Yshai Oliel
Country (sports) Israel
ResidenceRamla, Israel
Born (2000-01-05) 5 January 2000
Ramla, Israel
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
PlaysLeft-handed (two-handed backhand)
CoachYoav Ben Zvi
Prize money$86,572
Singles
Career record5–6
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 305 (8 August 2022)
Current rankingNo. 426 (17 October 2022)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open JuniorF (2017)
French Open Junior2R (2016, 2017)
Wimbledon Junior2R (2017)
US Open Junior3R (2016)
Doubles
Career record0–2
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 809 (27 June 2022)
Current rankingNo. 865 (26 September 2022)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open Junior2R (2017)
French Open JuniorW (2016)
Wimbledon JuniorQF (2017)
US Open JuniorSF (2016
Medal record
Representing  Israel
European Youth Olympic Festival
Silver medal – second place2015 TbilisiSingles
Silver medal – second place2015 TbilisiDoubles
Junior Orange Bowl
Gold medal – first place2012 Coral GablesSingles
Gold medal – first place2014 Coral GablesSingles
Last updated on: 15 August 2022.

Yshai Oliel (Hebrew: ישי עוליאל; born 5 January 2000) is an Israeli tennis player. He was the No. 1 Israeli singles from October 4, 2021, until October 3, 2022.[1] As of December 28, 2023, he was ranked 422 in the world by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).

Oliel is a two-time Junior Orange Bowl champion, having won in 2012 and 2014. He also won the 2016 French Open Boys' Doubles title, with Patrik Rikl. He made it to the finals in the boys' singles at the 2017 Australian Open, where he lost.

Early and personal life

Oliel is originally from Ramla, Israel.[2] He is Jewish and his parents, Avraham and Floret Oliel, are of Moroccan Jewish descent.[3][4][5][6] He is the youngest of their five children.[7]

As a teenager he grew long, shoulder-length hair. However, his sister told him it was getting to be too much and that it was time "to be a man", so he cut his hair and donated it to children undergoing cancer treatment.[8][9]

Oliel is currently in a relationship with Israeli tennis player Roni Lior.[10]

Junior career

Oliel started playing tennis at the age of 5.[5] From the age of 9 he was a member of the David Squad, a non-profit tennis academy, which identifies the most talented Israeli players and develops them all the way to professional level. Oliel was supported by the David Squad until he turned professional at the age of 19.

He won the Junior Orange Bowl in the 12-and-under singles category in 2012, while Oliel was in 7th grade.[11][12] He returned at 13 years of age, ranked first in the tournament, to win the 2014 Junior Orange Bowl in the 14-and-under singles category.[13] That made him one of only nine tennis players to win the Junior Orange Bowl championship twice in its 70-year history, which list includes Andy Murray, Jimmy Connors, Jennifer Capriati, and Monica Seles.[14][15][2][6][13]

As a 15-year-old in 2015, Oliel was ranked No. 48 among players 18-and-younger.[2]

Oliel, at age 16, won the 2016 French Open Boys' Doubles title with Patrik Rikl of the Czech Republic, defeating Chung Yun-seong and Orlando Luz in the final 6–3, 6–4.[16] Oliel said: "It helped that there were hundreds of Israelis and members of the Jewish community that came along to Roland Garros to cheer me along. I feel very proud to be out there representing Israel."[16] He became the fourth Israeli to win a junior grand slam title, joining Dudi Sela (who won the same title in 2003), Anna Smashnova, and Shahar Pe'er, all of whom went on to become top-30 players.[16][17]

At the 2016 Junior Boys' singles tournament at the US Open at age 16, after beating No. 2 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia in the second round 4–6, 6–2, 7–6(2), Oliel lost to No. 13 seed Nicola Kuhn of Spain.[18][7] At the 2016 Junior Boys' doubles tournament at the US Open, Oliel and Zizou Bergs of Belgium made it to the semi-finals, where they lost to ultimate champions Juan Carlos Aguilar and Felipe Meligeni 4–6, 7–6(1), 10–2.[19][20]

As a 16-year-old in September 2016, Oliel was ranked No. 39 among players 18-and-younger.[18]

He lost to Hungarian Zsombor Piros in the boys' singles final at the 2017 Australian Open, which Oliel reached after beating top seed Yibing Wu 6–4, 3–6, 6–2 in the semifinals.[21] Oliel had hoped to follow in the footsteps of Israeli junior champions Shahar Pe'er, who won the girls' Australian Open in 2004, and Anna Smashnova, who won the girls' French Open in 1991.[21] He became the second Israeli to reach a final at a boys' Grand Slam event, following Noam Behr who lost in the final of the boys' US Open in 1992.[21] The result allowed him to reach the No. 4 place in the Junior rankings.[22]

