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Split
A former tennis prodigy was at some point on the ground (symbolic photo). © Ingimage/Imago
He probably had the facilities to become a tennis superstar – but a German crashed violently on his career path. Now he apparently unpacked anonymously.
Munich – July 16, 2023 will forever be in the tennis history books: Novak Djokovic, the king of Wimbledon, was dethroned. The only 20-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz defeated him in the final of the venerable tournament with a breathtaking performance and, after topping the world rankings, also lifted the prestigious Wimbledon trophy. Would a former tennis prodigy ever have advanced into these circles? On the center courts of this world? Or at least in the top 200 of the ATP rankings? In any case, it turned out differently.
Tennis: Alleged child prodigy unpacks anonymously on Reddit
The story of a fallen talent is now told by a user on Reddit, probably his own. “I was considered the greatest talent since Boris Becker,” he wrote, urging users to ask him anything they want to know. As part of one of the so-called “AMA” threads on the Internet portal. It is also part of their nature that the people there unpack anonymously. And their identity is usually unconfirmed. However, what the man writes sounds too real, precise and detailed to be made up. Therefore – despite all the appropriate residual skepticism – it can be assumed with a high degree of probability that he is telling his own life story truthfully. The one about a tennis prodigy falling from a deep fall. On Reddit he calls himself “Racket_Abuser”, we give him the completely fictitious name Frank Kustler in the episode.
The user refrains from providing personal information in order not to be identifiable. However, it can be learned from his age that he is now in his 30s. “Up until I was 17, I was considered one of the greatest talents in the world and was in the top 10 in the world junior rankings for several years before my crash,” he writes. Until the turning point came. “It was never really my dream and I developed a certain fear of defeat quite early on. When I was supposed to gain a foothold in the men’s sector, I increasingly took refuge in parties/alcohol instead.”
“The day consisted almost entirely of tennis”
Kustler recalls that he comes from a family of tennis players. Although his father never wanted to put pressure on him, he wanted even more focus on the sport. “I didn’t know anything else. Friends had to wait in line, school had to wait in line, so to speak, and the day consisted almost entirely of tennis. Sport in the morning before school, then school, then directly to training, eating while driving, training, fitness and at some point in the evening or in between homework. Then a sports school was added, which is specially designed for competitive athletes of all kinds, so that there was even more time for tennis. I didn’t have much time to look left and right.” Especially since his enthusiasm for tennis grew. “It was blamed on me at first, but later I loved it,” Kustler writes.
The more it went up, the greater the conflict became. The fear came “quite early”. “I used to throw up regularly before matches, complained a lot about physical discomfort … just for fear of losing. That went well for a long time because I still won the matches and you can lose against better players. But the more I got into men’s tennis, the more I realized that it’s the only thing I have. That I disappoint many people when I lose because these people sacrifice a lot for me. Both time and money, etc.”
From a certain point in time he no longer traveled to foreign tournaments with his parents, but with a coach or fitness trainer. “And then at some point the alcohol came, which gave me my time-out from the situation. Always when Coach wasn’t watching, of course. And below that, the performances became weaker and weaker.” Until the big blow came: According to him, alcohol and physical problems made it impossible to continue. Kustler even drove drunk to a tennis game. “At some point I got a break when I drove drunk to the match and had to give up with cardiac arrhythmias. Then my father pulled the ripcord.”
“It just didn’t go any further at some point”
The fear just got bigger and bigger: “At some point it just didn’t go any further. As soon as I got messages that I should talk to some sponsor, journalist, etc., the lights went out more and more. Sometimes I had to drink alcohol before such conversations so that I could even do it. The conversations were never bad, but in my mind I was always torn apart and had to answer uncomfortable questions.”
Of course, one question remains: “What if I had gone all out?” With pure discipline and without setbacks caused by his fear, lack of discipline and physical ailments? Kustler would have “liked to know how it would have turned out in the end.” Nevertheless, the life he is living today makes him happy: “At the moment I am reasonably satisfied. Woman, child, just about to finish medical school,” he says. He is “by far one of the oldest in the semester” and finishes his studies at the age of almost 40.
“‘You were the greatest talent I’ve ever trained’ I hear to this day and it feels awful”
He has probably made his peace a little with the missed tennis career, but not completely. That’s because he hasn’t forgotten his abilities any more than his environment. “‘You were the greatest talent I’ve ever trained,’ I hear to this day and it feels awful,” he writes. The users take their hat off to his clear words. And encourage him. “I hope you become a formidable doctor,” writes one. “If you then have what it takes to be a doctor, then you can pat yourself on both shoulders, great” another. And a third: “Good luck with your second career as a doctor. I think, viewed soberly, that’s the better career and you even do good things in the process.” Let’s hope that in a life full of ups and downs, only ups will follow for him in the future. If his story is real with all the details – which leaves residual doubts, which is very likely. On Reddit, an alleged Rewe employee also unpacked why she prefers to go to Aldi and Lidl. (lin)
2023-07-25 12:41:57
#drove #drunk #match
