Kurt Helmut Gies (18 May 1921 – 23 November 1943) was a German tennis player.

Biography

Kurt Gies was born the son of Heinrich Gies, an administrator of the local sports facilities ''Am Kahlenberg''. While his three elder brothers Johann, Wilhelm and Heinrich worked as tennis coaches, Kurt's father hoped his fourth son would pursuit a different career. However, Kurt joined the local tennis club at an age of 13 and was quickly recognized an outstanding tennis talent. In 1938 and 1939, he won the German boys championships. From 1939, he was coached by

Hans Nüsslein Hans "Hanne" Nüsslein (; 31 March 1910 – 28 June 1991) was a German tennis player and coach and former World professional number 1 tennis player who won four professional Majors singles titles during his career. Biography Nüsslein was bo ...

. In 1940, Gies won the German championships in mixed doubles along with Ulla Rosenow. In the same year, Gies was sent on a trip to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

together with former French champion

Henner Henkel Heinrich Ernst Otto "Henner" Henkel (; 9 October 1915 – 13 January 1943) was a German tennis player during the 1930s. His biggest success was his singles title at the 1937 French Championships. Biography Henner was born in 1915 the son of ...

, where they played a couple of exhibition matches as well as four Japanese-German competitions. In 1941, Gies won the German championships at

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

by beating favorite Adam Baworowski in the final in five sets. He was also successful in doubles, along with Henner Henkel. He also captured the title at the Danish indoor championships where he beat

Anker Jacobsen Anker Jacobsen (17 July 1911 – 1975) was a Danish tennis player who was active during the 1930s and 1940s. Career Jacobsen, a member of Copenhagen's KB, played at Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district o ...

in the final. Gies was later drafted into the German army which prevented him from defending his German title in 1942. In 1943, he was granted vacation and took part in a tennis competition between Germany and Hungary at

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

which the Hungarian team won. He was able to win his second German title at Braunschweig by beating Engelbert Koch in the final. Again, he also won the doubles championship, this time with Koch. Only a few weeks after his victory at Braunschweig, the young

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

was killed in action on the Eastern Front on 23 November 1943.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gies, Kurt 1921 births 1943 deaths Sportspeople from Mülheim German military personnel killed in World War II German male tennis players German Army officers of World War II Tennis people from North Rhine-Westphalia