Andy Ram

Ram was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, and moved to Israel as a young child, settling with his family in Jerusalem.[6][8] His family had limited financial resources, and he later recalled their support during difficult early circumstances.[8] His adoptive father, Ammi Ram, encouraged him to take up tennis because he wanted a net separating his son from an opponent.[8]

Ram began playing at the Israel Tennis Center in Jerusalem.[9] He recalled that, from second grade, he traveled there by bus after school and stayed until 8 p.m.[6] At 14, he left home for more intensive training at Ramat Hasharon and the Wingate Institute.[9] He later identified leaving home at that age and choosing to specialize in doubles as two of the most consequential decisions of his life.[6]

Ram had known his future doubles partner, Jonathan “Yoni” Erlich, since childhood and later began practicing regularly with him during his training years.[9][4] He recalled dreaming of playing alongside Erlich and asking him to form a partnership in junior tennis.[9] Ram turned professional in 1996, aged 16, but did not make his first Grand Slam tournament appearance until 2001.[1]

Ram and Erlich played their first Grand Slam tournament together at Wimbledon in 2001.[9] Ram later recalled that the experience convinced them they could achieve something as a team.[6] Their partnership became known in Israel as “AndiYoni.”[6]

Their breakthrough came at Wimbledon in 2003, when they advanced through qualifying to reach the men’s doubles semifinals.[9] Erlich had been considering retirement before Ram persuaded him to enter the tournament with him; Ram recalled that their $50,000 earnings helped motivate them to continue.[6] At the same tournament, Ram reached the mixed doubles final with Anastasia Rodionova, becoming the first Israeli to advance to a Wimbledon final.[1][9] He also won the Israeli national singles title in 2003.[10]

Ram won his first professional doubles title in Indianapolis with Mario Ančić in 2003; later that year, he and Erlich won the Thailand Open and the Lyon tournament.[1][5] Further titles followed in Istanbul, India, Rotterdam, and Milan.[1] Ram reached a world ranking of No. 19 in April 2004.[1]

At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Ram and Erlich reached the men’s doubles quarterfinals.[1] They defeated Thomas Enqvist and Robin Söderling 7–5, 6–3 in the opening round, then beat Igor Andreev and Nikolay Davydenko 6–4, 6–1.[1] Nicolas Kiefer and Rainer Schüttler eliminated them in the quarterfinals, with the Israeli pair losing 6–2, 2–6, 2–6.[1]

In 2006, Ram won the Wimbledon mixed doubles championship with Vera Zvonareva, becoming the first Israeli to win a Wimbledon title.[2] He described the victory as the fulfillment of a childhood dream and the first senior Grand Slam title won by an Israeli tennis player.[2] His father, who had encouraged his entry into tennis, had died of a heart attack in 2005, before Ram’s major championship victories.[8]

Ram received Jerusalem’s inaugural Athlete of the Year award in 2006, following selection by a committee of the municipality’s Sports Authority.[11] By that year, he and Erlich had also become the first Israelis to reach the season-ending ATP Masters Cup.[11] Ram identified Wimbledon as the highlight of his year while also recalling Israel’s first Davis Cup victory over Britain as a major achievement.[11]

A second Grand Slam title followed at the 2007 French Open, where Ram partnered with Nathalie Dechy.[3] They defeated Katarina Srebotnik and Nenad Zimonjić 7–5, 6–3 in the mixed doubles final.[3]

In January 2008, Ram and Erlich won the Australian Open men’s doubles title, becoming the first Israeli men’s doubles team to win a Grand Slam championship.[1] Seeded eighth, they completed the tournament without losing a set and defeated seventh seeds Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra 7–5, 7–6 in the final.[4][12] Afterward, Ram said, “We are so happy to be the first Israelis. We made history today,” adding that it was “a great day for us, for our family, for Israel, for everybody.”[4]

Ram and Erlich also won the Indian Wells doubles title in 2008.[5] Ram reached his career-high doubles ranking of world No. 5 that year.[5] The pair represented Israel at the Beijing Olympics but lost in the first round.[10] Ram later played with other partners while Erlich was injured.[5]

