INDIAN Wells, March 18, 2018

At the age of 39, Indian Wells tournament director Tommy Haas officially announced his retirement from professional tennis on Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open, with longtime friend and world No. 1 Roger Federer on the Stadium 1 court at his side.

Haas reached a career-high World No. 2 in the ATP rankings on May 13, 2002, and finished eight seasons in the Top 20. He captured 15 singles titles throughout his career in 28 final appearances, the most recent coming in 2013 when he won at Munich and Vienna. He reached the quarterfinals or better at all four Grand Slams, advancing to the Australian Open semi-finals in 1999, 2002 and 2007, and the Wimbledon semis in 2009.

“I consider myself extremely fortunate that I was able play professional tennis for a living for more than two decades,” Haas said. “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.”

Haas to say goodbye to his German fans

Tommy Haas in Stuttgart – photo: Paul Zimmer

It was nine months ago that Haas, at 39, defeated Roger Federer in the second round of the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart. The win marked the Germans’ fourth victory all-time against the Swiss maestro and the second against Federer on grass in as many matches.

Haas’ management announced on Sunday that the Hamburg native will return to Germany at the end of this year for a very special Tribute-to-Tommy-Day. 

“I am very keen to thank all my fans in Germany for their many years of support. It’s going to happen at the end of this year at a big tennis party, where I’m going to be back on court again. I’m really looking forward to that,” said Haas, who will be joined by other international tennis stars.