Tommy Haas’ apparent farewell tour last year may not be the final chapter of his career, according to his management.
The 39-year-old has been hampered by injury in recent years. In total he has undergone nine surgeries prior to his latest comeback in 2017. In his latest season on the professional tour, the German rolled back the years with a shock win over Roger Federer at the Stuttgart Open. The victory over the 20-time grand slam champion was Haas’ last win on the tour.
“It wasn’t really only about winning and losing this time,” Haas recently told The Desert Sun about his latest comeback. “It was more of going back to these places one more time, really enjoying it, having my family there, really taking it in as a last time as a competitor at these events.
“The last match that I won on tour will be against Roger Federer, so I’ll take that any day.”
It appears that the curtain has been pulled down on Haas’ lengthy career, which has seen him win 15 ATP titles and claim a silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Games. He is now the tournament director of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. One of the most prestigious combined events outside of the grand slam tournaments.
Despite heading into the world of retirement, the German has hinted that he could once again return to competitive tennis. In a statement obtained by Tennis Magazin, Haas has confirmed that his recent comments with The Desert Sun wasn’t his official retirement. Instead, he wants to ‘keep the option open’ in order to play in doubles tournaments. Following in the footsteps of Lleyton Hewitt, who played in the men’s doubles at the Australian Open earlier in the year.
“It is quite possible that my win against Roger Federer in June 2017 in Stuttgart was my last win in singles and my game against Jan-Lennard Struff in August 2017 in Kitzbühel was my last single match on the ATP tour,” he told Tennis Magazin. “But if I feel the tingling sensation again, I want to keep open the option to compete on the ATP tour in doubles.”
According to the manager of the former world No.2, Edwin Weindorfer, Haas is set to outline his future plans after the conclusion of the Indian Wells tournament.
“It is agreed with Tommy that after the tournament ends in March there will be a more concrete statement from him about his future plans.” said Weindorfer. “It is Tommy Haas’s concern to say goodbye to his many fans.”
On the doubles circuit there are currently eight top 100 players over the age of 40. The oldest is Daniel Nestor at 45.
