Hugo Dellien: 10 Unknown Facts About The Tennis Player

The Bolivian came from a country with no history of tennis and an expensive lifestyle and this pushed Hugo Dellien to become who he is today. The Grand Slam champion has been playing tennis since when he couldn’t even properly differentiate right from left.

Though his country initially made it a bit difficult for him to pursue his passion while starting out, he has brought a lot of recognition to them. Hugo has been recognized as the No. 1 Tennis player in Bolivia.

The 31 year-old became the new Grand Slam champion beating fellow Bolivian Mario Martinez’s 1984 title. Astonishingly, Dellien won the title so fast in just 75 minutes, beating India’s Prajnesh Gunneswaran.

Here Are 10 Facts about Hugo Dellien That Would Blow Your Minds

1. Early Life of the Athlete

Hugo Dellien Jr. was born to Mr. Hugo Dellien Sr. and Mrs. Silvana on the 16th day of June 1993. He was born in Trinidad, Bolivia. The athlete has two siblings named Murkel and Iker with whom he grew up. According to research and findings, Senior Dellien is a businessman who moved from place to place with his family.

2. He isn’t the Only Member of His Family who Enjoys the Sports

Back when the Tennis star was growing up, he had an uncle who would occasionally play tennis for the fun of it. However, in his immediate family, his brothers are said to be tennis players as well.

Murkel and Iker share the same love and passion for a sport that wasn’t common in their hometown back then. The former is even a recognized tennis player who plays college tennis for Witchita State.

Moving away from tennis, Hugo Sr. was said to have had an interest in playing Basketball. However, he was prevented from doing so by his father and so his career in the sport could not kickoff.

3. How Did He Begin to Play Tennis?

Junior Hugo began to play tennis from the age of 5. Witnessing his utmost love for tennis, his parents enrolled him in a private tennis school in Trinidad. At the time, this school was the only institution that could offer their son the chance to better his skills.

Unfortunately, the school was the only support Bolivia offered in terms of the sports in the country. Dellien had to learn as much as he could during after-school programs and at a club made of clay courts.

By the time he had reached 13 years of age, Hugo moved away from Trinidad to Santa Cruz. Here he began to study online and he decided that he wanted to make something out of Tennis.

Haven left a very expensive state, Hugo remained in Santa Cruz for about 3 years before moving to Bueno Aires. There was no support for the athletes in Bolivia and sponsoring themselves became very difficult.

4. Hugo Dellien’s Parents Made A lot of Sacrifices for Him

While he played, The Bolivian faced a lot of challenges that required a lot of external help. He hailed from a place where being an athlete was difficult as they had little or no support. Not only was it difficult to succeed here, but the athletes were also saddled with the responsibility of sponsoring themselves as there were no sponsors either.

Nonetheless, in a bid to support him, the Dellien family offered to sell their properties. His father who was particularly hopeful of what his son would become had no qualms with the arrangement.

Also, at times when the tennis player went broke, he had his dad to run back to and ask for money. Dellien stated that although his family had the option of giving up on him, they never did. Instead, they showered him with unwavering support.

5. The Bolivian Almost Quit Tennis

Hugo Dellien’s predicament did not totally go away with his family’s support. He needed more than his family looking out for him, to continue on his journey. However, this wasn’t forthcoming in 2018 and so he opted to quit sports.

Hugo Dellien suffered a major blow when he suffered a fatal leg injury that kept him away from the field of play for 6 months. To add salt to injury, he lost a major sponsor at about the same time.

With the aforementioned, Dellien missed the Grand Slam and so had to hang his boots on tennis. Though at the time, he had the prospects of being World No. 150, he realized that he couldn’t continue begging for support.

Everything happening at the time affected the player badly and he took the needed time away from the court. However, this did not go unnoticed as his brother’s strides led to a lot of questions.

When people began to know about his challenges, they started sending support to him. Bolivians needed him to return to the field of play and so the Bolivian Tennis Federation had to come through.

The BTF granted Hugo $1500 in a bid to get him back to training and eventually, the playing field. This went a long way in helping Bolivia’s No. 1 as he began to win matches as soon as he returned to play.

6. Dellien Ditched ATP Austria for the Olympics

In July 2021, Hugo Dellien participated in the Olympics although he initially never thought he’d make it through. He did not qualify to go to the Olympics but luck shone upon him and he was eventually called upon.

However, at that time, Hugo was already involved in an ATP in Austria, he made the decision to go to the Olympic games. He had to get off the ATP because although he never expected to make it through, he had always dreamed of going to the Olympics.

7. As of March 2022, Hugo Dellien was Part of the Best 100 ATP Players List

One of Hugo Dellien’s biggest dreams came through when he made it to the Best 100 ATP players in the world. As of March 2022, he was placed at no. 90 on the list and similarly, stays at no. 72 in the World ranking.

However, he now eyes greater heights as he looks forward to making it to the list of Best 50 ATP players.

8. Hugo Dellien Married a Fellow Athlete

The Trinidad athlete, Dellien Hugo is married to a fellow athlete known as Camila Giangreco Campiz. She was also a tennis player but retired from the game after playing her last match on the pro circuit in November of 2018.

While she was active, the 28 year-old Paraguay tennis player peaked at no. 500 in singles and 403 in doubles rankings. She also won 2 singles and 20 doubles titles on the ITF Women’s Circuit.

9. He Missed the Birth of His First Child

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Hugo is a proud father who welcomed his first child named Mila on April 25, 2020. However, he was unfortunate to have missed the birth of his daughter due to Covid 19 restrictions. Mila was expected to be born in Paraguay but upon a visit by Hugo back home, he got stranded there.

The Bolivian borders were closed following Covid restrictions and this prevented Dellien from going back. Also, Paraguay shut its borders a few days after Bolivia did and so Campiz had to give birth to their daughter without her husband.

The couple however had to make an appeal through the Bolivian Foreign Ministry, in order to let Hugo come see his daughter. Luckily, the Paraguayan government agreed to this. The proud father of one was allowed back into the country, eventually. This process was also made easy because the couple got married in Paraguay and Camila is a citizen.

However, the challenges did not take away the joy of their newborn as Hugo took to social media to share the news. He penned down a lovely letter to his newly-born daughter explaining why he missed her birth.

10. Hugo Started a Business Venture with His Dad

Dellien Hugo, the Bolivian tennis star is not just a professional sportsman, he also has a business. This business is one he shares with the senior Hugo and it is an Ice Cream business.

Though he got the sum of $1,180,815 in prize money, Hugo knows that there is a need to make more money. In view of this, his net worth is speculated to be around $1 million.

Complete profile of Hugo Dellien