Mariano Puerta

Mariano Rubén Puerta
Country (sports) Argentina
ResidenceBuenos Aires, Argentina
Miami, Florida, U.S. (2014–present)
Born (1978-09-19) 19 September 1978
San Francisco, Córdoba, Argentina
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Turned pro1998
Retired2009
PlaysLeft-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize moneyUS$1,781,372
Singles
Career record128–118
Career titles3
Highest rankingNo. 9 (15 August 2005)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open2R (1999)
French OpenF (2005)
Wimbledon1R (1998, 2001, 2003, 2005)
US Open2R (1999, 2005)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsRR (2005)
Doubles
Career record42–54
Career titles3
Highest rankingNo. 68 (2 August 1999)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open1R (1999, 2000, 2003)
French Open2R (1999)
Wimbledon1R (2005)
US Open1R (1998, 2003, 2005)

Mariano Rubén Puerta (Spanish pronunciation: [maˈɾjano ruˈβem ˈpweɾta];[a] born 19 September 1978) is an Argentine tennis coach and a former professional player. He reached a career-high ATP world No. 9 singles ranking in August 2005. His career highlight is reaching the final of the French Open in 2005.

Shortly afterwards he tested positive for the banned substance etilefrine in a drugs test, for which he received an eight-year doping ban, subsequently reduced to two years on appeal.[1]

Tennis career

Puerta made his debut on the ATP Tour in 1997, and turned professional in 1998. He won his first ATP title in 1998 in Palermo, Italy. In 2000, Puerta achieved his highest year-end ranking of World No. 21, reaching five finals, and winning one of them (Bogotá). That same year, however, he underwent wrist surgery, which kept him off the tour for several months.

Besides from not recovering his previous playing level, he was suspended from tennis for 9 months from October 2003 onwards for a doping offense (see section on doping controversies). Owing to the suspension he missed most of the 2004 season, and by August 2004 his world ranking had dropped to No. 440. He was reduced to playing Challenger-level tournaments for a while until he had earned enough points to return to the ATP Tour.

In 2005, Puerta made an eye-opening comeback on the Tour by winning the title in Casablanca and then making it to the final of the world's most prestigious clay court tournament, the French Open, where he eventually succumbed to Rafael Nadal in a close match (7–6(8–6), 3–6, 1–6, 5–7). By August 2005 he had climbed to a career-best World No. 9 in the ATP singles rankings, an advancement of 431 places in one year.

In December 2005, he was, again, suspended for a doping offense, this time for 8 years, effectively ending his professional career. This suspension was later reduced to two years on appeal.

On June 6, 2007, Puerta returned to the professional circuit with a 6–4, 6–3 victory over Australian Joseph Sirianni at the Sassuolo Challenger, a tournament to which he was invited as a wild card since he had no ranking.[2] In the second round, Puerta lost 6–3, 6–0 to Spaniard Marc López. Since returning to the tour, Puerta has only played on the ATP Challenger Tour, including winning the Bogotá Challenger in 2008 and reaching the final of the San Luis Potosí Challenger in 2008 without dropping a set, where he was forced to default the final, and the Cordenons challenger in 2007.

Playing style

Puerta is left-handed and uses a single-handed backhand. He is an excellent clay-court specialist with a game that revolves around very accurate and powerful groundstrokes off both wings with heavy topspin. His main weaknesses are his mental strength, slow court speed and comparatively weak serve, the latter two which significantly prevents his success on fast surfaces. He is also very capable at the net, having good volleys and quick reflexes despite his slow court speed.

Doping controversies

In 2003, Puerta received a two-year doping suspension after testing positive for clenbuterol at Viña del Mar. In his defence, he argued that the substance had been administered to him by his doctor to combat asthma and that it had no performance-enhancing effect. The sanction was subsequently reduced to nine months suspension, effective from October 2003, and a $5,600 fine.

In December 2005, Puerta was banned again, this time after it was revealed that he had tested positive for the use of the cardiac stimulant etilefrine following his 2005 French Open final loss to Rafael Nadal. News of this positive drug test had been circulating since October 2005. The suspension was for eight years, the longest in tennis history at that time. As a result, Puerta was forced to forfeit all of his rankings points and prize money (totalling US$887,000)[3] from the 2005 French Open onwards; and had all his 2005 results from that point onwards annulled. (Puerta's finish as a finalist at the 2005 French Open was allowed to remain on the record books only insofar as no completed match results were retroactively overturned; a scenario in which the ultimate score from the men's final may have been nullified, and/or a "lucky loser" semifinalist chosen for promotion to nominal runner-up.)

