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The hammer Manon Kruse confidently leads the AK40 world rankings. © gudra
The amazing tennis player Manon Kruse is the benchmark in the 40 age group worldwide. The 43-year-old is undisputed in first place in the world rankings.
Hamm – She is the undisputed number one in the world, was in first position in the 2023 year-end rankings in her age group in singles, doubles and mixed doubles, and won all four possible world championship titles for the second time in a row last year – and at an age when others have long since said goodbye to competitive sports. But the amazing tennis player Manon Kruse, now 43 years old, cannot and does not want to live without her passion, travels across Europe every few weeks and competes against the best players in her 40 age group. “I enjoy it. And I don’t find it stressful at all,” Kruse clarifies.
Victories at the ITF Masters 1000 in Mallorca and Budapest
In September of last year on the Balearic island of Mallorca, she won the singles competition without losing a set at an ITF Masters 1000, which is one of the largest and most important tournaments in the age group, and only had to admit defeat in the doubles final. And at the Masters Tour in the Hungarian metropolis of Budapest a few days ago, she once again performed strongly, losing a set for the first time in the singles final against Silvia Chuda (Croatia) and coming second again in the doubles. This means that she currently has 4,600 points in the singles and can no longer be displaced from the position of first in the world rankings until the World Championships, which will be held in Lisbon in August, and is therefore the benchmark of all tennis players worldwide in the AK40. Things.
Trips across the tennis world
She is not a professional player. Rather, she works as a strategic buyer for a large automotive supplier, but receives appropriate support from her employer on her trips across the tennis world. “My boss knows that even when I am at a tournament, I do my work properly in a home office manner between my games and that he can rely on me. “I even got special leave for the World Cup last year,” she says, revealing that the financial burden for her is also limited. Because as the world number one or as the winner of a tournament, she often receives discounts from the organizers for the next event.
And so she is currently living what she was not able to enjoy as a teenager. Even at a young age she was considered a great tennis talent and many experts predicted a rosy future for her. “But I couldn’t handle the pressure at all at the time,†she remembers.
Meeting old companions
But now she knows how to appreciate her situation as well as the atmosphere at the tournaments – and can enjoy her tennis life to the fullest. “Sometimes it’s like a training camp for me, sometimes I combine it with a vacation because the tournaments usually take place in the south, where the sun always shines beautifully,” she says. In addition, she would always meet old companions with whom she exchanges ideas and enjoys the time together: “It’s not all so bitter now. Of course you fight over a few balls every now and then, but there are no longer any of those over-ambitious tennis parents.”
No thought of ending my career
That’s why she doesn’t give any thought to ending her career. With her team, TC Union Münster, she has the chance to win the Westphalia team championship indoors this weekend. And then of course she wants to cause a sensation again at the World Championships in August – even if it will be extremely difficult to defend all four World Championship titles. Because the strong 1984 vintage has moved up to her age group, so that she will meet, among others, Steffi Bachofer, with whom she became double world champion four times. A year later, Kruse will be part of the AK 45 – and will probably be unstoppable again by nothing or anyone. “Of course you are tormenting yourself more than before. And the aches and pains come more often. But as long as my body keeps up, I want to keep playing,” says the hammer woman.
2024-02-20 13:11:45
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