Andy Ram

Andy Ram (born April 10, 1980) is a retired Israeli professional tennis player renowned for his success in doubles competitions. Specializing in doubles throughout his career, he achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 5 in July 2008 and won 19 ATP doubles titles, including three Grand Slam championships. Turning professional in 1996 at age 16, Ram represented Israel in the Davis Cup and competed in three Olympic Games (2004, 2008, and 2012), becoming a prominent figure in Israeli sports history as the first Israeli to win a senior Grand Slam event. He announced his retirement in May 2014 at age 34.

Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, to Israeli parents, Ram moved to Israel as a child and began playing tennis at age five, initially inspired by his father's passion for soccer before focusing on the sport due to physical limitations. Early in his career, he showed promise in doubles, reaching the Wimbledon mixed doubles final in 2003 and partnering frequently with fellow Israeli Jonathan Erlich, forming one of the most successful Israeli doubles teams. His breakthrough came in 2006 when he won the Wimbledon mixed doubles title with Russia's Vera Zvonareva, marking a historic milestone for Israeli tennis.

Andy Ram was born on April 10, 1980, in Montevideo, Uruguay, to Israeli Jewish father Amiram and Uruguayan Jewish mother Diana Ram. His father, Amiram, a former professional soccer player for Beitar Jerusalem in the 1950s who had undergone multiple knee surgeries due to injuries, had been sent to Uruguay as an Israeli emissary (shlichut) to support the Jewish community there, where he met and married Andy's mother, a dental specialist.

The family resided in Uruguay during Ram's early childhood, reflecting broader patterns of Israeli families temporarily relocating abroad for communal or professional roles in the 1970s and 1980s. Amiram's background in sports fostered an early interest in physical activities within the household, though his own career-ending injuries later shaped family decisions on athletics. The Rams emphasized Jewish cultural values and community involvement, aligning with the purpose of Amiram's shlichut assignment.

Ram has an older brother, Gustavo, a businessman in Madrid, and a younger sister, Maya, and the family maintained close-knit ties rooted in their Jewish heritage during their time in Uruguay. At the age of five, the family returned to Israel, but Ram's foundational years abroad provided an initial multicultural exposure that complemented his parents' roots.