Interviews
Interviews
Podcast
17.12.2020
Andreas Mies arrives in Cologne city center a good 30 minutes late. An appointment in Cologne-Wahn, far outside the city center, has already dragged on. He doesn't actually have much time on this November day. Mies, still in the middle of the tournament phase at the time and in a different city almost every week, has to see his physiotherapist. His left knee hurts, as it often does after a tournament. Five years ago, he switched to doubles. He is now one of the best in the world at doubles, but earns considerably less than the stars in singles.
I booked my Maldives vacation the day before yesterday. I've always wanted to go there.
I had a six-month break from competitions because of corona. But I trained a lot during that time. The tennis season is always over for all players at the end of November. Then everyone goes on vacation. Preparation for the season starts again in December. So this is now my normal annual vacation, a quick recharge.
That's right, I didn't have my breakthrough until I was 28. We achieved that in June 2019 with our first French Open win. That was the first big exclamation mark. I had already played at Wimbledon with my tennis partner Kevin Krawietz in July 2018. We reached the round of 16 there. That was the first major Grand Slam tournament I ever played in. As a result, we rose in the rankings and were able to get into other major tournaments. The subsequent victory at the French Open saw us rise from 60th to 20th in the rankings. That means we are seeded for every tournament.
"We can beat anyone."
I remember how happy we were to make it into the main draw at Wimbledon. Because the qualifiers were held on a cricket pitch at another facility in Roehampton. They had quickly drawn the lines for it. We won two games there. Then we came to the main pitch, on the sacred turf. I was really excited and had to pinch myself several times during the first match so that I could understand that this was really happening. That what I used to watch on TV as a little boy was now coming true. It's every tennis pro's dream to play at Wimbledon. We only just lost to the future winners. That showed us: We can beat anyone. And then it worked out at the French Open.
You first had to come to terms with the successes, also mentally. It's not like you become a mega star from one day to the next. But the fact that we were able to play all the tournaments from one day to the next and suddenly got a lot more attention from the sports media really made a difference.
You tend to have this mindset at the level below, at the smaller tournaments. You have to play a lot to collect a lot of points to qualify for more tournaments and collect as much prize money as possible so that you can survive. And so that you can rise to the next level. Once you've reached the top, you earn a lot more from the tournaments and the prize money goes up. Since I've managed that, I can concentrate fully on the quality of my performance. Now it's all about collecting at least enough points so that I can stay at this level.
"You have to work your way up from the very small tournaments."
Of course, preferably with the best tournaments there are. I end up playing 30 major tournaments a year. But I also have to plan in recovery periods. It's all too stressful for that, all the traveling alone. I'm in a different place almost every week, on a different continent. I have to cope with the jet lag, then I'm home in Cologne for a few days and then it's straight on. You learn to organize yourself over time.
About a tenth of the prize money of a singles player. It is said that in singles, the best 100 players can earn good money. In doubles, it's the best 30 teams. You have to work your way up from the very small tournaments. This year I wanted to set myself up more professionally so that I'm always fit. Because aches and pains come and in this professional sport I can't afford to just be out for three or six months.
Phew. I reached the semi-finals in Vienna last time. The prize money was pretty much cut by Corona. I think it was 12,000 euros.
Actually, I always know that [pulls out his cell phone]. There was 24,000 euros per team for the semi-final. So 12,000 euros each for me and my partner. There was still 290,000 euros per player for winning the French Open in 2019, this year it was 160,000 euros because of corona. That's a huge difference. Then there's another 10,000 euros for travel, physio, trainer and so on when we stay at a tournament like this for 14 days.
I injured my knee at the age of 22 and tore my meniscus. That was at the very end of my sports scholarship in the USA, when I actually wanted to take off with tennis. I continued to play for the next two months anyway - with pain. I would have had to take a break. Then I went back to Germany. I finally wanted to become a professional tennis player, played for a whole year with the pain and finally had to have an operation. After the operation, I tried to play singles again, but it was immediately clear that I couldn't do it anymore. The strain is less in doubles.
"Physical health is the most important thing."
Yes, actually always a little bit. Sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on how much I play. But it's not tragic and is regularly checked by the doctor.
I would prefer to still be able to run after my career and still have some of my money. I don't want to end up like many professional athletes who need a new knee or hip after their career. Physical health is the most important thing. After all, what good is all that money if I end up in a wheelchair? If that were foreseeable, I would stop immediately.
