Flying her nation’s flag with distinction and asserting Mexico on the tennis landscape has become commonplace for Renata Zarazua in the last year or so – and she is far from done.

Should, however, the 23-year-old require any additional motivation to lead her country’s on-court charge, then she need look no further than her great-uncle, Vicente, who was a professional back in the 1960s and 1970s.

Vicente, now 76, contested 16 Davis Cup ties for Mexico and was part of the team which came up against and defeated some of the legendary United States and Australia outfits of that era.

He also won a gold medal, alongside Rafael Osuna – his Davis Cup doubles partner – at both the demonstration and exhibition tennis events at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City.  

Tragically, Osuna was one of 79 people to die a year later – he was just 30 years old – when Mexican Airways Flight 704 crashed into mountains near Monterrey. Only nine days earlier, Mexico had recorded one of their stunning Davis Cup victories, this one over Australia.

The remainder of the article can be read here.

The article with Renata appeared in the spring 2021 edition of ITFWorld and before Mexico's Billie Jean King Cup Play-off clash with Great Briain in April.