Slovakia’s Lukáš Klein has been as high as 109 in the world, won five Challenger titles and finished 2025 as Slovakia’s Player of the Year. This year he’s had two surgeries, his back in March and his hand just days before we spoke. We talk about the comeback, the climb and what he’s learned along the way.
What you’ll learn
- Your bad weeks decide your level. The gap between Futures, Challengers and the ATP isn’t your best day. It’s how often you can hold your level. Futures players can play well for a couple of weeks. The higher you go, the more consistent you have to be.
- You get nothing for free at Challenger level. At Futures you can win plenty of points just by putting the ball back in. That stops working one level up.
- Winning ugly builds confidence. When you win while playing badly, Lukáš says, you know tomorrow can only be better.
- Don’t change who you are. He’s not changing his aggressive game. The job is to keep his level all year.
- Work hard, but enjoy it. His advice to juniors. It sounds like a cliché, he says, but it’s true.
Stories from the episode
- The ATP withdrew him from Ortisei by mistake. After missing out as an alternate in Vienna, he drove six hours, came through qualies and won the title from 4–6 down in the final-set tie-break.
- Two sets to one up on Zverev at the Australian Open. It’s the match he’ll tell his son about, and the one that got away.
- Stan Wawrinka’s chip returns landed half a metre from the baseline every single time.
- Working with former world No. 6 Karol Kučera, who was coached by Olympic champion Miloslav Mečíř. Brilliant tennis minds, and sometimes hard to follow.
- Life with fellow pro Anna Karolína Schmiedlová. No arguments at home about who’s better, and both are planning comebacks next year.
Gear corner
- Racket: Head Prestige, since he was 15. He tried the Speed and the Gravity after his back surgery but went back to the Prestige for its stability on second serves and slices.
- String: Head Hawk Touch at 24/23 kg.
- Prestige fan? Go back to Ep 278 with HEAD’s Max Defregger on 25 years of the iPrestige.
Listen in the player above, or on your favourite podcast app. Just search for “Functional Tennis”.
