SAO PAULO/STARNBERG, January 11, 2024

Brazilian youngster Enzo Kohlmann de Freitas from the Juninho Tennis Team is starting the 2024 season in Oceania and will compete in the Australian Open, his first Grand Slam tournament.

Before the Australian Open, Kohlmann de Freitas will play the J300 in Traralgon, Australia, a preparatory tournament for the Happy Slam, starting this Friday. At 17 years old and ranked 55th in the ITF junior world rankings, the teenager from Sao Paulo and his team have set goals for his unprecedented participation.

“I want to gain as much experience as possible, as there are few opportunities to play at this level of tournament. Expectations are high; I want to go as far as possible to gain experience for the future,” he said. Kohlmann de Freitas also intends to play in the other three junior Grand Slam tournaments of the season – Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open.

Kohlmann de Freitas starts the season playing junior tournaments but this year begins the transition from junior to senior’s level. “It will certainly be a season of significant growth. I will alternate between juniors and professional tournaments,” he stated. “I’ll play in the junior circuit until the Banana Bowl and then some professional tournaments. My goal in the junior circuit is to enter the top 10 of the ITF rankings, and in the professional circuit, to earn my first ATP point and progress in ITF M15 and M25 tournaments,” the Brazilian added.

Coach Juninho Nascimento mentioned that they didn’t expect to qualify for the Australian Open. “Our expectation was to play in a Grand Slam this year, but we didn’t expect it to be in Australia so soon. But Enzo had good results last year (he won two ITF titles – the J200 in Santiago and the J30 in São Paulo) and secured his qualification. It’s a new experience, and from now on, we’ll take it day by day,” he said.”