Tribute: Tommy Haas, Defiant & Brilliant

The competitive fire still burns in Tommy Haas, but the spirit and, importantly, the willingness to train for quick-fire 60-minute or physically demanding encounters has fizzled out. Beginning his career when new string and racquet technology were both dramatically changing the sport, the former World No. 2 called time on his 21-year professional career Thursday night for a new chapter — time with his family, chauffeuring around his two daughters and completing his learning curve as Tournament Director of the BNP Paribas Open.

“I consider myself extremely fortunate that I was able play professional tennis for a living for more than two decades,” said Haas, at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Thursday. “The sport gave me cherished friendships, an ability to travel the world, and opportunities to create incredible memories. It also taught me a lot about what it means to face challenges, battle back, and overcome them. To my parents, family, wife and children, thank you for all the love and support that you gave me over the years. And, to the fans, thank you for cheering me on throughout my career.”

15: Career titles ?
2: Highest ranking ⬆️
4: Major semifinals ?️

Recalling the incredible career that was for @TommyHaas13 — and looking forward for what’s to come #BNPPO18 pic.twitter.com/RURvYQy5Jf

— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 16, 2018

Haas in full flow was aesthetically pleasing, harnessing a complete game on all surfaces to become one of the world’s premier stars. He always competed with his heart on his sleeve as was a natural athlete of great intensity, who could often be heard chatting to himself or his camp. There was never a dull moment in watching Haas, who could beat an opponent in so many ways, centred on his technically sound and exceptional backhand, slice and great defence. From his very first tournament at Indianapolis in August 1996 (l. to Sampras in QFs), Haas appeared to be blessed in game, temperament and looks. The sport appeared to come easily and he soon became tennis’ new poster boy, a part of the ATP’s ‘New Ball Please’ campaign. But when setbacks and injuries started to take a greater toll in 2002, when he appeared to be a major force, it was his character and approach to the sport that became his greatest strengths.

For a four-year period between 1999 and the end of the 2002 season, Haas compiled a 252-90 match record, including two Australian Open semi-finals (1999, 2002), a 5-9 record in tour-level finals — the 1999 Grand Slam Cup final (l. to Rusedski), the 2000 Sydney Olympics silver medal (l. to Kafelnikov in five sets) and the 2001 Stuttgart title (d. Mirnyi), in its final year as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 indoor hard-court tournament. He first broke into the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings on 13 September 1999 and rose to a career-high No. 2 in the ATP Rankings on 13 May 2002, after reaching the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final (l. to Agassi). One month later, his parents were seriously injured in a motorcycle accident in Sarasota, Florida, which left his father, Peter, in a coma. Haas, who was already feeling the effects of a shoulder injury, took time out to look after them and in December 2002, when he heard a pop during a practice serve, he was forced into one of his nine surgeries as a professional player.

Haas underwent operations on his right shoulder (2002-03, ‘07, ‘14, 16), right elbow (2010-11), right hip (2010-11), right foot (2016), but there was always a defiance. In adversity, Haas rehabilitated and trained harder, returning each time just as passionate about the sport he loved, and, importantly, with the same feeling of invincibility. Haas spent a total of 82 weeks in the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings from his initial breakthrough in September 1999 to five of his eight total stints among the elite in 2007 (a total of 26 weeks), when he advanced to his third Australian Open semi-final. There were also three periods when he dropped off the sport’s ladder due to injuries in 2003, 2011 and 2016-17. On two occasions, in 2004 and 2012, he was deservedly named the ATP Comeback Player of the Year.

Haas’ journey to life as a professional tennis player started in 1989, when, with his sister Sabine, both German junior champions. They briefly visited Nick Bollettieri’s Tennis Academy, but unable to speak English, Haas decided to return home. Two years later at the age of 13, he started to develop physically and mentally in school and on the Bradenton, Florida, tennis and basketball courts with fellow young prospect Gregg Hill. Brutal, energy sapping sparring sessions with Boris Becker, Bollettieri’s star pupil, at the academy and in Europe, forced Haas to learn and to improve. But, just as Nicolas Kiefer experienced, comparisions to their idol and the title of heir apparent were unkind and unattainable. Haas won junior titles, such as the 1995 Orange Bowl, German and Austrian championships, but in December 1995 he broke his right ankle playing basketball and, one year later, did the same to his left ankle, both requiring surgery. It was a first jolt to a fledgling, but promising career, showing Haas how easily he would lose everything that he had worked so hard for.

Haas always competed with great passion, finishing eight seasons in the Top 20 of the ATP Rankings, highlighted by a year-end best No. 8 in 2001. He recorded 48 victories over members of the Top 10, his 569 match wins is second-most among German players in the Open Era (Becker, 713) and his 15-28 finals record spanned 18 seasons (1997-2014). In 2009, Haas also advanced to the Wimbledon semi-finals (l. to Federer) and he reached three US Open quarter-finals (2004, 2006-07) and at 2013 Roland Garros.

In June 2016, when Haas was diligently recovering from a torn ligament in his right foot, Larry Ellison, the owner of the BNP Paribas Open, CTO and co-founder of Oracle, approached him to become the Tournament Director of the prestigious ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament. With dual German-American citizenship since 2010 and living in Los Angeles with his wife, the actress Sara Foster, and two young daughters, Haas agreed on the proviso that he’d like to return to the ATP World Tour as a player. In what turned out to be the final victory of his career (569-338) in June 2017, Haas beat his good friend Roger Federer on home soil in the Mercedes Cup second round.

On Thursday night, just two weeks shy of his 40th birthday, at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, venue of the BNP Paribas Open, Federer was on hand as Haas stepped into sporting retirement. “I was happy to be there and to share the moment with him, because it was his moment and it was great to be there,” said Federer. Almost 20 years earlier, Haas had been due to play Federer in the Swiss star’s first ATP World Tour match at 1998 Gstaad, but fell ill due to food poisoning and had to withdraw. As the 2018 Indian Wells tournament gets to the business end, Haas will soon begin to solely focus on his life as a tennis administrator and a stay-at-home father in Los Angeles with his two young daughters, Valentina and Josephine.