Humility, modesty and respect: Ladies NRW International organizer Marc Raffel in conversation with Klaus Hofsaess, Steffi Graf's ex-coach
Those of us who are slightly older TennisTraveller still have it clearly in mind. Klaus Hofsaess, coach and creator of the 22-time Grand Slam winner Steffi Graf and successful former national coach, has been living in Marbella in Spain for some time and runs his Hofsaess Tennis Academy . Marc Raffel, tournament organizer of the Ladies NRW International May 26th to June 2nd, 2024 at TC RW Troisdorf of which we are a proud tournament partner, recently had the opportunity to meet the German coaching legend on Monte Elviria, the "German mountain" near Marbella to talk about developments in top tennis, his academy and of course about Steffi Graf. We don't want to withhold the interesting interview from you and hope you enjoy reading it!
There is no worse way to put pressure on a top athlete
Marc Raffel (MR): Of course I'll first ask you about Steffi Graf.
Are you still in contact with her? Klauf Hofsaess (KH) : Yes, of course, I actually have very good and regular contact. I have already visited you twice in your hometown of Las Vegas in the USA. Steffi is fine! That's where I got to know Andre Agassi better.
MR: Steffi seems to have really arrived in the USA?
KH: Indeed! Her enormous respect for other people, her humility and modesty characterize Steffi and help her in many things. And: If you get to know and love Andre Agassi, then you move to the USA (laughs).
MR: When you look in the rearview mirror.
What were Steffi's greatest sporting successes? KH: I think the Golden Slam in 1988, when Steffi won all four Grand Slam tournaments as well as the gold medal in Seoul at the Olympic Games. A typical anecdote comes to mind: When we landed at the airport in Seoul, so many fans were chanting that the police had to intervene. There was enormous Steffi Graf hype throughout Asia too! When we arrived in the Olympic Village, the then NOK boss Walter Tröger welcomed Steffi with the sentence: “Ahh, there is our safest gold medal.” I will never forget that. There is no worse way to put pressure on a top athlete.
The player has to stay on the pitch - long-term success counts
MR: We live in a different time now.
How do you see the developments in German women's tennis? KH: (Take a deep breath). Those I know, including players from the Porsche talent team, definitely have potential, but you always have to pay particular attention to your discipline, stamina, etc. You have to be able to sustainably access your performance. If you have success, you have to work even harder than before, even more disciplined. The player must remain on the pitch, completely, he must not be distracted. If these skills are present, one or another career is definitely conceivable again.
MR: What has changed in top tennis in recent years and decades?
KH: Well, today many top players play very similarly. Everyone is hitting the balls like crazy, mostly from the baseline. The increasingly uniform coverings do the rest. Even on grass that is cut longer and longer, you can now be successful on the basic line. The game was slowed down in many places, so that the online game lost its appeal. In the past, the game was played a little more variably, offensive types at the net were rewarded more often and were very successful. Think of Mc Enroe, Cash, Edberg, Becker or Sampras and Navrat Ilova. Maybe training should be made a little more varied these days. At a certain stage we have to give young people more to learn, offer variants and alternative solutions and enable a wide range of technical training. Long-term success counts!
Steffi Graf, Arantxa Sanchez, Victoria Azarenka, Thomas Muster Muster and Boris Becker
MR: How long have you been living here in Marbella?
KH: I have been here since 1984 and two years later became the sporting director of this tennis academy. In 1989 I took over the entire system. Step by step I developed the offers here, such as the school, swimming pool, restaurants, clay tennis courts and hard courts. Top stars such as Thomas Muster, Arantxa Sanchez, Victoria Azarenka and Boris Becker and of course Steffi trained here.
MR: What drives you to work these days?
KH: I am now 75 years old and I still love sports and tennis incredibly intensely. I simply enjoy working with athletes, young and old. I still enjoy standing on the pitch, but more and more often only in the mornings, so it's not so hot here. Grateful customers are a great reward for hard work and hard work.
I am passionate about my work
MR: Were you actually a decent tennis player yourself?
KH: I think so (laughs). I played in the Bundesliga with Waldau Stuttgart and in many international tournaments in Europe. MR: Your academy here in Marbella is absolutely beautiful! Do you have any further plans here? KH: Our tennis offering is very complete. But we would still like to build accommodation right here and offer it to our customers and students. There is space for this. We want to use it for that too. Many families come to us, many regular guests and training groups and individual athletes. I'm still hooked on tennis and passionate about my work.
![Klaus Hofsaess with Marc Raffel in an interview](/images/blog/2024/hofsaess-interview-klein.jpg)
Profile of Klaus Hofsaess
Born where? Dornstetten in the Black Forest
Born when? December 17, 1948
Greatest successes as a coach? Golden Slam with Steffi Graf, Olympic gold medal in Seoul & Los Angeles.
Cross-sport Coach of the Year in Germany 1987. Twice Federation Cup winner with Germany. Life motto? “Be satisfied with what you have and what you do.”
I have been happily married for 52 years and have two children.
I have always been very hard on my wife, but unfairly (laughs).”
TO THE HOFSAESS TENNIS ACADEMY
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