Radek Štěpánek Bid Farewell To His Tennis Career and LASVIT Crowned Him With a Trophy of Glass

The glass jewel was adorned with a hand-crafted statuette of a lion.

“The hundreds of matches which tennis players must go through during their careers are little steps on a long journey towards something of a throne, a pedestal intended only for the champions of tennis. On the court, Radek Štěpánek always fought like a lion, and in a way carried the spirit of the lion emblazoned on his shirt to each match he played. That is why I wanted him to have this lucky symbol also on the glass crown,” says Maxim Velčovský about his design.

LASVIT and Radek Štěpánek are linked not only through their Czech roots, their endless drive to inspire new generations and to spread the fame of Czechia beyond its borders, but also through the appreciation for tennis itself. The founder and president of LASVIT, Leon Jakimič, is himself an avid tennis-player, and played next to Radek Štěpánek not only on the court, but also in front of the camera in the film Breakpoint which was presented this week to an audience at the ADFF festival in New York .

“As a child, I always dreamed of becoming a world-class tennis player, but a later injury led me down the path of design and glassmaking, for which I am in retrospect very grateful. I founded LASVIT not for the sake of personal fame, but for a love of light and of Czechia. I am a great patriot, which is something else we share with Radek. Anyone who has seen his matches at the Davis Cup knows that he always put his whole heart and soul into it, and fought for each fifteen like a true patriot. I am glad that LASVIT can be present in the final moments of this tennis superstar, and that we can give him something as a sign of our appreciation,” says Leon Jakimič.

But the current Wimbledon winner Novak Djokovic was also not short-sold, as our glassmakers from Nový Bor made a crown for him adorned with the motif of a tennis ball.