All hail the Gulbis family, true athletic royalty!
Yes, the countdown of the most athletic families among ATP and WTA Tour players has come to a close, and the king and his court are the family of
Ernests Gulbis.
I’m not just calling them royalty because Ernests’ father Ainārs is reportedly the third-richest man in Latvia and maybe he’ll throw some coin my way for this nice blog. Although that would be really great, Mr. Gulbis, if you’re reading.
Ainārs is an investment banker, and also a former basketball player, a passion he passed on to Ernests early in life. Gulbis’ mother,
Milēna Gulbe-Kavace, became a passionate amateur tennis player after seeing it at a sports club. Oh, she’s also an actress.
There are five kids in the Gulbis’ family. Ernests has three sisters (Elina, Laura and Monika) who all play tennis as well. His brother Kristops prefers golf to tennis, and is decent enough I suppose – he’s currently attending Florida’s Saddlebrook Academy, for the
low, low yearly tuition of $54,675.
Young Ernests has put together an impressive career for being just 21 years old. He’s currently ranked No. 28 in the world as a singles player, and made the quarterfinals of the French Open at the tender age of 19 in 2008. He won his first ATP singles title at Delray Beach in early 2010 over
Ivo Karlovic, the first win ever by a native of Latvia.
That would surely make him the most athletically-talented member of the Gulbis family if it weren’t for his grandfather, Alvils.
Still spry at age 74, Alvis is a legend in Latvia as a basketball player, helping Armijas Sporta Klubs (Army Sports Club) Riga win three national championships (1955, 1957, 1958) as well as three consecutive Euroleague titles (1958-1960). Alvis was a starter on all three squads. The three Euroleague titles were the first three in the association’s history.
Only one other in the history of the Euroleague has ever won three straight titles.
Alvis’ genes no doubt help account for Ernests’ 6-foot, 3-inch frame. His flair for the dramatic likely came from his other grandfather,
Uldis Pucitis, who has directed 16 movies and was a famous Latvian actor.
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