Hoping for star Ofner

A million-dollar show at Carinthia’s tennis clubs

Austria's number one Sebastian Ofner plays for Strasbourg in the national league.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

When the Tennis Bundesliga kicks off on Saturday, Carinthia's first division clubs KLC and Strasbourg will also be looking to put on a show. With a total of five players who have earned more than one million euros in their careers. The KLC girls are thinking about the title, Strasbourg wants to stay in the league after promotion.  

Serve for the Tennis Bundesliga on Saturday! The Carinthians want to have a say this season. The first division teams Strasbourg (men) and KLC (women) have a total of five aces in their squads who have earned the equivalent of over a million euros in their careers.

Sebastian Ofner: The current number 46 in the tennis world (top ranking in January: 37th!) from Styria is the star of Strasbourg! The round of 16 at the French Open 2023 was a highlight - at the age of 27, "Ofi" has earned 2 million euros.

Sebastian Ofner is currently ranked number 46 in the tennis world.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Jurij Rodionov: Austria's rising star, was ranked 87th at the start of the year at the age of 24 and is now ranked 133rd. The Viennese has won seven ITF titles and earned just over one million euros.

Yuri Rodionov was in the top 100 at the start of the year.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Polona Hercog: The Slovenian (33) took part in 43 (!) Grand Slams, reaching round three five times. She has won three WTA titles and earned a total of 4.05 million euros. Her career high was 35th place in the world - currently 169th.

The Slovenian Polona Hercog is set to strengthen the KLC girls.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Dalila Jakupovic: Climbed to 69th place in the world rankings in 2018 and is currently ranked 216th. The 33-year-old has also won two doubles titles on the WTA Tour and earned €1.12 million.

Dalila Jakupovic won two doubles titles on the WTA Tour.(Bild: ZVG)

Alexandra Cadantu: Has eleven Grand Slam appearances under her belt and was ranked number 59 in the world in 2014. The 34-year-old has earned a total of 1.1 million euros.

Alexandra Cadantu has already competed in eleven Grand Slams.(Bild: ZVG)

KLC as a title contender
The KLC girls also brought in Emily Meyer (Vlbg) from US College and have ambitions. "We are one of the five teams playing for the title," says coach Josko Skugor, adding that the Carinthian players are also broadly based. With Graz, they're heading to one of the favorites tomorrow.

Strasbourg aiming to stay in the league
What is possible for Strasbourg also depends on Ofner and Rodionov. Boss Georg Pirkebner: "If the time is right, they'll play. It depends on the tournament status, the registrations and their condition. But otherwise we have a lot of our own youngsters." The promoted team also remains modest: "We want to stay in the class in the first year and then attack next season." The team from Central Carinthia is not playing in the season opener.