Chris Rodesch, the tennis player who learned to walk twice and now threatens the elite

When we talk about the ATP Challenger Tour circuit, we look at results, events, young players who grab attention, war veterans who squeeze the last drops of their tennis skills. Sometimes we overlook the stories that make up these gladiators, the peculiarities that make each of their paths unique. When the best player in this season's beginning on the second tier of our sport is a giant of 1.98 meters from a very small country, who overcame an autoimmune disease and became one of the best collegiate players of the last decade... it is worth paying attention.

This is Chris Rodesch (24 years old, Luxembourg), a guy who has taken a little longer than usual to reach the elite but who is already showing his intentions with a devastating start to the season. He has just been crowned for two consecutive weeks at the Challengers in Oeiras, Portugal, held on indoor hard courts and away from the noise of Australia: following the same path as, for example, Arthur Fils, whom he has emulated in success and will also seek to imitate in his transition to the professional circuit.

But this Luxembourg giant, with a mold that has differences and similarities to the great tennis pioneer of his country, Gilles Müller (many will remember him for that victory against Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon 2017 and that almost vintage style of play, of serve and volley), has a tremendous story behind him. Standing at 1.98 meters tall and currently ranked #137 in the ATP rankings, his destiny always seemed to be tied to the world of sports: his father was a footballer and his mother a basketball player, explaining his tremendous stature. However, Rodesch got hooked on tennis after watching a Roland Garros final between Nadal and Federer... and could never detach himself from that great passion.

An autoimmune disease put the brakes on his career and threatened to take away his mobility

At 17, while preparing to pursue the collegiate route and after years of sharing the junior circuit with many stars, a shock arrived that would change Chris's life forever. It's 2019 and the Luxembourger is diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, an autoimmune disease of considerable rarity in which the immune system attacks the body's peripheral nerves, affecting certain parts of the body and potentially leading to paralysis and tingling in arms and legs. 

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"My body was completely paralyzed. I couldn't open bottles, I couldn't walk upright. It was practically impossible for me to climb stairs: my nerves wouldn't respond", he recalls, touched, in words to the ATP. "I remember going to the doctor for the first time and showing him what I could not do due to my nerves. I couldn't stand. I lost my balance, and there it was clear: they knew what the disease was. I was hospitalized immediately".

At that moment, of course, the dreams of a sports career vanished completely. Rodesch's priority was to follow an effective treatment to regain mobility in his joints, to take control of his body again. Tennis? It didn't take a back seat: more like a tenth seat. "I just wanted to be healthy again. I watched my friends play junior Grand Slams while I was bedridden", says the Luxembourger.

Fortunately, the outcome is a happy one. Today, after over two years of treatments and rehabilitations, there are no lingering effects of the disease in Chris's body, who revived the collegiate dream and ended up becoming one of the standout players at the University of Virginia. Before preparing to break into the elite circuit, the Central European giant does not forget how the disease changed his life, allowing him to see life from a new perspective.

"There are people who suffer from this disease whose faces get deformed, others end up permanently in a wheelchair. It was a long process, but within the bad luck, I was lucky. I learned to be patient, but also to find happiness in what we do. We travel the world, go to incredible places. I have learned to always be focused on the present, to enjoy what you achieve, because it can vanish in a blink of an eye. All those lessons I learned, about being positive, focusing on the present, and being patient, have helped me navigate through tough times". Chris Rodesch, the guy who learned to walk again, who spent two years away from tennis recovering mobility in his body, and who now, with a style of sheer power and bombs thanks to his stature, promises to challenge the best. Hunting for the top 100, keep your eyes on him: his story and personality truly deserve it.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Chris Rodesch, el tenista que aprendió a caminar dos veces y ahora amenaza a la élite