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) tribunal posited that "the amount of etilefrine detected in the positive drugs test was too small to have any effect on his performance";[4] this theory, however, being at odds with etilefrine's extremely short terminal elimination half-life. Puerta appealed against the ban, claiming on his website that he only ingested trace amounts of it accidentally left over by his wife in a glass. On July 12, 2006, his suspension was reduced to two years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, making him eligible to restart his career on June 5, 2007.

In 2020 (following 11 years of retirement and his ensuing bankruptcy), Puerta admitted he had lied to the tribunal about the cause of the etilefrine contamination; stating the actual source was ginseng and caffeine pills which a friend of his fitness trainer Darío Lecman had given him.[5] Though Lecman subsequently denied any involvement in their provenance, the Argentine's then-coach Andrés Schneiter confirmed Puerta had regularly used similar pills throughout the first half of the 2005 season.[6] Puerta claimed he later sought testing of remaining pills in the batch, and that Olindo Iacobelli then informed him of their contamination. The ITF expressed regret over Puerta's belated confessions, but – after a review of the original case – decided not to reopen disciplinary proceedings against him, citing both resourcing constraints and the age of the case.[7]

Rafael Nadal, 1st Marquess of Llevant de Mallorca – who defeated Puerta to win his first of 14 Roland-Garros titles – stated that as the champion, he was not concerned by the revelation of Puerta's doping. He acknowledged, however, that Puerta's previous opponents may have felt robbed of their opportunity to compete fairly.[6] In 2024, Nikolay Davydenko (who had lost to Puerta in the 2005 French Open semifinals) commented that he was 'physically dead' during the match, whilst Puerta was fresh; but that he did not know whether doping was the cause of Puerta's increased stamina.[8]

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss2005French OpenClaySpain Rafael Nadal7–6(8–6), 3–6, 1–6, 5–7

ATP career finals

Singles: 10 (3 titles, 7 runner-ups)

Legend (singles)
Grand Slam (0–1)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP Masters Series (0–0)
ATP International Series Gold (0–1)
ATP World Series (3–5)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Clay (3–7)
Grass (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (3–7)
Indoor (0–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Aug 1998 San Marino Open, San Marino World Series Clay Slovakia Dominik Hrbatý 2–6, 5–7
Win 1–1 Oct 1998 Palermo, Italy World Series Clay Argentina Franco Squillari 6–3, 6–2
Loss 1–2 Feb 2000 Mexican Open, Mexico International Series Gold Clay Argentina Juan Ignacio Chela 4–6, 6–7(4–7)
Loss 1–3 Mar 2000 Chile Open, Chile World Series Clay Brazil Gustavo Kuerten 6–7(3–7), 3–6
Win 2–3 Mar 2000 Bancolombia Open, Colombia World Series Clay Morocco Younes El Aynaoui 6–4, 7–6(7–5)
Loss 2–4 Jul 2000 Swiss Open, Switzerland World Series Clay Spain Àlex Corretja 1–6, 3–6
Loss 2–5 Jul 2000 Croatia Open, Croatia World Series Clay Chile Marcelo Ríos 6–7(1–7), 6–4, 3–6
Loss 2–6 Feb 2005 Buenos Aires, Argentina International Series Clay Argentina Gastón Gaudio 4–6, 4–6
Win 3–6 Apr 2005 Casablanca, Morocco International Series Clay Argentina Juan Mónaco 6–4, 6–1
Loss 3–7 Jun 2005 French Open, France Grand Slam Clay Spain Rafael Nadal 7–6(8–6), 3–6, 1–6, 5–7

Doubles: 3 (3 titles)

Legend (doubles)
Grand Slam (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP Masters Series (0–0)
ATP International Series Gold (0–0)
ATP World Series (3–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Clay (3–0)
Grass (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (3–0)
Indoor (0–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Aug 1998 Bancolombia Open, Colombia World Series Clay Argentina Diego del Río Hungary Gábor Köves
Philippines Eric Taino		 6–7, 6–3, 6–2
Win 2–0 May 1999 Bavarian Championships, Germany World Series Clay Argentina Daniel Orsanic Italy Massimo Bertolini
Italy Cristian Brandi		 7–6(7–3), 3–6, 7–6(7–3)
Win 3–0 Aug 1999 Croatia Open, Croatia World Series Clay Spain Javier Sánchez Italy Massimo Bertolini
Italy Cristian Brandi		 3–6, 6–2, 6–3

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

Singles: 19 (11–8)

