# Rainer Schüttler
**Rainer Schüttler** (born 1976 in Korbach, Hessen) is a retired German professional tennis player who was runner-up at the 2003 [Australian Open](https://www.edgepedia.org/australian-open), a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2008, and an Olympic silver medalist in doubles, reaching a career-high world ranking of No. 5 in 2004.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/94230) His nickname on tour was "Shaker".[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/94230)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1976, Korbach, Hessen, Germany; 180 cm, 70 kg[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/94230) |
| Career-high ranking | No. 5 (2004)[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/94230) |
| Grand Slam results | Australian Open finalist 2003 (lost to Andre Agassi 6-2, 6-2, 6-1); Wimbledon semifinalist 2008[2](https://www.atptour.com/-/media/files/media-guide/2017/2017-atp-media-guide.pdf) • [1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/94230) |
| Singles titles | Four ATP tournaments[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/94230) |
| Olympic medal | Silver, men's doubles with Nicolas Kiefer, Athens 2004[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/94230) |
| ATP awards | Most Improved Player 2003; Comeback Player of the Year 2008[3](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/rainer-schuettler/s636/bio) |
| Coach | Dirk Hordorff, from 1992[3](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/rainer-schuettler/s636/bio) |
## Early life and beginnings
Schüttler began playing tennis at age nine, and his most memorable early moment was watching his countryman [Boris Becker](https://www.edgepedia.org/boris-becker) win Wimbledon in 1985.[3](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/rainer-schuettler/s636/bio) He has said that Becker's Wimbledon triumph, which he watched as a child, was the reason he started playing tennis seriously.[4](https://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=14681) He did not decide to become a professional until 17, after reaching the junior round of 16 at the Australian Open around 1993 or 1994; his plan was to play for a year or two and otherwise go to university.[4](https://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=14681) From 1992 his coach was Dirk Hordorff.[3](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/rainer-schuettler/s636/bio)
## The 2003 season
2003 was the season that made Schüttler a top-five player. At the Australian Open he reached his first [Grand Slam](https://www.edgepedia.org/grand-slam-tennis) semifinal by beating Wimbledon runner-up [David Nalbandian](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-nalbandian) 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 in the quarterfinals.[5](https://im.rediff.com/sports/2003/jan/22ausmen.htm) In the final he faced second-seeded [Andre Agassi](https://www.edgepedia.org/andre-agassi), who won 6-2, 6-2, 6-1.[2](https://www.atptour.com/-/media/files/media-guide/2017/2017-atp-media-guide.pdf) At the time he was the only active German player to have reached a Grand Slam final.[3](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/rainer-schuettler/s636/bio)
The results carried through the year. In August he gained a measure of revenge at the Montreal Masters, rallying from a set down to beat the world No. 1 Agassi 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals, taking his first ever set off Agassi in the process.[6](https://yementimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/20030811_issue_658_vol_XIII_20pages.pdf) He won two ATP singles titles that season, at Tokyo and Lyon.[7](https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/results-archive?year=2003) The ATP voted him Most Improved Player of the Year for 2003.[3](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/rainer-schuettler/s636/bio)
## Olympics and Davis Cup
Schüttler played at three Olympic Games. At Sydney 2000 he lost his second-round singles match to the Brazilian second seed [Gustavo Kuerten](https://www.edgepedia.org/gustavo-kuerten).[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/94230) At Athens 2004 he won the silver medal in men's doubles with Nicolas Kiefer, losing in five sets to the Chilean pair of Fernando González and [Nicolás Massú](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicolas-massu); the German pair was later awarded the Silver Bay Leaf, Germany's highest sports award.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/94230) He competed again at Beijing 2008 in singles and doubles.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/94230) From 1999 to 2009 he played for the German Davis Cup team.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/94230)
## The 2008 Wimbledon comeback
By 2007 Schüttler had fallen to No. 150 in the rankings after a tendonitis injury, and he had also taken a long time to recover from Pfeiffer's glandular fever, which he contracted in 2006.[8](https://www.tagesspiegel.de/sport/keine-lust-mehr-aufs-karriereende-tennisprofi-schuttler-hat-erfolg-und-macht-weiter-1699528.html) He had planned to end his career after the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but changed his mind as his results improved.[8](https://www.tagesspiegel.de/sport/keine-lust-mehr-aufs-karriereende-tennisprofi-schuttler-hat-erfolg-und-macht-weiter-1699528.html)
