico
1980 births
2008 deaths
Deaths from cancer in Tuscany
Deaths from leukemia in Italy
Italian male tennis players
Sportspeople from Arezzo
20th-century Italian sportsmen
21st-century Italian sportsmen