Legend
ATP Challenger (10–8)
ITF Futures (1–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Clay (11–8)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Jul 1997 Quito, Ecuador Challenger Clay Paraguay Ramón Delgado 6–1, 7–5
Win 2–0 Apr 1998 Nice, France Challenger Clay France Arnaud Di Pasquale 6–7, 6–4, 6–4
Loss 2–1 Apr 1998 Espinho, Portugal Challenger Clay Argentina Guillermo Cañas 1–6, 6–2, 2–6
Loss 2–2 Jun 1998 Zagreb, Croatia Challenger Clay Czech Republic Jiří Novák 5–7, 1–6
Loss 2–3 Jun 2002 Sassuolo, Italy Challenger Clay Spain David Ferrer 4–6, 1–6
Win 3–3 Jul 2002 Mantova, Italy Challenger Clay Italy Potito Starace 6–3, 1–0 ret.
Win 4–3 Sep 2002 Brindisi, Italy Challenger Clay Italy Leonardo Azzaro 6–3, 7–6(7–2)
Win 5–3 May 2003 Aix En Provence, France Challenger Clay Spain Rafael Nadal 3–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–4
Loss 5–4 Jul 2003 Prostějov, Czech Republic Challenger Clay Czech Republic Radek Štěpánek 5–7, 3–6
Win 6–4 Aug 2004 Samarkand, Uzbekistan Challenger Clay Czech Republic Pavel Šnobel 6–1, 6–2
Win 7–4 Sep 2004 Tehran, Iran Challenger Clay Netherlands Melle van Gemerden 6–3, 6–4
Win 8–4 Oct 2004 Chile F2, Santiago Futures Clay Argentina Diego Moyano 6–1, 6–1
Win 9–4 Nov 2004 Santa Cruz, Bolivia Challenger Clay Brazil Franco Ferreiro 6–7(5–7), 6–4, 6–3
Loss 9–5 Nov 2004 Bogotá, Colombia Challenger Clay Paraguay Ramón Delgado 4–6, 5–7
Win 10–5 Dec 2004 Guadalajara, Mexico Challenger Clay Ecuador Nicolás Lapentti 6–0, 6–2
Loss 10–6 Jan 2005 La Serena, Chile Challenger Clay Argentina Edgardo Massa 4–6, 6–7(3–7)
Loss 10–7 Aug 2007 Cordenons, Italy Challenger Clay Argentina Máximo González 6–2, 5–7, 5–7
Loss 10–8 Mar 2008 San Luis Potosí, Mexico Challenger Clay Argentina Brian Dabul walkover
Win 11–8 Jul 2008 Bogotá, Colombia Challenger Clay Brazil Ricardo Hocevar 7–6(7–2), 7–5

Doubles: 10 (5–5)

Legend
ATP Challenger (5–5)
ITF Futures (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Clay (5–5)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 May 1997 Curitiba, Brazil Challenger Clay Argentina Eduardo Medica United States Glenn Weiner
Austria Herbert Wiltschnig		 3–6, 4–6
Win 1–1 Jul 1997 Cali, Colombia Challenger Clay Argentina Eduardo Medica Mexico Bernardo Martínez
Mexico Marco Osorio		 7–6, 7–5
Win 2–1 Aug 1997 Geneva, Switzerland Challenger Clay Argentina Diego del Río France Guillaume Marx
France Olivier Morel		 6–3, 6–4
Loss 2–2 Oct 1997 Santiago, Chile Challenger Clay Argentina Diego del Río Argentina Lucas Arnold Ker
Brazil Jaime Oncins		 2–6, 2–6
Loss 2–3 Oct 1997 Guayaquil, Ecuador Challenger Clay Argentina Diego del Río Hungary Gábor Köves
Sweden Tomas Nydahl		 6–2, 3–6, 6–7
Loss 2–4 Dec 1997 Santiago II, Chile Challenger Clay Argentina Diego del Río Argentina Sebastián Prieto
Argentina Mariano Hood		 5–7, 1–6
Loss 2–5 Apr 1998 Nice, France Challenger Clay Brazil André Sá United States Devin Bowen
Argentina Mariano Hood		 5–7, 6–3, 4–6
Win 3–5 Jun 1998 Zagreb, Croatia Challenger Clay Spain Julian Alonso Spain Eduardo Nicolás Espin
Spain Germán Puentes Alcañiz		 6–1, 6–4
Win 4–5 Sep 2000 Biella, Italy Challenger Clay Argentina Martín García Sweden Simon Aspelin
Sweden Fredrik Bergh		 6–2, 4–6, 6–4
Win 5–5 Jun 2008 Sofia, Bulgaria Challenger Clay Brazil Franco Ferreiro North Macedonia Lazar Magdinchev
North Macedonia Predrag Rusevski		 6–3, 1–6, [10–3]

