It was an eventful life, a life in and for sport: Ulrich “Uli” Eimüllner not only made thousands of people in the region happy for decades with a legendary tennis tournament. The name of Lauffener is particularly familiar to those interested in sports: he was once a professional soccer player (SpVgg 07 Ludwigsburg and SSV Reutlingen), ran a sports shop for 41 years until 2018 and made the region famous, and hosted the Heilbronn Open in the Talheim Tennis Center from 1983 to 2014. Both were awarded: the tournament as the best challenger in the world (2001), the tournament director with the Federal Cross of Merit (2011).
Uli Eimüllner was in a wheelchair after an accident in Crete
That was also part of Uli Eimüllner’s life: in 1987, he was seriously injured as a passenger in a car accident on Crete and was dependent on a wheelchair ever since. Uli Eimüllner died on December 26th after a short illness. He leaves behind his wife Marga, his daughter Tina Häffner, his granddaughters Emma and Lene and many memories surrounding the Heilbronn Open.
At the end of 1983, Uli Eimüllner and Peter Litterer decided to organize a tennis tournament. What began on a small scale in 1984 had become a very big story by 2014: The Heilbronn Open carried the name of the region into the world for decades. A woman from Leingarten said at the celebrations for 30 years of the Heilbronn Open in 2013: “Once an acquaintance came out of the toilet completely perplexed and said: ‘Goran Ivanisevic just touched my arm here, he was peeing next to me!'” The list of the greats who played in Talheim is impressive: Michael Stich, Henri Leconte, Marat Safin, Nikolai Dawidenko, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
At the 31st edition of the Heilbronn Open tennis tournament, Eimüllner announced the end
The early years of the tournament were shaped by Udo Riglewski, who became the premiere winner in 1984. The Gemminger was in the singles or doubles finals at the Heilbronn Open eight times and won seven times. The record winner in the individual event was Michael Berrer (2007, 2010 and 2013). Highlights were also the celebrations at the 25th and 30th edition of the Heilbronn Open with Stefan Edberg and Carl-Uwe Steeb, who said in 2013: “What has been achieved here for German tennis over 30 years should be honored.” At the helper festival of the 31st edition, Uli Eimüllner announced the end in 2014.
This is how many people remember Uli Eimüllner: with his wife Marga in the Talheim tennis center. Photo: Veigel, Andreas
“We’ve all gotten a little older. Also the hall, many of the helpers,” explained the tournament director. His gut feeling had said and the family involved in the organization had decided that it was good now. Reasonable. But it’s a shame. At the time, Michael Berrer spoke of “bad news for the region”.
Despite his accident, Eimüllner had a positive charisma
The Heilbronn Open was moving. The words with which companions paid tribute to Uli Eimüllner on his 75th birthday were also moving. What was true a year ago still applies. “I have the greatest respect for Uli: because he has the same positive attitude and positive charisma as before the accident,” said Peter Litterer at the time.
Uli Eimüllner with his daughter Tina Häffner in the sports store. Photo: Mugler, Dennis
Dirk Schwarzer, who once did community service with Uli Eimüllner and was the sporting director of the Heilbronn Open for many years: “His courage and great determination to tackle things that others hardly consider feasible are admirable.”
Heilbronn’s mayor Harry Mergel congratulated with the words: “For me, Uli Eimüllner is one of the outstanding sports personalities of the last decades.” And Klaus Jost, former chairman of the Heilbronn Open sponsor Intersport, wrote in May 2024: “With his winning warmth and deep knowledge of what is really important in an athlete’s life, Uli Eimüllner not only invented the Heilbronn Open, but also managed it excellently for decades for thousands of fans in our region with a lot of passion and intellect!”