In July 2009, Ram and Erlich secured a decisive Davis Cup quarterfinal victory against Russia’s Marat Safin and Igor Kunitsyn in Tel Aviv.[13] Before approximately 11,000 spectators, they won 6–3, 6–4, 6–7, 4–6, 6–4 in a match lasting three hours and 51 minutes.[13] The result completed Israel’s 3–0 tie victory and sent the country into the Davis Cup semifinals for the first time.[13]

London 2012 marked Ram and Erlich’s third consecutive Olympic appearance together.[1] In the round of 16, they defeated defending Olympic champions Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka 1–6, 7–6 (5), 6–3.[14] They then lost in the quarterfinals to Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States, who went on to win the gold medal.[4][10]

Ram announced his retirement in 2014, aged 34, planning to finish with Israel’s Davis Cup World Group playoff against Argentina rather than return to the ATP Tour.[15] He had not fully recovered from an October 2012 operation to repair a tear in his right hip muscle.[15] Explaining his decision, he said he wanted to leave while he still felt capable of competing rather than continue into smaller tournaments, and that the physical demands after his return from surgery had affected his performance.[8]

His final Davis Cup match took place in September 2014 in Sunrise, Florida, after the International Tennis Federation moved the tie from Israel because of security concerns.[16] Ram and Erlich defeated Federico Delbonis and Horacio Zeballos in five sets, putting Israel ahead 2–1, although Argentina won the remaining singles matches.[16] Ram said he had wanted to play his farewell before his home crowd.[16] He had participated in every Davis Cup tournament from 2000 through 2014.[14]

After retirement, Ram moved into business and tennis development.[9] In 2015, he became CEO of Pulse Play, a wearable tennis-technology startup of which he was also a co-founder; the venture later closed.[9][6] He also established a foundation within the Israel Tennis Centers in memory of his father to help children pursue professional tennis.[9] In a 2016 interview, he described fundraising for the Israel Tennis Center as another part of his work.[6] By 2019, he was serving as the Israel Tennis Association’s strategic and business-development director and had joined a jointly established tennis academy in Ramat Hasharon.[7]

Ram’s Grand Slam achievements established a series of firsts for Israeli tennis: a Wimbledon final appearance in 2003, a Wimbledon title in 2006, and, with Erlich, the first Grand Slam men’s doubles championship won by an Israeli team in 2008.[1][4] His major titles included mixed doubles victories at Wimbledon and the French Open.[2][3] He also won the Australian Open men’s doubles title with Erlich.[4]

His partnership with Erlich produced two Olympic quarterfinal appearances and a central contribution to Israel’s first Davis Cup semifinal campaign.[10][5] Their 2012 victory over Federer and Wawrinka eliminated the defending Olympic champions, while their five-set win over Russia in 2009 clinched Israel’s historic Davis Cup quarterfinal tie.[13][10]

Ram continued his involvement in the sport through work supporting young players, the Israel Tennis Centers, and a national tennis academy.[9][7] His foundation in memory of his father linked that work to the family encouragement that had supported his own development as a player.[9][8]

Ram’s participation in the 2009 Dubai Tennis Championship became part of a wider dispute over the United Arab Emirates’ treatment of Israeli athletes.[17][18] At the time, Israel and the UAE had no diplomatic relations, and Israelis were normally denied entry unless they held another country’s citizenship.[17] On February 15, U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner announced that the UAE ambassador had told him Dubai would issue Ram a visa for the ATP tournament, scheduled to begin February 23.[17] A February 19 report nevertheless described Ram as still awaiting a permit, alongside the UAE’s refusal to admit Israeli player Shahar Peer.[18]

Tennis organizations indicated that they might withdraw from the Dubai championships if Ram were also denied entry, while the World Jewish Congress president called for sporting federations to suspend events in the UAE until Israeli players received fair and equal treatment.[18][19] In a 2020 recollection, Ram said he ultimately traveled to Dubai after receiving a visa, having earlier been dissuaded from entering by the ATP.[9] He recalled traveling through Paris, initially being stopped from boarding, and receiving bodyguards and an assumed hotel name as security precautions in Dubai.[9]