RIP: Mourning the loss of Pedro Dumont

The college tennis community mourns the loss of former Mississippi State, Wake Forest, and West Florida player Pedro Dumont, who recently succumbed to a grueling six-year battle with cancer.

Dumont—who began his career at Mississippi State before transferring to Wake Forest for the 2013-2014 season—was the top ranked Brazilian in the U-12, U-14 and U-16 rankings. He represented Brazil in Junior Davis Cup competition, and also competed in the Australian Open junior tournament.

“As a player he was very talented, but as a person he was unforgettable,” said Bruno Semenzato a fellow top Brazilian junior who grew up training with Dumont. “He was an amazing guy, he used to make everyone around him smile. His family will always be proud of the person he was.”

After helping the Demon Deacons reach the 2013 NCAA Sweet Sixteen, playing primarily No. 5 singles and No. 1 doubles, Dumont transferred to the University of West Florida, a Division II program located in Pensacola, Fla.

After being first diagnosed with Synovial Sarcoma in the spring of 2015, Dumont put tennis and school on hold to return to Brazil for surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

In the summer of 2016, he was pronounced cancer-free and returned to UWF to help the program secure their fourth National Championship. The Brazilian was one of the nation’s better doubles players, using his touch and talent around the net to rack up over 100 combined wins in NCAA Division I and II.

“It’s a sad time,” said Wake Forest Head Coach Tony Bresky. “He touched the lives of so many and we will remember all the happy times we were able to share with him.”

Dumont never quit fighting for his life, but succumbed to his illness on July 12. He will be dearly missed by all members of the tennis community.