Andy Ram - Background

Background

Ram, born in Montevideo, Uruguay, is Jewish. His father Amiram, a former professional soccer player for Betar Jerusalem in the 1950s, is Israeli. After his father was injured he was sent to Uruguay on "shlihut" ("outreach"), and it was there that he met Ram's mother, who is Uruguayan. He has an older brother and a younger sister. They moved to Jerusalem, Israel when he was 5, which is when he began playing tennis. "It was tough at the beginning because I couldn't speak the language, and was fighting with people in the kindergarten who didn't understand me", said Ram. "My parents decided to send me to the tennis center not long after we arrived."

"I really enjoyed playing tennis, because when I was six or seven years old and winning tournaments it felt good", said Ram. "From when I was 8 or 10 I knew it was going to be a career for me. It's a tennis life so it wasn't so easy. You have to give up many things. When all my friends were playing outside I had to practice. I didn't go to all the school trips. But I was focused from a very young age. I grew up practicing at the Jerusalem tennis center. I spent most of my childhood there, practicing five days a week. I never regretted it and I enjoyed every moment. Now I am reaping the rewards."

Ram was trained by Ronen Moralli at the Israel Tennis Centers in Jerusalem. "My first inspiration was Jo Jo Lizmi, the famous Jerusalem tennis coach, who showed me all the basic techniques. I was with him four or five years and he taught me everything – how to hold the racket, forehand, and backhand. He was very tough." "But the man who really developed my game was Ronen Moralli", says Ram. "He was with me in Jerusalem from when I was 10 years old, but then he moved to Wingate as the national coach." Moralli recalls: "When I worked with Andy at the Jerusalem Tennis Center he was very very energetic and full of passion. His technical abilities weren't as good as the other kids, but he had an understanding of the game. It was something spectacular. He knew when to come to the net, when to stay back. This is something you are born with. Either you have it or you don't. You can teach it, but only up to a certain point, and Andy was born with it."

When he was 15 he was sent to the Wingate Institute, where young Israeli athletes are groomed to become professionals. "It wasn't easy being far away from your family", Ram remembers, "but you know it is going to be your profession and that's what you are going to try to do for life. You practice twice a day and fit in school in between." He became a professional tennis player in 1996, at the age of 16, but did not compete in a Grand Slam tournament until 2001 when he appeared in the Wimbledon doubles with Erlich.

It was at Wingate that he first met Jonathan Erlich, his future doubles partner who has also been born in South America. Ram said: "We have known each other for many years. When he was 17 we met at Wingate and ever since we have been practicing together. We grew up together and we complete each other off and on court – the first rule of doubles is communication." He adds: "Yoni and I are very proud of being Israelis. They love us all around the world, and there is a big Jewish community around the world that supports us.... All over the world it is like this. When we go to Beijing even the Chinese Jews cheer for us."