Every year Alexander Waske looks forward to the birthday party of his best friend’s daughter Siami, who has just turned 3, so that he can play the Clown for her. Although a family of his own is not anywhere in sight for the near future, this German adores kids and aspires to become a father one day. Until then, his passion and goals remain focused on his professional tennis career.
In the year 2000, Alexander left his college, San Diego State University, and started climbing the world rankings towards a goal that his 2 coaches, John Nelson and Larry Willens, had set before him: To become a Top 100 player of the ATP- Rankings. Although he was already 25 years of age when he began his professional career, he did not let the negative comments from the so-called experts, big sponsoring companies, or other coaches stop him from chasing his goal.
At an early age Alexander started to develop a love for the sport. Being barely able to walk, his father, Andreas, took him to the tennis courts where Alexander could not resist the desire of hitting balls or, more accurately, at least trying to hit them. His father would continuously toss balls to him yet young Waske refused to swing at them because his father would do so from the same side of the net. Young Waske instinctively knew that this was not how the game is being played. Only once his father realized that he should toss the balls from across the net, young Waske’s tennis career would begin. Unrelenting in Alexander’s desire to become better at the sport, Andreas realized that he soon had to manufacture a shorter wooden racket which his son was able to use.
With the love for tennis embedded in him so early by his father, it is no wonder that Waske became one of the youngest members of the Sports Club in Frankfurt, SC 1880, which his father had already been a member of for many years. He spent his adolescent years playing for all the junior teams and, at the age of 16, he joined the Club’s 1st Men’s Team. Around that same time in 1994, he finished school and set off to fulfill his 12 month mandatory military service as a medic in Montabaur. Subsequently, in August 1995, Waske traded his uniform for suit and tie. He began working in the financial world where he was an apprentice at the Hessische Landesbank Frankfurt. In preparing for his next steps in life, however, he started applying to various universities in California, where he hoped to receive a full scholarship for his almost forgotten talent in tennis. Several universities such as UCLA, Pepperdine, USD, Santa Barbara, and UC-Irvine offered him scholarships but Waske ultimately decided to become an Aztec at San Diego State University. He studied International Business yet received an equally important education in another area in which he thought he was already and expert: Tennis. Head Coach John Nelson and Voluntary Assistant Coach Larry Willens, former Coach of the legendary Rod Laver, were able to teach him many new techniques, strategies, tactics, and ways of thinking. After 3 years of intense training and great successes at his school, both athletically and academically, he was named All American in 2000, Player of the Year of Region VIII, and Mountain West Conference Player of the Year. He turned professional that summer at the advice of his coaches. Starting out with a ranking around 290 in the world, he decided to take the next step toward achieving his goal. For this, he would have to assemble a dream team of experts to bring him up to the next level.
Waske started working with Patrick Sommer, his former doubles partner, who joined him as a full-time coach on his journeys and worked with him every day. For conditioning, Waske found Yannick Obenauer to be the right man to help him greatly increase his endurance, coordination, speed, and strength. Jens Freimuth, a chiropractor and physiotherapist, also joined the team to take care of Waske’s health and injuries and, last but not least, Thomas Baschab was recruited to become his mental Coach. Thanks to the effectiveness of Waske’s dream team, in 2003 Waske accelerated in the rankings to become ranked #100 in the world and #3 in Germany. His primary goal had been achieved as it was predicted by his coaches at San Diego State University just 3 years earlier.
Soon, however, Waske began to pay his dues to the very exhausting and demanding life on the tour. He developed knee problems and went to Dr.Mueller-Wohlfahrt for the cure yet, by strong recommendation from Prof. Steadman from the US, it was decided that knee surgery would be necessary. In order to rehabilitate, Waske sought the talents of the most renowned man in Germany, Klaus Eder, who normally takes care of the German National Team in soccer and the Davis Cup Team. Surely with time and expert care, Waske’s condition started to improve and he began to feel better and better.
At the Davis Cup tie against Belarus, as the 5th man on the team, his situation changed quickly when the head Coach Patrick Kühnen decided to put him in the doubles against Israel. Waske did not let his coach or team down as he and Tommy Haas defeataed the #8 team in the world, Ram-Erlich, in 5 sets after losing the first two sets.
His goals for the near future include becoming German Team Champion 2004 with BW Sundern (a title which he already held in 2002 with ETUF Essen) and reaching the Top 70 in the world.