Tommy Haas

Tommy Haas is a German former tennis player who reached a career-high ranking of World No. 2 and Olympic singles silver, building a two-decade career defined by both elite talent and repeated comebacks from serious injury.

Tommy Haas underwent nine surgeries across fifteen years yet returned to the world's top 10 on multiple occasions, still winning an ATP title at 35 and defeating Roger Federer at 39 — the oldest player to beat the Swiss since Jimmy Connors — in a career that redefined what athletic perseverance could look like. He turned professional in 1996, breaking into the world's top 10 by September 1999 after reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open. Haas reached his first Grand Slam final at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, losing a five-set battle to Yevgeny Kafelnikov to win the silver medal, and continued his rise to a career-high ranking of World No. 2 in May 2002 after reaching the final of the Rome Masters. That same year, however, his career was derailed when his parents were seriously injured in a car accident, followed by a serious shoulder injury requiring surgery, beginning a pattern of comebacks and setbacks that would define the rest of his career. Over the following decade, Haas underwent nine surgeries on his shoulder, elbow, hip, foot, and both ankles, yet repeatedly fought his way back into the world's top 10, reaching a fourth Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon in 2009 at age 31. He won the final ATP title of his career in 2013 at age 35, beating World No. 1 Novak Djokovic along the way to a Miami Masters semifinal, and became, at 39, the oldest player to win an ATP Tour match since Jimmy Connors when he upset Roger Federer in Stuttgart in 2017. Haas retired in 2018 with 15 career titles and 569 match wins, and went on to serve as tournament director of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

Elegant, all-court player renowned for footwork and a classic one-handed backhand

Widely admired for his resilience, elegant one-handed backhand, and sustained competitiveness across a 22-year career

• Olympic silver medal, singles (2000)
• 15x ATP singles titles
• Career-high ranking of World No. 2
• 4x Grand Slam semifinalist