Robin Soderling

There are certain tennis players who, despite possessing plenty of potential and talent, are remembered mostly for only a particular feat or two. Swedish tennis star Robin Soderling was one of them. He possessed all the tools to make it to the top of the game, but his career was curtailed by a lingering bout of mononucleosis. Thus, he played his last match aged only 26, at the time when his career should have been peaking. Nevertheless, he did a lot in the few years he spent on the professional tennis circuit.

He was a consistent presence in the top half of the rankings and won a total of 10 singles titles in his career. He also dabbled in doubles tennis and won one title in the discipline too. Since retiring, he’s been a tournament director for the Stockholm Open and also produces his own range of premium tennis gear.

Soderling might have won 10 singles titles in his near decade-long career, but his most memorable moments came outside of those events. Soderling first became the toast of the tennis world in 2009, when he made it to the finals of the French Open. As if that in itself wasn’t a big enough deal, he also became the first-ever player to beat Rafael Nadal in the tournament. Nadal had won the last four editions of the tournament but was knocked out of the fourth round in 2009.

Soderling is also remembered as the man Roger Federer beat to win his one and only French Open title. This happened in 2009, when Federer beat the Swede in straight sets. However, Soderling would go on to make the final of the Grand Slam in 2010 – this time beating Federer in the semis. However, he lost the final to – you guessed it – Nadal.

Besides this, he also won the ATP Masters 1000 event at Paris in 2010, his biggest title win in the sport. He also won two titles at Lyon and one each at Milan and Bastad prior to that. Incidentally, his best year in terms of title wins came in 2011 – the same year he would end up playing his final match.

That year saw him clinch four titles – he won events at Brisbane, Rotterdam, Marseille and at Bastad once again. Bastad was also the scene of his only doubles title win in 2008 alongside Jonas Bjorkman.

Soderling’s game revolved around being aggressive on the baseline. He liked to overpower his opponents and possessed not only accurate groundstrokes but also an excellent return game when receiving serves. His forehand was consistently powerful and his two-hand backhand could also be a winning shot when properly struck. His game relied on his power; one of the reasons he was so good at Roland Garros was due to the slow courts allowing him more time to play powerful shots.

His serve also had speed although the lack of accuracy made him sometimes struggle against higher ranked players. He was also criticised for wilting under pressure situations. He did work on the mental side of his game eventually but by then his career was, unbeknownst to him, coming to an end.

Australian Open – reached the fourth round in 2011
French Open – runner-up in 2009 and 2010
Wimbledon – quarterfinalist in 2010
US Open – quarterfinalist in 2009 and 2010