Albert Costa

Albert Costa was a Spanish tennis player who played professionally from 1993 to 2006. Costa was ranked number six in the world in July 2002, just a month after he won the French Open.

Costa started to play tennis when he was five. He excelled as a junior player and was named as the ATP’s Newcomer of the Year in 1994. The following year he won his first top-level singles title and went on to win three more titles in 1996. Costa also reached the quarter-finals of the 1997 Australian Open.

Costa competed in the singles at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics but lost in the second round to Fino Meligeni of Brazil. He returned to the Olympics four years later, playing in the singles and doubles at Sydney. His singles performance was largely forgettable, losing to Zimbabwe’s Kevin Ullyett in the opening round. However, in the doubles Costa teamed with Álex Corretja with the pair winning the bronze medal.

After the Sydney Olympics, Costa was part of the Spanish team that won the 2000 Davis Cup. Two years later, Costa won the singles title at the French Open, beating fellow countryman Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final. Due to injuries Costa retired from tennis in 2006. He finished his career with more than $7.5 million in prize money.