My goal is not to end up like some others who have earned well and end up with nothing. I'm humble and down-to-earth enough to know that this is a good phase for me at the age of 30. I hope that I can do this for as long as possible. You can play doubles until you're 40. So I'm trying to save the money as much as possible.
I like to go shopping from time to time. But I still look at the price tags, even in the supermarket. What has changed: I always order what I'm hungry for in a restaurant, so maybe the steak rather than the pasta. Apart from that, I've just bought a condominium in Cologne. And a second small apartment that I rent out to my manager, who is also my best friend. Because during the corona break, I also needed something to keep me solvent. During that phase, we professional athletes earned significantly less. But money is just a nice side effect for me anyway. My primary goal is to stay healthy and be able to pursue my passion. The financial side comes automatically as long as I'm good.
I can imagine a few things, perhaps working in the editorial field as a sports expert or maybe as a trainer. I'll decide when the time comes. My manager and I are currently relaunching my website andreasmies.com and we're trying out a few things in online marketing. We want to build a brand.
Yes, my manager and I founded a GbR in 2014, for example, to sign advertising contracts and work with brands. That was way before my breakthrough. We were very confident and now we have some great advertising partnerships. We also registered our own brand in 2014, for which my best buddy and manager designed the logo. We had a few hundred T-shirts made from sustainable organic cotton with the logo in 2016. We were able to sell them all. Our original aim was to use it to set up a small fashion label, but we stopped producing our own T-shirts again due to time constraints and now use the logo more for an online fan store.
Personal details: Andreas Mies started playing tennis at the age of six. At the age of 18, he received a sports scholarship in the USA. Mies studied International Business at the same time. At 22, he actually wanted to turn professional, as so many individual players do. But in his final semester, he injured his knee and tore his meniscus. Mies continued to play anyway. A mistake, as he says today. He can no longer play singles with his knee. He only made his breakthrough in 2018 at the age of 28 when he played doubles at Wimbledon.
Interviews
17.12.2020
Jan Schulte
Andreas Mies won the doubles at the French Open for the second time in a row in October. This makes him and his partner Kevin Krawietz the most successful doubles tennis players in Germany to date. In this interview, he talks about prize money, success and pain.
Andreas Mies arrives in Cologne city center a good 30 minutes late. An appointment in Cologne-Wahn, far outside the city center, has already dragged on. He doesn't actually have much time on this November day. Mies, still in the middle of the tournament phase at the time and in a different city almost every week, has to see his physiotherapist. His left knee hurts, as it often does after a tournament. Five years ago, he switched to doubles. He is now one of the best in the world at doubles, but earns considerably less than the stars in singles.
I booked my Maldives vacation the day before yesterday. I've always wanted to go there.
I had a six-month break from competitions because of corona. But I trained a lot during that time. The tennis season is always over for all players at the end of November. Then everyone goes on vacation. Preparation for the season starts again in December. So this is now my normal annual vacation, a quick recharge.
That's right, I didn't have my breakthrough until I was 28. We achieved that in June 2019 with our first French Open win. That was the first big exclamation mark. I had already played at Wimbledon with my tennis partner Kevin Krawietz in July 2018. We reached the round of 16 there. That was the first major Grand Slam tournament I ever played in. As a result, we rose in the rankings and were able to get into other major tournaments. The subsequent victory at the French Open saw us rise from 60th to 20th in the rankings. That means we are seeded for every tournament.
"We can beat anyone."
I remember how happy we were to make it into the main draw at Wimbledon. Because the qualifiers were held on a cricket pitch at another facility in Roehampton. They had quickly drawn the lines for it. We won two games there. Then we came to the main pitch, on the sacred turf. I was really excited and had to pinch myself several times during the first match so that I could understand that this was really happening. That what I used to watch on TV as a little boy was now coming true. It's every tennis pro's dream to play at Wimbledon. We only just lost to the future winners. That showed us: We can beat anyone. And then it worked out at the French Open.
You first had to come to terms with the successes, also mentally. It's not like you become a mega star from one day to the next. But the fact that we were able to play all the tournaments from one day to the next and suddenly got a lot more attention from the sports media really made a difference.
