Early Life and Jewish Heritage
Levine was born in Nepean, Ontario, in Canada, and grew up in Ottawa's Centrepointe neighborhood. Levine's father Nathan had played tennis for Penn State.
Levine attended Hillel Academy of Ottawa, which has since been renamed as the Ottawa Jewish Community School. Off the court Levine, who is Jewish, keeps kosher at home, and he plays with a Star of David on his chain. He can read and write Hebrew. Levine, along with Dudi Sela, Sergio Roitman and Shahar Pe'er is one of a number of young Jewish tennis players who are highly ranked. "I have a lot of contact with the Israeli players, like Ram, Erlich, Sela, and Levy. They sometimes ask me when I will play for Israel in the Davis Cup", he said. He also appreciates the Jewish fans who cheer for him. At one tournament, they cheered and said things such as: "Come on, man, your opponent hasn't even had his circumcision yet!"
Levine and his family moved to Florida in the US when he was 13 years old, because his younger brother Daniel suffers from ulcerative colitis and the year-round warm weather was much better for him. Levine currently resides in Boca Raton, Florida.
Read more about this topic: Jesse Levine
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