HAMBURG, October 17, 2022
She is considered one of the biggest young talents in German tennis: Julia Stusek, 14, won her first two matches on the Pro Circuit at the Hamburg Ladies & Gents Cup and qualified for the main draw of the ITF World Tennis Tour W60 event.
On Sunday, she benefited from the injury retirement of her 538th-ranked Romanian rival Oana Gavrila leading 6-1, 4-1, and cruised past the five-year older Eszter Meri from Slovakia (World No. 610) 6-1, 6-0 on Monday.
“I’m obviously very happy to have advanced and thankful to everyone who helped me to be here,” said Stusek, who started the tournament with a wild card, following her successful debut on the Pro Circuit.
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Training with Martina Hingis
Born in Baden, Stusek comes from a tennis family, has Czech roots and has excellent connections in Switzerland to former World No. 1 Martina Hingis and her mother Melanie Molitor. “My parents both play tennis and my mom was on the tour herself. Melanie is my coach and Martina often attends my practice sessions. It’s a great thing,” says Stusek, who now also resides in Switzerland.
Triumph at prestigious junior tournament in France
At the international junior events in Baden and Leimen, the World No. 177 in the ITF-Junior Rankings has already recorded her first tournament successes. The highlight for the time being, however, was her victory at “Les Petits As”, probably the most important international tournament in the Under-14 category, whose list of winners includes players of the caliber of Kim Clijsters, Bianca Andreescu and Dinara Safina. In fact, Stusek is only the third German after Heike Rusch and Anke Huber to capture the title in Tarbes, France.
“This experience has helped me a lot, as many spectators followed my matches,” says Stusek, who knows that in the future there may be a few more who will be cheering along at her matches.
School and sports
At the moment, however, reconciling tennis and school is perhaps still one of the biggest challenges for Stusek. But here, too, the up-and-coming star sees herself in a good position. “I attend the private high school in Mannheim. There you have to be on site twice a week, the rest is online. It’s a great opportunity and the teachers are also very cooperative.”
Asked about her goals, Stusek replies, “The important thing is to stay focused and just get better.” Of course, this also applies to the tournament in Hamburg.
“Sure, I’m a little excited, but also proud of myself. Of course, I will continue to try to do my best,” says Stusek, who is looking forward to her next tasks.