Junior Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss1995French OpenClayArgentina Mariano Zabaleta2–6, 3–6

Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss1995WimbledonGrassMexico Alejandro HernándezUnited Kingdom Martin Lee
United Kingdom James Trotman		6–7, 4–6

Performance timelines

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RRQ# P# DNQ A Z# PO G S B NMS NTI P NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

Tournament199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009SRW–LWin %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A 2R 1R A A 1R A A A A A A 0 / 3 1–3 25%
French Open Q1 2R 3R 2R 2R 2R A F A A A A 0 / 6 12–6 67%
Wimbledon 1R A A 1R A 1R A 1R A A A A 0 / 3 0–3 0%
US Open 1R 2R 1R A A 1R A 2R A A A A 0 / 4 1–4 20%
Win–loss 0–2 3–3 2–3 1–2 1–1 1–4 0–0 6–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 16 14–16 47%
Year-end championships
ATP World Tour Finals Did not qualify RR Did not qualify 0 / 0 0–0  – 
National representation
Summer Olympics Not Held A Not Held A Not Held A NH 0 / 0 0–0  – 
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters A 1R A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Miami Masters A 1R A 1R A A A A A A A A 0 / 2 0–2 0%
Monte-Carlo Masters A A 2R 1R A A A 3R A A A A 0 / 3 3–3 50%
Madrid Masters Not Held A A A 3R A A A A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Rome Masters A 1R QF 1R A A A A A A A A 0 / 3 3–3 50%
Hamburg Masters A 3R 3R 1R A A A 2R A A A NMS 0 / 3 4–3 50%
Canada Masters A A 1R A A A A QF A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Cincinnati Masters A A 2R A A A A 1R A A A A 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Shanghai Masters Not Held NMS Not Held Not Masters Series A 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Paris Masters A A 1R A A A A 2R A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Win–loss 0–0 2–4 7–6 0–4 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 15 11–15 42%
Career Statistics
Finals 1 0 5 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Career Total: 10
Titles 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 Career Total: 3
Year-End Ranking 39 101 21 254 116 118 133 56[9] – 261 195 311 Prize Money: $1,781,372

Doubles

Tournament19981999200020012002200320042005SRW–LWin %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A 1R 1R A A 1R A A 0 / 3 0–3 0%
French Open 1R 2R A A A A A 1R 0 / 3 1–3 25%
Wimbledon A A A A A A A 1R 0 / 0 0–0  – 
US Open 1R A A A A 1R A 1R 0 / 2 0–2 0%
Win–loss 0–2 1–2 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–2 0–0 0–1 0 / 8 1–8 11%
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Miami Masters A 1R A A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Monte-Carlo Masters A 1R A A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Madrid Masters Not Held A A A 1R 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Rome Masters A 1R A A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Canada Masters A A 2R A A A A 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Win–loss 0–0 0–3 1–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 4 1–4 20%

Walkovers are neither official wins nor official losses.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ In isolation, Rubén is pronounced [ruˈβen].

References

  1. ↑ "Puerta gets eight-year doping ban". The Telegraph. 21 December 2005. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
  2. ↑ "Puerta: Espero terminar el año entre los 100 mejores" Archived 7 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Clarín.com, 7 June 2007.
  3. ↑ "Arbitration CAS 2006/A/1025 Mariano Puerta v. International Tennis Federation (ITF), award of 12 July 2006" (PDF). Jurisprudence.tas-cas.org. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  4. ↑ "Puerta Is Facing the Longest Ban in Tennis History". The New York Times. The Associated Press. 22 December 2005. Retrieved 28 July 2011.
  5. ↑ "Retired tennis player Mariano Puerta admits lying to CAS about doping". Espn.com. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  6. 1 2 Torok, Sebastián (3 August 2020). ""Fue mentira". A 15 años del doping, Mariano Puerta admitió a LA NACION que su defensa fue falsa". Lanacion.com.ar. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  7. ↑ Torok, Sebastián (18 August 2020). "La ITF, "preocupada" por la mentira de Mariano Puerta, no reabrirá el caso pero será más severa en futuros juicios por dopajes". Lanacion.com.ar. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  8. ↑ "«Возможно, что за Швентек вопрос с дисквалификацией за допинг решил президент Польши? Коррупция есть везде». Интервью Давыденко". Web.archive.org. Retrieved 10 August 2026.
  9. ↑ "Year End Singles Rankings for 2005", atpworldtour.com, 26 December 2005.
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