Noah Rubin’s “Behind The Racquet” with Gabriel Markus • Tennis | 10sBalls

By TennisBalls Staff
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Updated: June 25, 2021

Editor’s note: 10sBalls thanks Noah Rubin for giving us permission to repost these great stories.

#LegendaryBTR– “I was born for tennis. From the age of 4, I dreamed of becoming a professional tennis player. I loved to practice and improve every detail. I went through the normal steps to get to the professional level, from junior tournaments to ATP events. By age 21, I had won challenger titles. I started to play only ATP events because I thought it was the best way to improve. It was 1992 and things were looking bright. My dreams were all coming true. I won my first ATP title in Nice, France. I beat Pete Sampras, who was number one in the world. Two weeks later, I beat Ivan Lendl and Michael Chang. I had beaten 3 of the Top 5 players. Everything was in place. I was happy and enjoying my time on the tour.

My nightmare began the following year. I won a five-set match at Roland Garros and was in my best shape. I went to the locker room to ask for treatment so my body could recover. The trainer was working on my back when the massage table broke. We fell and one of the table legs badly cut my toe. The training room broke into chaos. There was blood everywhere. They couldn’t do stitches because the cut was too deep. I couldn’t believe what was happening.My coach and family had already arrived at Roland Garros to watch me. I didn’t know what to tell them. I was in so much pain I couldn’t walk. I was desolate. Two days later, I decided to play my match. I had to be strong because I wanted to go far in the tournament. I had the ability to control my pain. I won the match. But once I left the court, I fell over in pain. I got an MRI and found out I had broken my femur… on my other leg. I had played with so much pain that I had put all my weight on my other leg. At this moment, my life changed.

Over the next few months, I tried to play again but there was too much pain. At the end of the year, I had surgery with the best doctor at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. I spent five months on crutches and went to rehabilitation sessions for ten hours every day. There was no more tennis in my life, only doctors. I looked all over the world for a solution, but the pain never went away. Over the next five years, I had eight surgeries. I tried nontraditional medicine. I spent all my money trying to recover. But no one could fix my knee.

I had to accept that life had a different destiny for me. It was really hard because I loved tennis and did everything I could to be the best player possible. I was professional, disciplined and committed to the game. After five years of this nightmare, I started a new career as a coach. My goal was to develop a champion. Now I have coached many top players all over the world including Nalbandian, Coria, Gasquet, Massu, Chela and Gasquet.”

Gabriel Markus (@gabriel_markus)