Paul Wekesa
Paul Wekesa (born 2 July 1967) is a former professional tennis player from Kenya. He won 3 doubles titles, achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 100 and reached two tour-level quarterfinals at Auckland in 1989 and Seoul in 1995.
| Country (sports) |  Kenya |
|---|---|
| Residence | Nairobi, Kenya |
| Born | 2 July 1967 Nairobi, Kenya |
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in) |
| Turned pro | 1987 |
| Retired | 1996 |
| Plays | Right-handed |
| Prize money | $448,114 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 27–43 (at ATP, Grand Prix and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup) |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 100 (1 May 1995) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Australian Open | 2R (1989) |
| French Open | 1R (1995) |
| Wimbledon | 1R (1995) |
| US Open | 1R (1995) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 60–77 (at ATP, Grand Prix and Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup) |
| Career titles | 3 |
| Highest ranking | No. 66 (23 March 1992) |
Tennis career
Prior to turning professional, he won the doubles tournament at the 1987 Division II NCAA Men's Tennis Championships while attending Chapman University.[1] During his career, Wekesa won 3 ATP Tour doubles titles. He reached the quarterfinals in doubles at the 1992 Australian Open. Wekesa won a bronze medal at the 1987 All-Africa Games held in Nairobi, Kenya. He is the only Kenyan tennis player to reach Top 100 of ATP rankings.[2] He also features for the Kenya Davis Cup team and was still active in 1998.[3] He was the first player to be beaten by Tim Henman in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament, at Wimbledon in 1995. After retirement from playing, he has served as a Kenyan national teams coach.[2] He won the "Hall of Fame" category at the 2007 Kenyan Sports Personality of the Year awards.[4] His father Noah Wekesa is a Kenyan politician and minister.[5]
Career finals
| Legend |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Tennis Masters Cup (0) |
| ATP Masters Series (0) |
| ATP Tour (6) |
Doubles (3 wins, 3 losses)
| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Oct 1988 | Tel Aviv, Israel | Hard |  Roger Smith |
 Patrick Baur Alexander Mronz |
6–3, 6–3 |
| Win | 2–0 | Apr 1989 | Seoul, South Korea | Hard |  Scott Davis |
John Letts Bruce Man-Son-Hing |
6–2, 6–4 |
| Loss | 2–1 | Apr 1989 | Singapore | Hard | Paul Chamberlin |
Rick Leach Jim Pugh |
3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 2–2 | Aug 1990 | Los Angeles, United States | Hard |  Peter Lundgren |
Scott Davis David Pate |
6–3, 1–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 2–3 | Nov 1991 | Birmingham, U.K. | Carpet (i) |  Jacco Eltingh |
Ronnie Båthman Rikard Bergh |
7–5, 7–5 |
| Loss | 3–3 | Aug 1994 | Umag, Croatia | Clay |  Karol Kučera |
 Diego Pérez Francisco Roig |
2–6, 4–6 |
References
- "NCAA.com – The Official Website of NCAA Championships". NCAA.com. Retrieved 2018-04-20.
- Kenyapage.net: Kenya's greatest Sporting Figures Archived 2007-12-06 at the Wayback Machine
- Stevegtennis.com: Davis Cup Results 1998 Archived 2007-08-13 at the Wayback Machine
- "SOYA Awards - 2007 winners". Archived from the original on 2008-09-13. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
- "Office of Public Communications". Archived from the original on 2007-11-22. Retrieved 2008-06-19.
External links
- Paul Wekesa at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Paul Wekesa at the International Tennis Federation
- Paul Wekesa at the Davis Cup