Professional career

2017–2018

Later in 2017, Oliel continued to slowly discover the professional circuit and made his first appearance in a Challenger tournament, in Sophia Antipolis for the Verrazzano Open. In December 2017, while still 17 years old, he won his first Futures tournament, in Sajur, Israel.[23] With the victory he became the fourth player in the world born in the year 2000 to win a Futures title, joining Félix Auger-Aliassime, Nicola Kuhn, and Thiago Seyboth Wild.[24] Following a few ITF Men's Circuit tournaments played with promising results in his home country (three semi-finals and a win), he was ranked No. 629 at the end of the 2017 ATP season, which constituted the best ranking of his young career. In March 2018, Oliel reached in the finals of an Israel F2 in Ramat HaSharon, Israel, where he fell to Harri Heliövaara.[25] The next month, Oliel beat world #233 Václav Šafránek.[25]

2019–2020: Early success on the Futures and Challenger Tour

In May 2019, Oliel won the M15 Heraklion in Heraklion, Greece, defeating Britain's Lloyd Glasspool in the final, and in June 2019 he won the M15 Netanya in Netanya, Israel with a win in the finals over Gilbert Soares Klier Junior.[25] He won the M15 Kiryat Shmona tournament, in September 2019, held at ITC Kiryat Shmona, defeating Britain's Jack Draper in the final, and the M15 Sajur in Sajur, Israel.[26][25]

2021: ATP debut, Israeli No. 1 player

Oliel reached a singles ranking of No. 381 on October 4, 2021, which was his career high at the time. With this ranking, he became the highest ranked Israeli tennis player in the world.[27]

Oliel made his ATP debut at the 2021 St. Petersburg Open after receiving a wildcard into the main draw. He played John Millman in the first round, but was defeated 6–1, 6–1.

2022: Second ATP tournament

In July 2022, Oliel reached the finals of the Marburg, (Germany) Clay M25. On 8 August 2022, he reached a career-high of world No. 305 in singles.

Oliel received a wildcard to his home tournament, the Tel Aviv Open. He lost to qualifier compatriot Edan Leshem in straight sets.[28]

National representation

Davis Cup

In March 2022, Oliel participated in the Davis Cup representing Israel against South Africa. Oliel played two singles matches and defeated world #34 Lloyd Harris and Ruan Roelofse. Oliel's win over Harris marked the biggest victory in the Israeli's career. Israel went on to defeat South Africa by a score of 3-1 and earned a promotion to the World Group I of the Davis Cup.[29]

Playing style

Oliel has been noted for his grace, timing, and tenacity.[6] He has a forehand with a good deal of spin, a stable two-handed backhand, a good volley with excellent touch, and he moves well on the court and reads situations well.[8] Former French Open and Wimbledon women's doubles champion Angela Buxton compared his style to that of Roger Federer, noting that he does not "force or muscle the ball".[9]

Junior Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss2017Australian OpenHardHungary Zsombor Piros6–4, 4–6, 3–6

Doubles: 1 (1 title)

Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win2016French OpenClayCzech Republic Patrik RiklSouth Korea Chung Yun-seong
Brazil Orlando Luz		6–3, 6–4

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

Singles: 19 (9–10)

Legend
ATP Challenger (0–0)
ITF Futures (8–10)
Finals by surface
Hard (8–4)
Clay (1–6)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Dec 2017 Israel F18, Sajur Futures Hard France Tom Jomby 7–6(8–6), 6–2
Loss 1–1 Mar 2018 Israel F2, Ramat HaSharon Futures Hard Finland Harri Heliövaara 1-6, 3-6
Win 2–1 May 2019 M15 Heraklion, Greece World Tennis Tour Hard United Kingdom Lloyd Glasspool 6-3, 6-4
Loss 2–2 Jun 2019 M15 Akko, Israel World Tennis Tour Hard Brazil Gilbert Soares Klier Junior 6–4, 4–6, 1–6
Win 3–2 Jun 2019 M15 Netanya, Israel World Tennis Tour Hard Brazil Gilbert Soares Klier Junior 3–6, 6–4, 6–3
Loss 3–3 Aug 2019 M15 Novi Sad, Serbia World Tennis Tour Clay Serbia Marko Miladinović 6–2, 1–6, 2–6
Win 4–3 Sep 2019 M15 Kiryat Shmona, Israel World Tennis Tour Hard United Kingdom Jack Draper 6-3 5-7 6-4
Win 5–3 Sep 2019 M15 Kiryat Shmona, Israel World Tennis Tour Hard Italy Giorgio Ricca 6–1, 7–6(8–6)
Loss 5–4 Nov 2019 M15 Heraklion, Greece World Tennis Tour Hard France Geoffrey Blancaneaux 1-6, 2-6
Loss 5–5 May 2021 M15 Ramat HaSharon, Israel World Tennis Tour Hard Israel Ben Patael 4-6, 4-6
Loss 5–6 Aug 2021 M25 Frankfurt am Main, Germany World Tennis Tour Clay Spain Eduard Esteve Lobato 6–7(1–7), 2–6
Win 6–6 Aug 2021 M25+H Bacău, Romania World Tennis Tour Clay France Arthur Cazaux 6–4, 4–6, 6–4
Loss 6–7 Sep 2021 M25 Říčany, Czech Republic World Tennis Tour Clay Hungary Zsombor Piros 3–6, 6–3, 3–6
Win 7–7 Nov 2021 M25 Meitar, Israel World Tennis Tour Hard United Kingdom Stuart Parker 6-2, 6-4
Loss 7–8 Jul 2022 M25 Marburg, Germany World Tennis Tour Clay Belgium Raphael Collignon 2-6, 2-6
Loss 7–9 May 2023 M15 Antalya, Turkey World Tennis Tour Clay Argentina Luciano Emanuel Ambrogi 2-6, 5-7
Loss 7–10 May 2023 M15 Bucharest, Romania World Tennis Tour Clay Romania Cezar Crețu 4-6, 2-6
Win 8–10 Jul 2023 M25 Netanya, Israel World Tennis Tour Hard Poland Filip Peliwo 1-6, 7-6(7–5), 6-2
Win 9–10 Aug 2023 M15 Ra'anana, Israel World Tennis Tour Hard Israel Amit Vales 6-2, 6-0

