I would have preferred to play for gold in the final in Tokyo with my doubles partner Kevin Krawietz that Saturday, but I'm also very happy to be home with my family again.

It was not up to me to postpone my departure as long as possible - I couldn't have done more than hanging out in the Olympic Village and watching my colleagues play tennis anyway.

Peter Hess

Sports editor.

  • Follow I follow

I am enjoying being an Olympian and I definitely don't want to miss the experience. But the circumstances could have been a bit nicer. I would love to be there again in Paris in 2024, under really Olympic conditions, but it's not that it's a very specific goal of mine, as is the case with athletes in other sports who submit their lives to an Olympic rhythm.

Let's see how my career develops, in 2024 I would be 36, which is not an age for a doubles player. The decision to move on or to stop, however, doesn't just depend on my body. I keep talking to my family about how things will go next. Because my career as a professional tennis player has a massive impact on the way my parents and my wife live. Since I became a father six months ago, my son has played a major role in the deliberations.

As a professional tennis player, I am virtually uninterrupted in world history, which would not be possible without the family support system.

My wife refrains from advancing her professional career, my parents relieve me of a lot of organizational things in everyday life: It starts with changing winter tires, doesn't stop with garbage disposal and also affects more important things.

Not to mention the care assistance for our son.

Everyone is putting back so that I can pursue my job.

It brings in good money and enables us to do things that might otherwise not be possible.

But money isn't everything: we only live once, and I want all of us to make it through life as happily as possible - not just me.

I want as many family members as possible to be as happy as possible.

Grand Slam title as the crowning glory

My sporting success plays a role in the evaluation.

It is extremely unlikely that I will quit anytime soon, because I am currently experiencing the best season of my life.

After a few tournament victories, I reached 33rd place in the world, which now gives me the opportunity to establish myself at the top or maybe even climb further.

Because now I'm guaranteed to take part in the major tournaments thanks to the ranking position and have a lot more chances than before to collect more points.

Until the turn of the year, I hardly have to defend any points from last year.

The Olympics have confirmed to me that I am now good enough to also win a Grand Slam tournament. I played with Kevin Krawietz, who with Andreas Mies twice managed to triumph at the French Open. We have different strengths, weaknesses and specialties, but all in all we don't take much. And my doubles partner on the ATP tour, Michael Venus, also plays at our level.

Unfortunately, the same can be said of 30 to 40 other doubles players in the world, so it is incredibly difficult to win the necessary six matches in a tournament before you have a Grand Slam title.

The equilibrium of the field is much more extreme than in the individual.

In addition, the games will be decided in the champions tiebreak if there is a tie.

Often a few balls decide between victory and defeat.

Without a little luck in the important moments, it is difficult to win.

But my happiness in life does not depend on whether I become a Grand Slam winner or not.

There are more important things in life than tennis.

Peter Heß spoke to Tim Pütz, 33-year-old Frankfurt tennis professional who competes in doubles with Kevin Krawietz in Tokyo.