STUTTGART, June 5, 2016

Tommy Haas will continue his career as professional tennis player, although the 38-year-old from Germany was hired as new tournament director of the BNP Parisbas Open in Indian Wells, replacing Raymond Moore.

“This will be a new big challenge for me. There comes a time when every athlete has to think about his life after his active career. I want to stick with the tennis sport in the future. Due to my longtime acquaintance with tournament owner Larry Ellison, a door has opened for me. Indian Wells has always been one of my favourite tournaments. I am really looking forward to my new task,” Haas told on Sunday in Stuttgart.

“Nonetheless, I am really excited about playing tennis and I will try to return to the courts as an active player as soon as possible. Getting back to 100% is the main goal,” the former world number two explained. Haas underwent surgery at his right foot in April.

“I played my last match in Vienna last year. I do not want to end my career with an injury. Consequently, I would like to play one or more tournaments next year, in particular in Germany. It would be wonderful to play again in front of my home crowd,” Haas said.

With his new function as tournament director, the current world number 459 in the rankings is still allowed to play on the ATP World Tour, with the only exception of Indian Wells.