Ruben Gonzales (tennis)
Filipino tennis player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ruben Gonzales (born September 11, 1985) is an American-born Filipino professional tennis player playing on the ATP Challenger Tour. On 6 May 2013, he reached his highest ATP singles ranking of No. 766 and his highest doubles ranking of No. 116 achieved on 6 March 2023.
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PhilippinesGonzales at the 2022 Internationaux de Tennis de Blois | |
| Country (sports) | Philippines |
|---|---|
| Born | September 11, 1985 Terre Haute, Indiana, U.S. |
| Plays | Right-handed |
| College | Illinois (2004–2008) |
| Prize money | $160,985 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 10–5 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 766 (6 May 2013) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 7–3 |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 116 (6 March 2023) |
Personal life
Gonzales was born in Chicago and raised in Terre Haute, Indiana. His parents are from the Philippines and he has two siblings who he watched play tennis.[1] At eight years old, he wanted to become a professional tennis player.[2] For a time, he lived in Manila, where he spent some of his high school years.[1]
In 2019, he proposed to his girlfriend, race car driver Michele Bumgarner.[3]
Career
College
In his rookie season, he won the 2005 Big Ten singles consolation championship. He was also named as an ITA Scholar-Athlete. In his sophomore was selected to the Academic All-Big Ten team while having the highest GPA on the team.[2]
A lung injury, spontaneous pneumothorax, kept Gonzales out for most of his junior season and unable to qualify for the NCAA tournament in either singles or doubles.[2][4] Despite this, he was able to finish with a No. 37 ranking in doubles and a No. 125 ranking in singles as he became known as "The Spirit of Illinois Tennis". He was awarded with Illinois' Scholar Athlete Award and was named to the Academic All-Big Ten team once again.[2]
In his senior season, Gonzales helped Illinois defeat Xavier in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Division I tennis championships.[5] Illinois made it to the Round of 16, where they lost to Ohio State.[6]
Professional
In the 2016 ATP Challenger Philippine Open, Gonzales lost to Igor Sijsling.[7]
In 2022, Gonzales won three ATP Challenger doubles championships.[8] He followed that up with a runner-up finish in the 2023 Cleveland Open and a semis finish in the Tenerife Challenger.[9]
Tour titles
| Legend |
|---|
| Grand Slam (0) |
| ATP Masters Series (0) |
| ATP Tour (0) |
| Challengers (7) |
