Eighteen Years Without Federico Luzzi
Eighteen years have passed since the death of Federico Luzzi, a promising Italian tennis player who died on October 25, 2008, from a rapidly progressing form of leukemia. His mother, Paola Cesaroni, founded Fedelux, an organization dedicated to keeping Federico’s memory alive by supporting leukemia research.
Federico began playing at age three with his father Maurizio’s racket; his first major successes came at the junior level, where he was world and European champion in the under-14 category and European champion in the under-16 category. He also won the U12 Lambertenghi Cup (the Italian championship for that age group) and the prestigious U14 “Eddie Herr” tournament in Florida.
He made five appearances in the main draws of Grand Slam tournaments between 2001 and 2006. His best result was reaching the second round at the 2006 Australian Open (loss to G. Coria of Argentina, 7-6 (10), 6-4, 6-3); at the Italian Open, he made the main draw twice (2001 and 2002). His best result was reaching the round of 16 in 2001, where he was defeated by Spain’s Jacobo Diaz (6-3, 6-1) after defeating France’s A. Clement, No. 12, and Morocco’s H. Arazi, No. 28 in the world.
His best result on the major circuit was reaching the quarterfinals in Barcelona in 2001 (defeating T. Enqvist of Sweden, 6-1, 6-4). He has won three titles on the Challenger Tour (Brindisi, Mumbai 2001, Cherbourg 2007) and reached two finals (Singapore 2001, Como 2006). Federico Liuzzi reached No. 92 in the ATP rankings on February 11, 2002; in doubles, he reached No. 258 on November 3, 2003.
In his hometown of Arezzo, a tribute is paid to him every year on October 25 during Mass: “Federico taught us the profound value of friendship, dedication, and resilience in the face of the greatest challenges,” wrote the Tuscan city’s association against leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. His memory remains vividly alive among his loved ones, friends, teammates, and all those who had the privilege of knowing him. During Mass, we will come together in a single embrace, finding comfort in our faith and in the certainty that Federico continues to watch over each of us.”
