Munich composer in hospital with facial fractures

Hagen R. (74) has traveled all over the world – nothing has ever happened to him. But he was badly beaten up on a tennis court in Taufkirchen: the father of a tennis student smashed the Munich composer’s face with his fist. The case ended up in court.

Munich – His right eye is bloodshot and his nose is badly swollen: when Hagen R. (74) looks at himself in photos, he feels the pain again. “It was pretty intense,” says the Giesingen composer. But he didn’t get his serious facial injuries while doing martial arts – he did it in a tennis hall. To be more precise: at a facility in Taufkirchen. “We’ve been playing senior doubles there for 20 years. “Always in fifth place,” says Hagen R.

Munich: Composer beaten on tennis court and hospitalized

It was there that a serious argument took place on April 21, 2023. “We had been standing on the court for an hour when the door opened behind us,” says Hagen R. The father of a tennis player stepped in and called to his son, who was training on the next court: “Pizza, pizza.” The problem: The open door blocks the playing field, so that the seniors feel disturbed during doubles. The mood changed when they could not continue playing even after minutes because the tennis father could not come to an agreement with his son.

“I asked him to please go back inside because he was holding us up,” says Hagen R. The man, however, understood this differently – and felt threatened, as he later testified in court. Without further ado, he hit Hagen R. and hit him right in the nose. “It crunched and immediately hurt like hell,” says the senior. Covered in blood, he had to abandon his tennis match, called the police and later went to the hospital. The diagnosis there was a fracture of the nasal bone and the maxillary sinus wall. Serious injuries too.

Victim reports: “Had to undergo surgery and was unable to work for three weeks”

“I had to have an operation and couldn’t work for three weeks,” says Hagen R. He still has trouble sleeping today. “I’m also receiving psychological treatment because of the attack.” He has traveled the world with his wife. “Nothing ever happened. And then you get beaten up on the tennis court. It’s outrageous.”

The public prosecutor’s office charged the attacker. The trial has now taken place in the district court, where several witnesses who had seen the attack on the tennis courts have testified. The father had struck out with his fist “out of nowhere” – Hagen R. fell backwards in a daze. As if nothing had happened, the father was still eating pizza in the tennis parlor while his victim was receiving first aid.

Attacker could not approach his victim for nine months

“He wanted to kill me,” the father claimed in court – but there was no evidence of this. In fact, the man was banned by the authorities from even approaching Hagen R. for nine months. And now the court has come back to haunt him: the attacker was sentenced to a total fine of 3,300 euros. He now also has a previous conviction for intentional bodily harm.