German Haas Receives US Citizenship

© tommy-haas.netTommy Haas is now a dual German and US citizen.

German Tommy Haas received his US citizenship last week in a ceremony in Tampa, Florida, just a few days after he was beaten by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Australian Open third round.

The 31 year old is a long-time Florida resident, having moved to the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy in Bradenton aged 13. He will continue to represent Germany and play for its Davis Cup team.

Haas is competing in next week's SAP Open in San Jose, where he plays his first-round match on Tuesday night.

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Haas revealed the following message on his official website:

I have exciting news to tell. A few days ago I became an American citizen!

Back in December I had to take the naturalisation examination and answer written and oral questions concerning, among other things, American history. I had to do a bit of preparation for this because even if one lives in the USA, it's still not so easy to get an American passport.

But on the 27th of January it finally happened. In Tampa, along with about 300 other immigrants from over 70 different countries, I raised my right hand to swear the oath of allegiance. I desperately wanted to do this because the United States has really become my home over the past years and that's why I considered it a logical step to apply for naturalisation.

The funny thing about it, by the way, is that my good friend Alex Bose, of whom you can see some photos in the gallery, was sworn in at the same time as I was. We have been following the same path for the past 20 years: Alex also joined the Nick Bollettieri school in 1991 and received his green card in 2004, the same as me. So it's somehow logical that we simultaneously became American citizens, don't you think?

For my part, I am proud to have ventured this step in my life. Many famous people like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Marlene Dietrich, Albert Einstein, Monica Seles or Ivan Lendl, one of my greatest idols, haven taken this step before me and now I'm finally a part of this group as well.

Of course I wouldn't have done this if I hadn't had the option to keep my German passport. But as this point was guaranteed, I now have the privilege of dual nationality and I can continue playing for the German Davis Cup Team. Whether that will be the case in the immediate future, I can't yet say, but when the time comes I will give Patrik Kuhnen my decision.