Dennis Novak Retirement: Tennisnet Interview

After fifteen years on the tour, Dennis Novak speaks unusually openly about loneliness, hatred and life beyond glamour.

On the podcast MINDGAMES said the Austrian Dennis Novak after his recent departure from the tour. Anyone who isn’t exactly Djokovic, Alcaraz or Sinner often pays double the price for the effort that professional tennis requires due to a lack of resources. It was therefore time for Novak to draw a line in the sand.

Alone on the tour

Looking back, what bothered Novak the most wasn’t necessarily the pressure of sport, but rather being alone. Tennis is an individual sport, and that’s exactly what made defeats particularly difficult. After losing matches, he often found himself alone in a taxi or hotel room while family and friends were hundreds or thousands of miles away. Especially in those moments when you already felt lost, immediate support was missing.

A life in the hotel

For Novak, fifteen years on the tour also meant fifteen years without normality, in which he was never home for Christmas, always had to train on weekends and constantly lived out of a suitcase. It wasn’t until the birth of his first child four years ago that Novak’s perspective changed fundamentally. Today he looks forward every day to exactly what seemed impossible to him until recently: putting his children to bed and spontaneously going for a walk on Sunday afternoons.

Hatred after every defeat

A particularly dark aspect of being a professional for Novak was the reactions after losing matches. Novak reported unbelievable hate messages on social media – mostly from people who had bet on him. Threats like “We will find you” or “Your family is in danger” left their mark, even if Novak tried not to let them influence him. The fact that his family also fell victim to such statements was perhaps the worst thing about the threats.

The icing on the cake

Novak also speaks mercilessly about the financial and media challenges of being a professional. While the money in the top 200 is often not enough for travel, tournaments and support if you don’t have enough sponsors, the media’s judgment is particularly hard on you in public. According to Novak, especially in German-speaking countries, there is a culture in which athletes are quickly devalued after defeats instead of accepting them as part of the business.

In any case, a completely new life is now beginning for Novak. He wants to take his time to see what tasks await him in the future.

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