At Wimbledon 2008, ranked 94th and unseeded, he reached his first career Wimbledon semifinal by beating Arnaud Clément 6-3, 5-7, 7-6, 6-7, 8-6 in a match that stretched over roughly 24 hours because of rain and darkness interruptions, and in which he saved a match point at 5-4 in the fifth set.[9](https://www.europapress.es/deportes/tenis-00166/noticia-aleman-rainer-schuettler-sera-rival-nadal-semifinales-20080703194726.html) • [10](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/jul/03/wimbledon.tennis7) At 94, he was the lowest-ranked man to reach the Wimbledon semifinals since world No. 125 Goran Ivaniševic won the title in 2001.[11](https://timesofmalta.com/article/three-in-a-row-for-federer-and-nadal.215455) In the semifinal, [Rafael Nadal](https://www.edgepedia.org/rafael-nadal) beat him 6-1, 7-6, 6-4; Schüttler said afterward that he had grown up watching Boris win Wimbledon and that only Becker and [Michael Stich](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-stich) among Germans had gone that far in the Open era.[11](https://timesofmalta.com/article/three-in-a-row-for-federer-and-nadal.215455) • [12](https://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=50671) The ATP named him Comeback Player of the Year for 2008.[3](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/rainer-schuettler/s636/bio)
## Retirement and later career
Schüttler retired in 2012 after 17 years on the tour.[13](https://www.bild.de/sport/mehr-sport/rainer-schuettler/erklaert-ruecktritt-26608856.bild.html) He stayed in the sport as an organizer and coach: with Ion Tiriac he bought the World Team Cup in [Düsseldorf](https://www.edgepedia.org/dusseldorf), became vice president of the coaches' organization GPTCA, and later served as tournament director in Geneva.[13](https://www.bild.de/sport/mehr-sport/rainer-schuettler/erklaert-ruecktritt-26608856.bild.html) • [14](https://www.sport1.de/news/tennis/fed-cup/2019/11/fed-cup-rainer-schuettler-wird-neuer-coach-der-deutschen-tennis-damen) He coached former world No. 1 [Angelique Kerber](https://www.edgepedia.org/angelique-kerber) from 2018 to 2019.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/94230)
In November 2019 the German Tennis Federation (DTB) appointed him captain of the German Fed Cup team, the predecessor of the [Billie Jean King Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/billie-jean-king-cup) team.[14](https://www.sport1.de/news/tennis/fed-cup/2019/11/fed-cup-rainer-schuettler-wird-neuer-coach-der-deutschen-tennis-damen) He took the team captaincy in 2020, and under his leadership the team reached the finals of the nations' competition three times in five years.[15](https://www.tennis.de/dtb/verband/presse/2025/rainer-schuettler-tritt-als-kapitaen-des-deutschen-billie-jean-k.html) He resigned as captain in November 2025 after the team's playoff relegation from the World Group, saying it was the right moment to take responsibility and make room for new direction; Torben Beltz succeeded him.[15](https://www.tennis.de/dtb/verband/presse/2025/rainer-schuettler-tritt-als-kapitaen-des-deutschen-billie-jean-k.html) • [16](https://www.dosb.de/aktuelles/news/detail/es-gibt-keine-abkuerzung-zum-erfolg)
## Playing style
Schüttler considered his return and backhand his strengths and hard courts his favorite surface.[3](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/rainer-schuettler/s636/bio) In his own 2003 assessment, his serve was his weakness and his strengths were the return and aggressive baseline play.[4](https://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=14681) His coach Hordorff described his successful game as built on quick footwork and aggression that wore opponents down.[8](https://www.tagesspiegel.de/sport/keine-lust-mehr-aufs-karriereende-tennisprofi-schuttler-hat-erfolg-und-macht-weiter-1699528.html)
## References
1. [Rainer Schüttler, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/94230)
2. [Australian Open History, 2017 ATP Media Guide](https://www.atptour.com/-/media/files/media-guide/2017/2017-atp-media-guide.pdf)
3. [Rainer Schuettler Bio, ATP Tour](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/rainer-schuettler/s636/bio)
4. [Australian Open transcript, 22 January 2003, ASAP Sports](https://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=14681)
5. [Schuettler sweeps into semi-finals, Rediff Sports/Reuters](https://im.rediff.com/sports/2003/jan/22ausmen.htm)
6. [Schuettler turns tables on Agassi, Yemen Times/Reuters, 11 August 2003](https://yementimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/20030811_issue_658_vol_XIII_20pages.pdf)
7. [ATP Results Archive, 2003](https://www.atptour.com/en/scores/results-archive?year=2003)
8. [Keine Lust mehr aufs Karriereende, Der Tagesspiegel, 28 September 2008](https://www.tagesspiegel.de/sport/keine-lust-mehr-aufs-karriereende-tennisprofi-schuttler-hat-erfolg-und-macht-weiter-1699528.html)
9. [El alemán Rainer Schuettler será el rival de Nadal en semifinales, Europa Press/Reuters](https://www.europapress.es/deportes/tenis-00166/noticia-aleman-rainer-schuettler-sera-rival-nadal-semifinales-20080703194726.html)
10. [Wimbledon 2008: Unseeded Schuettler comes through epic to reach last four, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2008/jul/03/wimbledon.tennis7)
11. [Three in a row for Federer and Nadal, Times of Malta/Reuters](https://timesofmalta.com/article/three-in-a-row-for-federer-and-nadal.215455)
12. [Wimbledon transcript, 3 July 2008, ASAP Sports](https://www.asapsports.com/show_interview.php?id=50671)
13. [Rainer Schüttler erklärt Rücktritt, BILD](https://www.bild.de/sport/mehr-sport/rainer-schuettler/erklaert-ruecktritt-26608856.bild.html)
14. [Fed Cup: Rainer Schüttler wird neuer Coach der deutschen Tennis-Damen, Sport1](https://www.sport1.de/news/tennis/fed-cup/2019/11/fed-cup-rainer-schuettler-wird-neuer-coach-der-deutschen-tennis-damen)
15. [Rainer Schüttler tritt als Kapitän des deutschen Billie Jean King Cup-Teams zurück, Deutscher Tennis Bund](https://www.tennis.de/dtb/verband/presse/2025/rainer-schuettler-tritt-als-kapitaen-des-deutschen-billie-jean-k.html)
16. [„Es gibt keine Abkürzung zum Erfolg“, DOSB](https://www.dosb.de/aktuelles/news/detail/es-gibt-keine-abkuerzung-zum-erfolg)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Racket and precision ball sports › Tennis › Tennis players and seasons*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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