You tend to have this mindset at the level below, at the smaller tournaments. You have to play a lot to collect a lot of points to qualify for more tournaments and collect as much prize money as possible so that you can survive. And so that you can rise to the next level. Once you've reached the top, you earn a lot more from the tournaments and the prize money goes up. Since I've managed that, I can concentrate fully on the quality of my performance. Now it's all about collecting at least enough points so that I can stay at this level.
"You have to work your way up from the very small tournaments."
Of course, preferably with the best tournaments there are. I end up playing 30 major tournaments a year. But I also have to plan in recovery periods. It's all too stressful for that, all the traveling alone. I'm in a different place almost every week, on a different continent. I have to cope with the jet lag, then I'm home in Cologne for a few days and then it's straight on. You learn to organize yourself over time.
About a tenth of the prize money of a singles player. It is said that in singles, the best 100 players can earn good money. In doubles, it's the best 30 teams. You have to work your way up from the very small tournaments. This year I wanted to set myself up more professionally so that I'm always fit. Because aches and pains come and in this professional sport I can't afford to just be out for three or six months.
Phew. I reached the semi-finals in Vienna last time. The prize money was pretty much cut by Corona. I think it was 12,000 euros.
Actually, I always know that [pulls out his cell phone]. There was 24,000 euros per team for the semi-final. So 12,000 euros each for me and my partner. There was still 290,000 euros per player for winning the French Open in 2019, this year it was 160,000 euros because of corona. That's a huge difference. Then there's another 10,000 euros for travel, physio, trainer and so on when we stay at a tournament like this for 14 days.
I injured my knee at the age of 22 and tore my meniscus. That was at the very end of my sports scholarship in the USA, when I actually wanted to take off with tennis. I continued to play for the next two months anyway - with pain. I would have had to take a break. Then I went back to Germany. I finally wanted to become a professional tennis player, played for a whole year with the pain and finally had to have an operation. After the operation, I tried to play singles again, but it was immediately clear that I couldn't do it anymore. The strain is less in doubles.
"Physical health is the most important thing."
Yes, actually always a little bit. Sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on how much I play. But it's not tragic and is regularly checked by the doctor.
I would prefer to still be able to run after my career and still have some of my money. I don't want to end up like many professional athletes who need a new knee or hip after their career. Physical health is the most important thing. After all, what good is all that money if I end up in a wheelchair? If that were foreseeable, I would stop immediately.
My goal is not to end up like some others who have earned well and end up with nothing. I'm humble and down-to-earth enough to know that this is a good phase for me at the age of 30. I hope that I can do this for as long as possible. You can play doubles until you're 40. So I'm trying to save the money as much as possible.
I like to go shopping from time to time. But I still look at the price tags, even in the supermarket. What has changed: I always order what I'm hungry for in a restaurant, so maybe the steak rather than the pasta. Apart from that, I've just bought a condominium in Cologne. And a second small apartment that I rent out to my manager, who is also my best friend. Because during the corona break, I also needed something to keep me solvent. During that phase, we professional athletes earned significantly less. But money is just a nice side effect for me anyway. My primary goal is to stay healthy and be able to pursue my passion. The financial side comes automatically as long as I'm good.
I can imagine a few things, perhaps working in the editorial field as a sports expert or maybe as a trainer. I'll decide when the time comes. My manager and I are currently relaunching my website andreasmies.com and we're trying out a few things in online marketing. We want to build a brand.
Yes, my manager and I founded a GbR in 2014, for example, to sign advertising contracts and work with brands. That was way before my breakthrough. We were very confident and now we have some great advertising partnerships. We also registered our own brand in 2014, for which my best buddy and manager designed the logo. We had a few hundred T-shirts made from sustainable organic cotton with the logo in 2016. We were able to sell them all. Our original aim was to use it to set up a small fashion label, but we stopped producing our own T-shirts again due to time constraints and now use the logo more for an online fan store.
Personal details: Andreas Mies started playing tennis at the age of six. At the age of 18, he received a sports scholarship in the USA. Mies studied International Business at the same time. At 22, he actually wanted to turn professional, as so many individual players do. But in his final semester, he injured his knee and tore his meniscus. Mies continued to play anyway. A mistake, as he says today. He can no longer play singles with his knee. He only made his breakthrough in 2018 at the age of 28 when he played doubles at Wimbledon.
About the author
Jan Schulte
Jan Schulte writes about business and politics.
