Kristian Pless

After a promising start as a junior player Kristian Pless was destined for great things, but a serious shoulder injury ended his tennis career early. As a junior Pless reached five Grand Slam finals in 1999, winning both the singles and doubles at the Australian Open. He turned professional the same year, eventually achieving a career-best singles ranking of #65 in the world in January 2002 and a doubles ranking of #172 in the world in July 2007. Although he never won an ATP title, he did win seven singles and four doubles titles on the ATP Challenger and ITF Circuit between 1999 and 2007.

In 2000 Pless played in the singles at the Sydney Olympics where he beat Sargis Sargsyan before losing to Mark Philippoussis in the second round. He had his best Grand Slam performance two years later, reaching the third round at the Australian Open where he lost to Stefan Koubek. The following year, however, Pless suffered a shoulder injury that ultimately ended his career. Despite multiple surgeries and a comeback, he called time on his playing days in 2007.