Robin Söderling

Born: August 14, 1984 in Tibro (Västra Götaland)
Height: 1.93 m
Plays: Right-handed (two-handed backhand)

Söderling is the last Swedish player who truly mattered. Beginning with the great Björn Borg in the 70s, Sweden had consistently produced players capable of reaching the quarterfinals and semifinals of the biggest events; it was clear that Söderling (28 years younger than Borg) would be the last big Swedish name for a long, unspecified period. Soderling was rather awkward – his game at the net could be described as “wooden,” his baseline play one-dimensional, yet his basic strokes contained sheer power. Among players born in the 80s, Fernando González seemed to possess the fastest forehand, Marat Safin the fastest backhand, but Söderling could deliver the fastest shots off both wings combined. His serve was also extremely powerful, with a first serve averaging over 200 kph and a second serve above 170 kph.
With these tools, Söderling was capable of doing serious damage, but his early years on the tour revealed mental instability, as he was more prone to losing dramatic matches than winning them. He felt most comfortable indoors, where the acoustics amplified the sound of his shots — perhaps boosting his confidence and intimidating opponents. Unfortunately for him, no major is played indoors (his first nine finals all came under a roof), so for several years he remained among those with obvious potential who failed to achieve major breakthroughs.
Everything changed in 2009 when Magnus Norman became his coach. Norman hadn’t possessed Söderling’s power, but had reached No. 2 in the world thanks to tactical intelligence and total dedication to refining every detail of his game. He convinced Soderling to work on his weaknesses – particularly his net play – and to prepare varied tactical plans for different opponents. Under Norman’s guidance, Söderling enjoyed the best two non-calendar years of his career (2009-11), reaching back-to-back French Open finals, almost winning the Masters semifinal in between, triumphing at Paris-Bercy. Paradoxically, in both years of his Roland Garros successes he defeated the eventual champion of the previous edition but not in the final itself: in 2009 he stunned Rafael Nadal in the fourth round (handing Nadal his first-ever loss at Roland Garros) before losing the final to Roger Federer, and in 2010 he ended Federer’s 12-0 dominance over him in the quarterfinals, only to lose the final to Nadal.
At the end of 2010, Soderling split with Norman but continued to build on his recent success. He started 2011 brilliantly, winning three titles in his first four events. Although he didn’t return to the Paris final, his quarterfinal loss to Nadal there was no disgrace. After a surprising defeat to Bernard Tomic at Wimbledon, Söderling played the event of his life on home soil in Båstad, which would prove to be the last tournament of his career. He swept through four matches, demolishing Top 10 players Tomáš Berdych (in 71 minutes) and David Ferrer (in 67 minutes). “It has been a dream week,” said Soderling after the final. “I feel really good. Now finally, my body feels good. I struggled a little bit with some injuries the past couple of months.”
It was the 176th and final main-level event of Soderling’s career, and no one knew at the time – the last one. At 27, he appeared to be in peak condition, having claimed four titles that season, but soon after Båstad he began to suffer from mononucleosis, forcing him to withdraw from the US Open ’11 at the last minute. For the next four years he clung to hopes of returning, but on December 23, 2015, he officially announced his retirement from professional tennis.
Currently, the two highest-ranked Swedish players are brothers Elias and Mikael Ymer – sons of Ethiopian parents whom Söderling had helped during their teenage years. Mikael, the younger by two years, defeated the teenage Carlos Alcaraz twice in 2022, and very likely it will remain as the most interesting Swedish result considering the decade of the 20s…

Career record: 310–170 [ 176 events ]
Career titles: 10
Highest ranking: No. 4
Best GS results:
Roland Garros (runner-up 2009-10)
Wimbledon (quarterfinal 2010)
US Open (quarterfinal 2009-10)
World Team Cup 2008 champion