Wayne Odesnik (born November 21, 1985) is a South African-born American retired professional left-handed tennis player, with a two-handed backhand. His highest singles ranking was No. 77 in 2009.
Among his biggest upsets were a 2007 win over Ivan Ljubičić, and a 2009 win against Igor Kunitsyn.
Odesnik won his first Futures title in 2003, and won a combined 14 singles titles in Challenger and Future ITF Men's Circuit events. He resides in Weston, Florida, in the United States.
In March 2010, Odesnik pleaded guilty to importing human growth hormone into Australia, and was banned for two years by the International Tennis Federation, later reduced to one year on account of his "substantial assistance" with the Federation's anti-doping program. In March 2015 he was handed a 15-year ban after a second doping violation.
Early and personal life
Odesnik and his family emigrated from South Africa to the United States when he was age 3, and he became an American citizen. His father, Harold, is a jeweler who owns a store in Aventura, just north of Miami, Florida, and his mother, Janice, is a former South African competitive gymnast who is now a computer coordinator. His grandmother, Sylvia, was a professional ice skater.
Odesnik currently resides in Florida.
Tennis career
Odesnik was introduced to tennis at age 7 by his grandmother, and his first tennis club was the Jewish Community Center in North Miami Beach, Florida.
Junior career (2000–01) In 2000 Odesnik lost in the finals in singles at the Easter Bowl. In 2001 he won the singles title at the El Paso Youth Tennis Centre ITF Tournament, was a semifinalist in both singles and doubles (with Jarrett Chirico) at the USTA Junior International Hard Court Championships, finished in third place in singles and doubles (with Chirico) at the boys’ 16 USTA Super National Hard Court Championships, and was a boys’ 16 singles semifinalist at the USTA Super National Clay Court Championships. He also won the Curaçao Junior Open, and won the doubles title (with Chirico) and at the USTA Super National Spring Championships – The Easter Bowl.
Professional career; 2001–04
Odesnik first competed professionally in 2001, playing only one match. He didn't win anything in 2002, but did go on to win two futures events in Jamaica in 2003, winning the first over Jacob Adaktusson in the final, and the next against Juan Mónaco in the final.
2004 saw Odesnik make three Futures finals late in the season, losing at first to Horia Tecău, then making the second final and again losing to Tecău, then losing in his third final to Brendan Evans. He also participated in the 2004 U.S. Open, after receiving a wildcard entry into the main draw. He lost to David Sánchez. Odesnik reached one Futures doubles final partnering with Zack Fleishman, but lost in the final to Tecău (this time in doubles) and Alex Kuznetsov.
2005
Odesnik reached one Futures doubles final with Josh Goffi, but lost to Scott Lipsky and David Martin. In 2005 singles play, Odesnik won two finals out of five in Futures play, ending the year with a 10-match winning streak. He won two straight titles in tournaments entered, in Honolulu and Waikoloa, Hawaii. He beat Lipsky in the first final, and then beat Sam Querrey a week later on his 20th birthday. He also participated in an ATP Masters Series event, at the Indian Wells Masters, losing in the first round to Fernando Verdasco. He wound up 2005 with a 10-match winning streak and ranked 265 for singles, 1,091 for doubles.
2006
In 2006 Odesnik won three singles titles on the Futures circuit. He lost in straight sets to Raemon Sluiter at the 2005 U.S. Open. He beat Scott Oudsema, in his first title of the Futures year in Little Rock, Arkansas, as he did not drop a set in any of his matches, then Harsh Mankad in Mobile, Alabama to win a title the following week, and then won the Milan Challenger title over bronze Olympic medalist Arnaud di Pasquale in three sets in the final. On April 4, 2006, he was named USTA Circuit Player of the Week. He ended 2006 ranked 194 for singles, and 780 for doubles.
2007
In Challenger events, he reached the finals of Karlsruhe, where he lost to Mischa Zverev. He went on to make the third round of a major-level event, beating Juan Martín del Potro. He then lost to John Isner in three tiebreak sets.
At the August 2007 Rogers Masters, Odesnik had an amazing run. In qualifying he defeated Jan Hernych. He went on to the main draw of the ATP Masters Series Canada, and upset Ivan Ljubičić in three sets, before going down to Frank Dancevic.