David Ferrer Ern (Valencian pronunciation: [daˈvit feˈreɾ ˈɛɾn]; Spanish: [daˈβið feˈreɾ ˈeɾn]; born 2 April 1982) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 3 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in July 2013. Ferrer won 27 ATP Tour singles titles, including a Masters 1000 event at the 2012 Paris Masters. He was also the runner-up at the 2013 French Open, the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup, and six Masters events. A three-time Davis Cup champion with Spain (in 2008, 2009, and 2011), Ferrer has the thirteenth-highest career prize money earnings among male tennis players (not adjusting for inflation). With 734 career match wins, he holds the distinction of winning the most matches on the ATP Tour without having won a major; he is widely considered one of the best players not to have won a major.
Ferrer turned professional in 2000 and was regarded as a clay court specialist in his early career, winning 13 of his 27 titles on the surface. However, he had significant success on all surfaces, having reached the final of the 2013 French Open (without losing a set en route), the semifinals of the Australian and US Opens twice each, and the quarterfinals of Wimbledon twice. Ferrer retired in 2019, competing for the last time at his home tournament of the Madrid Open.
Since retiring, Ferrer has been involved in the development of Ferrer Tennis Academy in La Nucía, Spain, and has served as captain of the Spain Davis Cup team since 2023.
1999–2001: Turning pro and first Challenger title
Ferrer was born in Xàbia in the province of Alicante, but he moved to Gandia at age thirteen, followed two years later by a move to Barcelona to attend the Catalan Tennis Federation.
Once, as a teenager, when Ferrer did not practice hard enough, his coach, Javier Piles, locked him in a completely dark 2m x 2m ball closet for several hours, giving him only a piece of bread and a bit of water. After this incident he was fed up with tennis and went to work at a construction site, but after a week he returned to Piles and asked if he could remain at the club and play tennis. Piles continued to coach Ferrer until they parted ways at the end of 2013. Ferrer has said he considers Piles to be like a second father to him.
Ferrer turned professional in 2000, finishing as world no. 419, winning in Poland F1 and Spain F3, finishing runner-up in Spain F1. 2001 was not a particularly good year for him. He won his first career Challenger title in Sopot and reached the semifinals at Manerbio. He also reached the semifinals in Spain F15 and Spain F16.
2002–2003: First title, victory over world No.1
In 2002, he played consistently in ATP (10–6) and Challenger (35–13) tournaments, winning his first ATP title in Bucharest (defeated José Acasuso) and reaching his first ATP final in just his second ATP event in Umag (defeated David Nalbandian and Guillermo Coria, lost to Carlos Moyá). He won Challenger titles in Naples, Valencia, and Sassuolo. All 10 ATP match wins and 34 of 35 Challenger wins came on clay.
The highlight of 2003 was Ferrer's victory against Andre Agassi at the Rome Masters. He made his debut at all four Grand Slam tournaments, as well as six ATP Masters Series events. In Rome, he upset the defending champion Agassi in the first round and lost to Ivan Ljubičić in the second round. Ferrer advanced to the second round at the French Open and Wimbledon. He reached his third career final in Sopot and lost to Guillermo Coria. In doubles, he reached his first career final in Acapulco with Fernando Vicente. He compiled a 13–16 record on clay courts, 6–10 on hard, 1–1 on grass, and had a year-ending ranking of world no. 71.
2004–2005: First Grand Slam quarterfinal, top 15
In 2004, Ferrer reached the quarterfinals in Buenos Aires, Valencia, and at the ATP Masters Series Hamburg (defeated no. 6 David Nalbandian, lost to Guillermo Coria). He advanced to the semifinals in Stuttgart (lost to Gastón Gaudio). Later in the year he advanced to the quarterfinals in Bucharest and the semifinals in Palermo (lost to Tomáš Berdych) and Lyon (defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero, lost to Xavier Malisse). He ended the year with a ranking of world no. 49.
In 2005, Ferrer advanced to the semifinals in Miami by defeating David Nalbandian, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and Dominik Hrbatý, but lost to Rafael Nadal. He closed the year with a quarterfinal showing in Madrid, where he defeated Puerta, but lost to Robby Ginepri, and Paris, where he lost to Andy Roddick. He lost only once in the first round of nine Masters Series events, while compiling a 20–9 record. In doubles, Ferrer won his first two ATP titles in Viña del Mar and Acapulco (with Ventura) and earned a career-high US$951,772. He finished the year with a ranking of world no. 14.
2006–2007: World Tour Finals final, top 5
Ferrer opened the year with a quarterfinal showing in Auckland, where he lost to Olivier Rochus. He broke into the top 10 ATP rankings for the first time, following a personal-best fourth-round showing at the Australian Open, where he defeated Mario Ančić, but lost to Fabrice Santoro. He was in the top 10 for five weeks during the year. Then, playing in the first round of a Davis Cup tie versus Belarus, he lost to Vladimir Voltchkov in the second rubber. In March, he reached the semifinals in Miami for a second straight year, where he defeated no. 4 Andy Roddick, but lost to Roger Federer. In his second clay-court tournament of the year in Monte-Carlo, he lost to Federer. He also advanced to the quarterfinals at the Masters Series Hamburg, falling to eventual champion Tommy Robredo. In Düsseldorf, he posted wins over two top-10 players, world no. 4 Ivan Ljubičić and world no. 9 Fernando González. He reached the third round at the French Open and a career-best fourth round at Wimbledon, where he defeated González in the third round, but lost to Lleyton Hewitt. In July, he won a second career ATP title in a five-hour final in Stuttgart. He came back from two sets to one and a 1–5 deficit against Acasuso, saving one match point down 4–5 in the fourth set. In August, he reached the quarterfinals in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he defeated no. 10 Marcos Baghdatis, but lost to González, followed by a third-round showing at New Haven, where he lost to Agustín Calleri. At the US Open, he reached the third round for the second consecutive year, but lost to Mikhail Youzhny. Ferrer closed the year by reaching the quarterfinals in Basel, where he lost to Federer. For the year, he went 3–5 versus top-10 opponents and compiled records of 18–8 on clay and 17–13 on hard court. He finished the year ranked world no. 14 and in the top 15 for the second consecutive year.
Ferrer began the year by winning Auckland, defeating Tommy Robredo in the final. At the 2007 Australian Open, he defeated Kristian Pless, Thomas Johansson, and Radek Štěpánek, and lost in the fourth round to Mardy Fish in five sets. One month later, he reached the quarterfinals at Rotterdam. He had quarterfinal finishes at Indian Wells and Monte-Carlo and reached the fourth round in Miami, the semifinals in Barcelona, and the quarterfinals in Hamburg.
At the French Open, he was stopped by Fernando Verdasco in the third round. At Wimbledon, he was eliminated by Paul-Henri Mathieu in the second round.
In July, he captured his second title of the year and fourth of his career, beating Nicolás Almagro in the final of the Swedish Open in Båstad. He then advanced to the quarterfinals in Cincinnati, defeating Andy Roddick in the third round. At the US Open, he was seeded 15th and knocked out 24th-seeded David Nalbandian in the third round, and then upset second-seeded compatriot Rafael Nadal in the fourth round in four sets. He beat 20th-seeded Juan Ignacio Chela in the quarterfinals and reached his first Grand Slam semifinal, where he was defeated by third seed Novak Djokovic. His performance at the US Open brought his ranking up to world no. 8. Then, Ferrer captured his third title of the year in Tokyo, defeating Richard Gasquet in the final. At the Paris Masters, he made it to the quarterfinals, where he lost to David Nalbandian.