Dr. Joerg Pfuhl, a former publishing executive from Germany, has shifted his focus to Masters Tennis after leaving his professional career behind. Pfuhl is currently in Stuttgart with his daughter, who is interning at a German foundation that supports artificial intelligence in scientific projects. He remarked on the experience by saying, “It’s pretty crazy, don’t ask me to explain it further.”
Pfuhl noted that he would typically be in the United Kingdom playing Masters Tennis on grass courts during this time of year but prioritized family commitments instead. “Usually, I would be in the United Kingdom at this time of year playing Masters Tennis on grass courts, which is my biggest love, but family comes first. As it happens, there are Masters Tennis tournaments here every weekend in the summer,” he said.
After more than 25 years working for organizations such as Random House and Holtzbrinck Buchverlage and contributing to digital start-ups like Audible and Skoobe, Pfuhl decided to leave his job due to health concerns and approaching his 60th birthday. He described his decision-making process: “I was contemplating what I wanted to do with my life,” Pfuhl told itftennis.com. “I was happy and thrilled when I made the decision because I had thought about it for a long time.
“I knew I wasn’t going to fall into a vacuum. A lot of my colleagues and friends asked me, ‘are you afraid of not having an office, a big car and all that goes with it?’. I said, ‘no, I am determined to do what makes me happy’.
“At that stage, I wasn’t sure if it was going to be tennis that I dedicated myself to. I had a couple of ideas centred around other hobbies such as chess and playing the piano. I just wanted to enjoy my freedom and tennis is what I ultimately chose, or should I say tennis chose me?”
Pfuhl had played tennis socially for over four decades before deciding to pursue competitive play more seriously. He created a training program with partner Jörg Teepe and received guidance from Stefan Fasthoff—an experienced player on the ITF World Tennis Masters Tour.
He now spends about 15 hours per week on tennis-related activities including intensive practice sessions where he hits up to 1,000 balls each session. Since retiring from publishing work, Pfuhl has progressed from local leagues through national tournaments up to competing internationally on the ITF World Tennis Masters Tour.
He has participated in three ITF Masters World Championships held in Croatia, the United States (including Palm Beach County), and Portugal—reaching semi-finals in consolation singles events and quarter-finals in mixed doubles at Palm Beach County in 2022.
In addition to competition results, Pfuhl reported significant improvements in physical health since taking up regular tennis activity later in life: “For me, the health benefits are a consequence of my sports activities,” added Pfuhl. “I am not going to pretend I laid out a huge strategy. A lot of this has surprised me as I was never a sports addict.
“I enjoyed watching sports and tennis on TV, but I was never that active; I preferred sitting on a couch, reading books. After playing intensely for a couple of months, I lost 15 kilos.
“The fitness watch that I wear tells me that I now have the fitness age of a 34-year-old. I read a lot about what exercises I should do and have changed my nutrition, and I feel so much better.
“I feel better than I have ever done except maybe when I was a teenager. I feel happy in my skin and tennis is bringing me joy.”
Research suggests substantial health benefits associated with regular participation in tennis for adults—including increased life expectancy as well as reduced risk for cardiovascular disease according to findings from studies such as those conducted by Copenhagen City Heart Study.
The ITF World Tennis Masters Tour offers organized competition opportunities globally for players aged 30 years or older (https://www.itftennis.com/en/news-and-media/articles/itf-world-tennis-masters-tour-2025-calendar-announced/). These events allow adult players at various skill levels access both social engagement within their peer group as well as structured athletic challenges worldwide.
Pfuhl also highlighted social aspects: “Fitness is one component of tennis that I love; the social component is another – it is amazing. I never thought there was this whole tennis world out there in the form of the ITF World Tennis Masters Tour. I have developed some real friendships all over the world.”
His experiences are documented in his book Second Serve – Serious About Tennis At 60 which became Germany’s best-selling tennis book earlier this year; English editions are available internationally via Amazon.
Pfuhl remains realistic about competitive ambitions: “I am not pretending that I am one of the top players and I won’t be,” he said.“I will be honest,making it to the Top 10 is something my publisher made up,but we have the 90-and-over category so I may have a long career ahead of me.”
He encourages others considering similar pursuits: “Sometimes I get embarrassed on the tennis court when I run into someone who really knows what they’re doing.When that happens,I get free lesson.Tennis keeps you humble.I am in this for fun,and want lead healthy life.But keep stumbling into cool things,this why wrote book.I want encourage people try Masters Tennis.I just want lead happy healthy life,and tennis allows do that.”
Further information about upcoming ITF World Tennis Masters Tour events—including how interested participants can sign up—is available online (https://www.itftennis.com/en/tournament-calendar/seniors/?startdate=2025-01).
The next major event—the 2025 ITF Masters World Championships for players aged 50 through 55+—will take place August 3–16,in Portugal.More details can be found here (https://www.itftennis.com/en/news-and-media/articles/masters-world-championships-portugal-2025-dates-confirmed/).