Thomas Muster, the 'King of Clay,' survived a horrific accident in 1989 that nearly ended his career. With incredible mental strength, he returned to the court and became the world's No. 1 tennis player.
Thomas Muster, born on October 2, 1967, in Leibnitz, will be remembered as one of the greatest fighters in tennis history. His story is not just a sporting achievement but an incredible life drama that began on the fateful night of April 1, 1989. Two hours after the biggest victory of his career, a drunk driver without a valid license struck him with a car, shattering his left knee, putting not only his career but his very life in jeopardy.
"I lay on the ground and thought: 'This is it. This is how I end. Not with a defeat on the court but in a parking lot with a drunk driver after the biggest win of my career.' I remember thinking years later that I could have been dead," Muster recalled of the darkest day of his life.
Before becoming the world No. 1, Muster forged an unbreakable bond with Croatia. His family spent summers in Istria and Dalmatia, and it was in Umag that he learned to swim at the age of five. He spent evenings playing football with local children, and he often highlighted this love for Croatia in interviews, saying he had sailed along its coast many times.
Doctors were not optimistic after the accident. "You may never play tennis again," were the words they gave him. But Muster refused to give up. With the help of his coach Ronnie Leitgeb, he built a special chair from which he could hit balls while his leg was immobilized. Generating power solely from his upper body, he honed the spin that would bring him worldwide fame.
"Two weeks earlier, they thought he would never run again, but when he started hitting balls, I saw fire in his eyes. From that moment, I knew he would return to the court," said Leitgeb. Muster returned after just five months, playing an exhibition match against Ivan Lendl in Vienna. His competitive comeback followed a few days later with a victory over Mexico's Agustin Moreno in the first round of the ATP tournament in Barcelona.
Muster entered tennis almost by chance. His father, Heinz, was a professional footballer and coach who took him to training sessions, but young Thomas quickly lost interest in football. He fell in love with the orange Snauwaert racket his parents bought for 600 schillings. At age eight, they enrolled him in a tennis club a five-minute walk from home.
As a junior, he was already climbing the ranks. In 1984, he finished tenth on the world junior rankings, made his Davis Cup debut for Austria, and played at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In 1986, he won his first ATP title in Hilversum, and two years later, he experienced a meteoric rise with four ATP titles and a 51-16 record, breaking into the top 13 on the ATP rankings. He particularly shone on clay, where he posted 43 wins and just nine losses.
The fateful night came after Muster spectacularly came from behind to defeat Yannick Noah in the semifinals in Miami. That victory secured his first entry into the Top 10 and made him the first Austrian to achieve that feat. On April 1, 1989, as he was retrieving his equipment from the trunk, a Lincoln Continental driven by drunk driver Robert Norman Sobie (37) slammed into him. His collateral and cruciate ligaments were torn, and besides him, photographer Wolfgang Ritschke and tournament volunteer Michelle Boyd were also injured.
In an adrenaline-fueled shock, Muster insisted to coach Leitgeb that he would be ready for the final. Due to the risk of infection, he was operated on only after returning to Austria. "Maybe I would have achieved more without the accident, and maybe I would never have become No. 1. I could have been dead," Muster said, reflecting on that day.
Muster's playing style was not elegant, but it was extremely effective. He played gritty, grinding tennis, chasing down every ball and constantly forcing opponents to hit one more shot. He was known for his incredible work ethic, quick footwork, and extreme topspin. These characteristics earned him the nickname "King of Clay" and the respect of his greatest rivals, including Lendl, Becker, Edberg, and Agassi.
"Almost no one considered it particularly significant that Thomas possessed the most important ingredient for success, which is passion," wrote Günter Bresnik, then coach of Horst Skoff, in his book "The Dominic Thiem Method." Muster left school at 14, and his teacher "predicted" he would end up on the streets. A prophecy that never came true.
