Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Steffi Graf and Monica Seles – these tennis stars also started out small. The “Tennis Europe Junior Tour” was a springboard for her later world careers.
The talented Lionel Frießnegg won a tournament in the series in Breclav, Czech Republic in mid-January. In the final for the tournament victory, the 13-year-old from Mariazell defeated the Chinese Yanru Li in two sets (6:4, 6:3). It is his biggest success on the international stage to date.
The tournament series is available for the U14 and U16 age groups, each of which has its own ranking list. Thanks to his recent successes, Frießnegg has now made it into the top 20 in the age group for the first time. Another Austrian, Luca Sageder from Upper Austria, is also represented there.
In the U14 rankings of the Austrian Tennis Association, Frießnegg is now at the top. The protégé of Steve Rettl’s RS Tennis Academy in Bruck an der Mur has also been playing in the State League A since last year. There he reached third place with ESV-Tennis Bruck.
