Linda has a lion heart. Fruhvirtová impressed even Stalin, sister Brenda has a unique streak

After heroic performances, 17-year-old Linda grabbed the first WTA title of her career in Chennai, India, and tearfully thanked the local fans for their enthusiastic support, which went beyond ordinary cheering.

While she was celebrating on the southeast coast of India, her sister extended her unique winning streak by more than nine thousand kilometers northwest. In Santa Margherita di Pula, in Sardinia, Italy, the 15-year-old player won her fifth title in a row on the ITF circuit, which is getting to be small for her.

Linda jumped almost a hundred places in the world ranking in three weeks and is in the 74th position. She is the youngest tennis player in the elite 100. Brenda is again the youngest in the top 200. When her points are tallied with the usual delay, she will go somewhere around 160th.

“It looks like we’ll be going to Australia together at the beginning of next year, which would be really great. Brenda is playing really well, she’s a very tough opponent for any player, so I think she’ll handle the bigger tournaments just fine,” Linda told the official WTA site.

She even faced the question of whether she would like to play a Grand Slam final against her younger sister.

“It has two sides of the coin, but I wouldn’t reject it,” laughed the Czech. “Especially for our parents, it would be something incredible. It wouldn’t matter which one of us wins,” she added.

At the age of 17 years and 140 days, she became the youngest winner of a WTA tournament since last year’s triumph of American Coco Gauff in Parma. And the youngest Czech winner since the success of then seventeen-year-old Nicole Vaidišová in Strasbourg in 2006.

Fruhvirtová conquered Indian Chennai with her immediacy and combativeness.

“Linda has the heart of a lion,” the commentator called her after Sunday’s final victory over Poland’s Magda Linette after sets of 4:6, 6:3, 6:4.

She was already losing 1:4 in the third set, but turned around with five games in a row. At the same time, she performed a similar turn in the semi-finals against the Argentinian Nadia Podoroská, where she won all four last games at a score of 2:4.

Indian viewers wished the young Czech and highlighted her unforgettable moments with a great atmosphere. In the auditorium there were banners saying “Chennai loves Linda Fruhvirtova”, as well as t-shirts with the rising star’s photo printed on them.

“The best atmosphere I’ve ever played in,” Fruhvirtová teared up with emotion. “I feel nothing but love for Chennai. I left my heart here and I will remember it forever,” she said after the final.

The minister of the Indian union state of Tamil Nadu, Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin, was also enthusiastic about Fruhvirtova’s performance.

“Heartiest congratulations to the young sensation Linda Fruhvirtova,” said the politician, who was born in 1953, just four days before the death of Joseph Stalin, after which his father, then Tamil Nadu minister, named him after the Soviet dictator.

But Linda did not have to deal with the bizarre political connections, instead she answered questions about her ambitions in the coming months and years.

“I don’t think I’m in a position to think about the top 50 anymore. I mainly want to get into the main tournaments, especially the Grand Slams,” she said.

“We see that it is possible for a teenager to win a Grand Slam,” Fruhvirtova said, referring to Carlos Alcaraz’s recent success at the US Open. “On the other hand, it’s not like before. It’s no longer possible to dominate and win more Grand Slams at the age of fifteen or sixteen,” she added.

However, Grand Slam titles remain her main goal. “Of course the sooner the better. But I don’t care when it is. I’ll just do my best and we’ll see,” she concluded the hypothetical debate.

The Czech is aware of the pressure attached to the established reputation of the future great champion. However, she claims that neither her nor her sister will be significantly negatively affected by the logical part of their sports journey.

“There was a lot of attention around us, even when we were very young. For example, at the ten-year-old national championship. We are used to people watching us,” said Linda Fruhvirtová.

The most watched tennis stages are already waiting for her sister Brenda, who is practically guaranteed to participate in the Australian Open qualifiers in January. Her form is breathtaking. She last lost a match in June and has won five straight titles.

In a unique series of 25 winning duels in a row, she also lost only two sets.