Joerg Pfuhl: the man who quit his job and is devoted to Masters Tennis
Dr Joerg Pfuhl is accompanying his 17-year-old daughter as she completes an internship with a German foundation in Stuttgart that supports artificial intelligence within scientific projects. “It’s pretty crazy, don’t ask me to explain it further,” he jokes.
“Usually, I would be in the United Kingdom at this time of year playing Masters Tennis on grass courts, which is my biggest love, but family comes first. As it happens, there are Masters Tennis tournaments here every weekend in the summer.”
How very fortunate. A broader picture probably needs to be painted to explain the jocular tone with which the above revelation is greeted.
In his late fifties, Pfuhl did what many people can only dream of doing; he quit his job to pursue his passion and immerse himself in what truly makes him happy – tennis.
Since then, this intrepid German has undertaken a voyage of discovery, uncovering a world he barely knew existed but one which increasingly supports the decision he made to walk away from a lucrative job.
For more than 25 years, Pfuhl enjoyed a successful career within the publishing industry, holding executive positions at renowned organisations such as Random House and Holtzbrinck Buchverlage.
He also played a pivotal role in the launch of digital start-ups Audible and Skoobe, while for a decade he served as the Chairman of the German Reading Foundation.
Ten years ago, Pfuhl stepped down from his role as CEO of Random House Germany to spend more time with his family but was eventually suckered back into publishing.
But with certain health issues emerging and his 60th birthday in sight, Bremen-born Pfuhl closed the door on his working life and devoted himself to playing tennis, resolving to push himself as much as he could.
Watch this video to find out what it is like to compete at an ITF World Tennis Masters Tour event
“I was contemplating what I wanted to do with my life,” Pfuhl told itftennis.com. “I was happy and thrilled when I made the decision because I had thought about it for a long time.
“I knew I wasn’t going to fall into a vacuum. A lot of my colleagues and friends asked me, ‘are you afraid of not having an office, a big car and all that goes with it?’. I said, ‘no, I am determined to do what makes me happy’.
“At that stage, I wasn’t sure if it was going to be tennis that I dedicated myself to. I had a couple of ideas centred around other hobbies such as chess and playing the piano. I just wanted to enjoy my freedom and tennis is what I ultimately chose, or should I say tennis chose me?”
Pfuhl was not a novice. He had played tennis socially for more than 40 years but his quest to see how much further he could go in the sport began with reading and absorbing information – he is a former publisher after all.
He devised a training programme with hitting partner Jörg Teepe and enlisted the support of seasoned performer Stefan Fasthoff, who won his first title on the ITF World Tennis Masters Tour 25 years ago.
Pfuhl does 15 hours of tennis or tennis-related activity per week on average, including 2-3 hours of intense practice every other day that includes “the grind”, where he hits 1000 balls.
Since retiring, he has graduated from local tennis league matches to national tournaments to the ITF World Tennis Masters Tour, where he has won singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles.
He has also competed at three ITF Masters World Championships – the pinnacle of ITF Masters Tennis – in Croatia, the United States and Portugal, reaching the semi-finals in the consolation singles and the quarter-finals in mixed doubles in Palm Beach County in 2022.
But as well as the on-court achievements, Pfuhl is feeling far better physically, which feeds into the wider narrative of tennis being hugely beneficial for an individual's health.
The associated health benefits of playing tennis include increased life expectancy, reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality, improved mental health and enhanced physical fitness.
The ITF World Tennis Masters Tour provides competitive playing opportunities from the year in which a player turns 30
Indeed, research by the Copenhagen City Heart Study found that tennis players have a 47 per cent reduction in overall mortality risk and a 59 per cent reduction in cardiovascular mortality.
“For me, the health benefits are a consequence of my sports activities,” added Pfuhl. “I am not going to pretend I laid out a huge strategy. A lot of this has surprised me as I was never a sports addict.
“I enjoyed watching sports and tennis on TV, but I was never that active; I preferred sitting on a couch, reading books. After playing intensely for a couple of months, I lost 15 kilos.
“The fitness tracker I wear tells me that I now have the fitness age of a 34-year-old. I read a lot about what exercises I should do and have changed my nutrition, and I feel so much better.
“I feel better than I have ever done, except maybe when I was a teenager. I feel happy in my skin and tennis is bringing me joy.
“Fitness is one component of tennis that I love, the social component is another – it is amazing. I never thought there was this whole tennis world out there in the form of the ITF World Tennis Masters Tour. I have developed some real friendships all over the world.”
Pfuhl has documented his Masters Tennis odyssey in a book entitled Second Serve – Serious About Tennis At 60, with the publishing blurb claiming the 61-year-old hopes to reach the Top 10 in his age group.
The story of Pfuhl's tennis love affair has been Germany’s best-selling tennis book since its publication earlier this year, while a paperback version and eBook are now available in English worldwide on Amazon.
“I am not pretending that I am one of the top players and I won’t be,” Pfuhl added. “I will be honest, making it to the Top 10 is something my publisher made up, but we have the 90-and-over category, so I may have a long career ahead of me.
“I started playing Masters Tennis in my late fifties. There are things that I can learn but some things I cannot. Sometimes I get embarrassed on the tennis court when I run into someone who really knows what they’re doing. When that happens, I get a free lesson. Tennis keeps you humble.
“I am in this for the fun and I want to lead a healthy life. But I keep stumbling into cool things and this is why I wrote the book. I want to encourage people to try Masters Tennis.
“I just want to lead a happy and healthy life and tennis allows me to do that.”