Top 100 player missing

Nice snapshot of Austria’s tennis slump

Lukas Neumayer has his sights set on the top 100.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

With the clear 3:0 victory over Finland and their entry into the top 16 of the Davis Cup, Austria's tennis men provided a strong sign of life in the current low. This cannot hide the fact that the current situation at the top of Austrian tennis is anything but pleasing.

There is not a single player in the top 100 in the men's rankings and none in the top 200 in the women's. This is certainly also due to the fact that Dominic Thiem was no longer his old self following his serious wrist injury and had to end his career much earlier than would have been expected a few years ago. It should also be noted that Sebastian Ofner only dropped to 120th place due to his injury, while Julia Grabher was also slowed down by her body.  

But the bottom line is that it also shows that domestic tennis lacks a bit of breadth at the top of the international rankings. Jurij Rodionov is 155th, Lukas Neumayer is 219th, Filip Misolic is 314th, then comes 19-year-old Joel Schwärzler in 320th, who is currently regarded as the greatest hope in men's tennis. 

Sebastian Ofner is unfortunately injured at the moment.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

Filip Misolic is currently only number 314 in the world.

(Bild: Urbantschitsch Mario/Mario Urbantschitsch)

Yuri Rodionov is fighting to return to the top 100.

(Bild: GEPA)

Joel Schwärzler is considered a great hope.

(Bild: GEPA)

Davis Cup weeks help
ÖTV sports director Jürgen Melzer also believes that the current generation will soon make a comeback. "We don't have any top 100 players at the moment, but many with the potential to get there." Rodionov has already been in the top 100 once, Neumayer, who has been working with Günter Bresnik since last year, is constantly improving. "And Davis Cup weeks like this can help players develop," says Melzer. Neumayer himself thinks it is conceivable "that we will soon even have four top 100 players." However, he also knows that he still has to work on many aspects. "The serve is my biggest problem at the moment."

Davis Cup captain and ÖTV sports director Jürgen Melzer was once in the top 10.

(Bild: GEPA)

"For us, Dominic Thiem's career ended a few years too early, of course," points out ÖTV President Martin Ohneberg. According to him, Austria's tennis is in a transitional phase. But the 53-year-old also knows: "We have promising talents like Joel Schwärzler, Lilli Tagger and Anna Pircher. But that doesn't happen overnight." 

Sinja Kraus is currently ranked 220th.

(Bild: Upper Austria Ladies Linz/Matthias Hauer)

Especially in the women's event, where Sinja Kraus is currently ranked 220th, it looks promising with two strong young players that after Julia Grabher's recent short guest appearance in the top 100, who is of course also fighting to get back there, there will be at least one who could be there consistently in a few years' time. But it is clear that the road to professionalism is very long and arduous.

Investing heavily in young talent
One positive aspect is that the tennis landscape in Austria has clearly improved in recent years. "We've never had so many top-class opportunities for further development," says Ohneberg. There is great work being done in academies and there are also more tournaments than before. Even if Melzer doesn't see that as a decisive factor. "In the past, players have played their way to the top even without a Challenger at home."

The right emphasis has been placed on the very young players in particular, for example with the kids coaches, for whom a seal of approval is required. "At the end of the day, it makes the most sense to invest in training," says Ohneberg, explaining his view of things. So that perhaps a Dominic Thiem or at least one or two more top 100 players will come through again.