Doubles: 1 (0–1)

Legend
ATP Challenger (0–0)
ITF Futures (0–1)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Mar 2017 Israel F1, Ramat HaSharon Futures Hard Israel Dekel Bar Hungary Gabor Borsos
Lithuania Laurynas Grigelis		 3–6, 4–6

See also

References

  1. ↑ "ATP Rankings | Pepperstone ATP Rankings (Singles)".
  2. 1 2 3 Steven Braid (29 May 2016). "Israel's Top Tennis Academy is Streamlined for Success". The New York Times.
  3. ↑ Andrew Sherwood. "Diego Schwartzman seeded 15 for Wimbledon". jewishnews.timesofisrael.com.
  4. ↑ "Yshai Oliel on Instagram: "הכנסת ספר תורה למשפחת עוליאל🙏🏼"".
  5. 1 2 "PM Netanyahu Meets with World Youth Tennis Champion Yishai Oliel", Prime Minister's Office (30 December 2012)
  6. 1 2 3 "The Philanthropist With Wimbledon Dreams for Israeli Tennis Hopefuls". Haaretz. 24 April 2015.
  7. 1 2 Howard Blas (12 September 2016). "Oliel leads Israel's young tennis talents; Oliel, the tall, hard hitting left-hander with solid ground strokes and serve, showed the New York crowd how much potential he has". The Jerusalem Post.
  8. 1 2 Alon Idan (9 September 2016). "In a Tiny Stadium in New York City, I Found Israel's Next Big Tennis Star". Haaretz.
  9. 1 2 "Israeli sensation reminds me of Federer, says Buxton". The Jewish Chronicle. 17 July 2015.
  10. ↑ "Yshai Oliel on Instagram: "Weekends with you"".
  11. ↑ Asher Zeiger (23 December 2012). "Israeli tween wins top tennis tourney; Yishai Oliel is the new Junior Orange Bowl 'Boys 12 & Under' champion, following in the footsteps of Connors and Murray". Times of Israel.
  12. ↑ Aharoni, Oren; Zenziper, Nadav (23 December 2012). "Tennis: Israel's Ulliel, 12, wins Junior Orange Bowl". Ynetnews. ynet.
  13. 1 2 Aharoni, Oren (23 December 2014). "14-year-old Israeli wins revered junior tennis tournament". ynetnews.
  14. ↑ Asher Zeiger (23 December 2012). "Israeli teen wins top tennis tourney". Times of Israel.
  15. ↑ Oren Aharoni (23 December 2014). "14-year-old Israeli wins revered junior tennis tournament". ynetnews.com.
  16. 1 2 3 "Oliel wins first junior tennis grand slam title". The Jewish Chronicle.
  17. ↑ "Israeli Yshai Oliel wins French Open boys' doubles title with Czech partner". i24news.
  18. 1 2 "Israeli juniors Oliel, Krolitzky advance in style". The Jerusalem Post.
  19. ↑ "Oliel reaches semi-finals of Junior Doubles at US Open". The Jewish Chonicle.
  20. ↑ "US Open Friday Tennis Results". Tennis News. 10 September 2016.
  21. 1 2 3 "Israeli teen Oliel comes up short in boys’ tennis final," The Jerusalem Post.
  22. ↑ "Israel set to face Portugal in Davis Cup," The Jerusalem Post.
  23. ↑ "Israeli tennis prodigy Oliel continues climb toward greatness," The Jerusalem Post.
  24. ↑ "17-year-old Yshai Oliel wins first Futures title at home in Israel," Tennis World.
  25. 1 2 3 4 "Yshai Oliel | Player Activity | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour.
  26. ↑ Dietmar Kaspar (5 September 2019). "ITF World Tennis Tour Round-Up CW35".
  27. ↑ Yshai Oliel | Player Activity | ATP World Tour | Tennis
  28. ↑ "Tennis, ATP – Tel Aviv Open 2022: Leshem knocks out Oliel". 27 September 2022.
  29. ↑ "South Africa Stays In Davis Cup World Group II". TennisTourTalk. 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
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