Greg RUSEDSKI

Born in Canada to ethnic Ukrainian parents, Rusedski initially represented the country of birth and won his first ATP tour title, the 1993 Hall of Fame Tournament, under the Canadian flag. In 1995 he elected to take British citizenship, a move made possible by the fact that his mother had been born in England although she had moved to Canada as a baby. This move caused some resentment in Canada and was not universally popular in Britain.

Rusedski’s greatest performance came in 1997 when he became the first Briton to reach the final of the US open in over sixty years. Although he lost the final to Pat Rafter this led to him being voted Britain’s “Sports Personality of the Year”. His most prestigious tournament victories came in 1998 when he won the Paris Masters and in 1999 when he took the Grand Slam Cup in Germany.

Although plagued by injuries in the later years of his career he won 15 ATP tour singles title and reached a high of 4th in the world rankings. In 2004 Rusedski tested positive for the drug Nandrolone but he was eventually cleared when it became clear that the most likely cause were contaminated supplements supplied by the ATP themselves. He retired in 2006 and afterwards works as a tennis commentator and analyst for a number of TV stations.