Tommy Haas: “Tennis is a brutal sport”

Tommy Haas, former number two in the world rankings, talked about the obstacles that a tennis player must overcome to emerge.

Tommy explained: “Tennis is a brutal sport. Finally we talk about the decision that a single individual has to make. How much do I want to achieve my goal? Do I want to be in the top fifty or play in a Grand Slam final? And then you ask yourself: how can I achieve the goals? What should I do? Am I willing to make these sacrifices? Added to all this is the pressure of cash prizes, which are not always guaranteed.

You are alone, you doubt yourself. In the United States there is a thesis about the world of professional sports: you need rich parents who support you and make everything possible or hunger to escape poverty. I see it in my children: we live in a bubble and often comfortable.”

The former German tennis player then explained in an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper: “Then you hear stories like Novak Djokovic’s and you see how hungry he is for Grand Slam at 35 years.

It’s not easy to become someone in this sport. Hardly anyone knows the world number 100; while the 100th strongest soccer player probably plays the UEFA Champions League. Things are completely different in tennis.

In Germany when people hear about a tennis player who reached the top 100 but didn’t win a Grand Slam, they think: Yes, he was a good player but… After Boris Becker and Steffi Graf the expectations have risen, but sometimes you shouldn’t forget that Rainer Schuettler was number five in the world” .

How hard it is for a young tennis player to emerge

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought a long pause to the world of sport. The tennis players, in particular, were forced to stop for more than five months. Unfortunately, the lockdown has highlighted even more the differences between the top hundred players in the world and all the other athletes.

The difference in treatment, especially at an economic level, is widening the gap between the tennis elite and all those kids forced to make so many sacrifices to try to balance annual expenses and play in the most important tournaments.

There are many players who try to climb the ranks to make a living from their sport. Players who fight alone, against themselves, and who increasingly rarely receive help from their respective federations.