Tennis player Nicolas Lapentti (picture ©ataelw) has announced his retirement from competitions due to a chronic injury to a tendon in his left knee.

Nicolás Alexander Lapentti Gomez was born on August 13, 1976 in Guayaquil, Ecuador. A nephew of 1990 Roland Garros winner Andres Gomez, Nicolas started playing tennis at six.

The early success for Nicolas Lapentti arrived in 1994 by winning Junior tournaments such as the Orange Bowl and the doubles event at Roland Garros and the U.S. Open with Brazilian champion Gustavo Kuerten.

Turned pro in 1995, Nicolás Lapentti won his first tournament in September of the same year in Bogotá. During his career Lapentti won a total of five tournaments, three of them on clay but also two on hard surfaces such as Indianapolis and Lyon indoors, both in 1999. That was his best year in which he also reached his best result in a Grand Slam tournament as a semifinalist at the Australian Open.

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His brother Giovanni is a professional tennis player as well.

In 2000 Nicolas Lapentti created a foundation that helps children who come from families who can’t afford getting them to play tennis and give them the opportunity to become tennis players. Now he’s going to have more time to follow the activities of this foundation and enjoy the popularity he has in Ecuador.