Buse becomes first Peruvian man to win at Wimbledon since 1994
Peru’s Ignacio Buse has woken up a national hero after becoming the first Peruvian man to win a Grand Slam main draw singles match at Wimbledon for more than 30 years.
Buse dispatched Emilio Nava of the United States in the opening round – his maiden Grand Slam main draw match-win – and will now face Jenson Brooksby, another American, in round two.
Not since Jaime Yzaga in 1994 has a Peruvian man won a Grand Slam main draw match at Wimbledon, while Buse is just the second – after Yzaga – to achieve the feat in the Open Era.
This sort of milestone has been coming. In May, Buse became the first Peruvian player since 1983 to win an ATP singles title on European clay following his victory at the Hamburg Open, surging to a career-high No. 31 in the world rankings.
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The 22-year-old, whose uncle is renowned chef Gaston Acurio, emerged from the World Tennis player pathway. He is a former junior world No. 9 who proceeded to win three World Tennis Tour titles before tasting success at ATP Challenger Tour level and beyond.
Buse, who made his Davis Cup debut for Peru in 2023, is another player to have received financial support through the Grand Slam Player Development Programme in the form of Grand Slam Player Grants.
Grand Slam Player Grants are awarded to talented players from underrepresented and under-resourced nations each year to help with their ongoing development costs.
The grants are funded by the Grand Slam Player Development Programme through the four Grand Slams, but it is World Tennis modelling that determines the players selected. Buse was selected for support and earlier this year received a grant of $25,000.
Buse has also benefitted from the Touring Team programme which, like Grand Slam Player Grant assistance, is funded by the Grand Slams and operated by World Tennis.
Every year, World Tennis selects talented players from developing tennis nations to join Grand Slam Player Development Programme Touring Teams.
Those players then travel as a team and have access to high-performance coaches. The Touring Team programme provides crucial support for talented players who might otherwise be unable to compete at the level they do.