Styrian prepares tennis stars for Vienna matches

Fabian Gruber, a tennis coach from Bad Aussee, is helping prepare top players for matches at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, ORF reports. The ATP 500 tournament runs through Sunday.

Gruber is a hitting partner, also known as a sparring partner, and is taking part in Austria’s biggest tennis tournament for the tenth time. He said he first applied while playing in the Bundesliga and has been invited back every year since.

This year, he has trained with Carlos Alcaraz. Last year, he spent the whole week working with Jannik Sinner, his favourite player. Sinner withdrew from this year’s tournament because of an injury.

Gruber said training with the stars brings greater pressure and intensity, but that the players are friendly and happy to talk off court.

After the tournament, he will return to coaching in Bruck an der Mur, Kindberg and at his academy in Bad Aussee, where he trains young Styrian players.