Off the centre court: former German pros on past and future tennis

At the traditional Kooyong Tennis Club, the International Club of Australia's Grand Slam Reunion is currently taking place away from Melbourne Park. The competition attracts professional tennis players from all over the world. This is where we met three former German tennis professionals and talked to them about the major changes in recent decades. We also talked about money and who this year's favorites for the Australian Open are.

Former tennis pros Jochen Settelmeier, Heide Orth and Klaus Eberhard at the Kooyong Tennis Club. Credit: Julia Grewe

Klaus Eberhard (68) reached the semifinals of the Australian Open in 1981 and won two doubles titles. From 2005 to mid-2022, he was head of sports at the German Tennis Federation.

Heide Orth (84) has been playing tennis since she was 13 years old. In 1960 she was German junior champion and played regularly in the Grand Slams. Today she is the most successful player in the history of senior tennis and still plays tennis every day.

Jochen Settelmeier (67) has played tennis professionally since the 1970s and has reached the later rounds several times at the men's Grand Prix tournaments and national Open tournaments in Germany.

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