He competed professionally on the Grand Prix tour in the 1980s and represented Austria in two Davis Cup ties in 1982.

Both of his Davis Cup appearances came in 1982, the first a Europe Zone quarter-final tie at home against Algeria, in which Kandler won two singles matches to help Austria secure a 5–0 whitewash.

He suffered an unusual injury at the 1985 Tournament of Champions in Forest Hills while partnering with Fernando Luna in the first round of the doubles draw against top seeds Ken Flach and Robert Seguso.

In the opening game of the match, he was positioning himself for an overhead shot when he ran into the box under the center line judge's chair.

[2] His left leg struck the edge of the box and caused a large laceration, deep enough to expose the tibia.