Richard Gasquet

Tennis Player

Richard Gasquet became a certified tennis prodigy at age 12, when he won Les Petit As -- "the unofficial world junior title," as the BBC called it. Both his father and mother were tennis teachers, giving young Gasquet a leg up in both genes and training; his father continues to serve as his coach. In 2002 Gasquet won a match in the men's event at Monte Carlo at age 15, won the junior tournament titles at both the French Open and the U.S. Open, was named the World Junior Champion, and at age 16 became the youngest player ever to crack the top 200 in the men's year-end rankings. In 2004, paired with fellow French teen Tatiana Golovin, he won the French Open mixed doubles championship. The next year he won his first singles title at Nottingham, England, made his Davis Cup debut, and became the top-ranked tennis pro in France.

Extra credit: According to his official site, Gasquet is a big fan of French soccer star Zinedine Zidane and Australian actor Russell Crowe.

Other tennis stars of Gasquet's era: Switzerland's Roger Federer, American Andy Roddick and Australian Lleyton Hewitt.