2014 in Review: World and German Champion!

Now that 2014 is almost over and there are only some league matches left, let’s have a look at my past year in Ringtennis. All in all, it was a way better year than 2013. First, my fellow teammates of TSV Neubiberg-Ottobrunn and I came in second place in the German premier league (Bundesliga), only losing to the defending champions of SG Suderwich. This was my best result in the national league since 2011, when I myself played for Suderwich and we beat PSG Mannheim in the final.

World Champion!

In March, I participated in the 3rd World Championships as one of the team captains of the German national team. That awesome event was held in Vereeniging, South Africa. After an 11th place in 2006 and a 4th place in 2010, I finally managed to win a medal in the men’s singles competition, beating German champion Timo Hufnagel in the match for 3rd place. Yet, the highlight was of course our victory in the team competition, securing a 10–10 against South Africa after losing the first four games of the match. I guess I’ve posted enough about that previously 😉

After the World Cup, I played the open Ringtennis tournament in Siegen (Krönchenturnier), where I came in first place in men’s singles, beating my teammate and good friend Alexej Ermak in the final. Together, we also won the men’s doubles competition. These victories mean a lot to me, as the Siegen tournament was the first Ringtennis tournament I ever participated in (back in 1999) and until this year, I could never manage to win it.

German Champion!

Finally, Alexej and I also won the German Championships in men’s doubles (free style) in September in Kieselbronn. This was the only discipline I had never won before at German championships, so my record is now more or less complete. Actually, 2014 was the first year in which I became both, a world and German champion. At the end of this year I will also be the number 1 in the German singles ranking for the first time in … well, I honestly don’t know how many years, but it has been some time. This also means that I’m somehow at the same time the Philipp Lahm and the Novak Đoković of Ringtennis¹ 😉

To bring this article to a conclusion, an interesting figure at the end: This year, I’ve travelled at least 97 hours (lower bound estimate) to play Ringtennis at the national league finals, one training camp, two open tournaments, two national championships and one World Championship. Let’s see what will happen next year …

¹Disclaimer: Please don’t take seriously!