Tobias Kamke in the end-of-career interview: "The undisputed highlights are my Davis Cup appearances"
Heidi Kabel sang “In Hamburg they say goodbye” in a hit song from the 1970s. For Tobias Kamke, this title was on July 19, 2022, when the 36-year-old tennis professional played his last match on the ATP tour alongside Dustin Brown.
by Florian Army from Hamburg
last edit: Jul 21, 2022, 05:57 pm
The German-Jamaican combo lost their first round match in doubles at the Hamburg European Open against Rohan Bopanna from India and the Dutchman Matwe Middelkoop on Court M3 in straight sets. Afterwards there were flowers and many emotions for the North German Kamke, who won eight titles on the ATP Challenger Tour in his career and made it to position 64 in the world rankings.
An official farewell ceremony followed on Wednesday on the large center court at Rothenbaum. After that we met him for an interview.
Tennisnet: Mr. Kamke, how did the celebrations go?
Tobias Kamke: Of course I would have liked to have won the match with Dustin. But it was very emotional afterwards, because the family and many friends were there and congratulated me. We then went out to eat in the evening and it will still be some time before we have some distance. I also found the goodbye very nice. To the point, very successful. I have received many messages and calls throughout the day. The phone never stopped. I was very happy about the response.
Since when did you consider retiring from tennis?
In the autumn of last year I already had a phase in which I found it very difficult. I had to really kick myself to train. You don't get any younger. Young, hungry players who also want to get to the top are arriving every day from all over the world. I ended up playing the year normally and qualified for Australia, which might have given me an extra boost of motivation because I've always enjoyed playing there and really enjoyed the trip. However, when I came back from Melbourne I already knew that the year would not be played to the end. I then ran a few more tournaments because I had registered for them. Then I spoke to my coach about it because I didn't really know how to handle the thought. We talked a lot and it became clearer and clearer. For me, the decision was made in April that I would like to retire from the Rothenbaum tournament. As a native of Lübeck and now a resident of Hamburg, I see it as the best place for this. I have many fond memories of the tournament and the timing was right too.
keyword travel. Tennis players are on tour all year round. Are you looking forward to being able to put your feet up on the couch on Saturday evening?
In any case. If you ask around in player circles, many can probably do without traveling. Unfortunately that does not work. In the end, that was very exhausting and wasn't really much fun anymore. Before that I had less problems with it and was happy to be on the road 35 to 40 weeks a year. But now being able to choose when and where I want to travel is a nice feeling.
You will still be active in the tennis Bundesliga this season. Is that something you can also imagine in the years to come?
I'm an enthusiastic team athlete and will definitely finish the season for TC Bredeney. After that we have to look. I'll be 37 next year and we'll have to wait and see to what extent I'll still be physically fit once I reduce my training workload to zero. It should also be justified to still be able to play.
Do you already have plans for the time after your professional career?
There are plans and ideas. However, these are not yet fully developed. My feelers are stretched out in different directions, but I'll do it more intensively and see what I enjoy. I would like to keep the reference to tennis. This is very important to me because I love the sport.
You turned pro in 2004. If you review your career a little. What were the highlights that come to mind immediately?
It will definitely take a while to reflect on everything. I wouldn't have believed that I would still be playing tennis professionally at this age. The undisputed highlights, however, are my Davis Cup appearances, especially in France in 2014. Those are moments when I still get chills down my spine. That is still present today. Of course, how I got into the top 100 for the first time also includes being qualified for a Grand Slam tournament for the first time or serving in the main draw at your home tournament, where as a child you lurked behind the barrier to get a signature get hold of There are many beautiful moments.
You have won around 2.5 million US dollars in prize money in your career. A lot of people are wondering whether you've taken care of it as a tennis pro?
You always need something to do, otherwise you get bored. I don't just want to rest either. The demands on myself are too high. Everyone has managed differently in their career. It's definitely not the case that I have to give coaching lessons from the day after tomorrow. However, other things that you can take away from a career are more important: friendships that have been made are a lot more valuable.
Thank you for the interview and all the best for the time after professional tennis.