The woman, who could be the best German tennis player in the not so distant future, has three tattoos, as of now. Jule Niemeier laughs when asked about this. She pulls back the thin fabric of her sweatshirt. Three dashes can be seen. A gap. Three dashes again. “I share this with my two brothers,” she explains. “I have three strokes out of three, the middle one has two strokes out of three, and the eldest has one stroke out of three.” A piece about it then a word: “Perseverance” is read, perseverance, perseverance. “I got that done when I had a lot of injuries and couldn’t play for almost a year and a half.”
There is no other tattoo to be seen, she grins. At the age of 18 she would have decided on these body paintings and, as Jule Niemeier emphasizes, everything in consultation with her mother. But she really wanted it all. She has her mind and will.
Persisting on your own path can’t be a bad attitude, especially for a competitive athlete, especially when you’re still at the beginning of your career. Niemeier is 22 years old, she is currently buzzing around the 100th place in the world rankings, but with a clear upward trend. Perhaps she would have been further up the list if she hadn’t had health problems in her shoulder and back. That’s why she only changed her serve movement last year and now swings out significantly more in a wide arc.
One can now start to be interested in such details, because Niemeier is clearly the young German tennis player who should close the gap if Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic, both 34, eventually retire. The Dortmund native, as a BVB fan of course always “up to date” when it comes to her favorite club, leads a duo about which national coach Barbara Rittner says of the SZ: “We build on Jule and Nasti.” She also means Nastasja Schunk, 18, the left-hander from Mainz, who is also developing splendidly. “Both have the potential for the first 20,” says Rittner.
Nastasja, called “Nasti”, Schunk is also a hopeful German in women’s tennis.
(Photo: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Perhaps the fear that the generation around Kerber, Petkovic, Julia Görges and Sabine Lisicki would not be followed for years was premature. Suddenly, these fresh new faces Niemeier and Schunk appear for the second time in a row on the biggest possible stage in tennis: at a Grand Slam tournament. At the French Open they were in the main draw for the first time, Niemeier defied the former US Open winner Sloane Stephens, Schunk for her part Simona Halep, who triumphed in Wimbledon in 2019. Rittner would like to be present at the All England Club, the German Tennis Association supports the two significantly, only the corona virus caught them. But Rittner knows anyway: “You are in the best hands.”
Niemeier is now coached by Christopher Kas, who has already taken care of Lisicki and Mona Barthel and a few more. Schunk is instructed by Benjamin Ebrahimzadeh, who also traveled from tournament to tournament with Kerber. Niemeier was considered very talented early on and had many successes, but at Wimbledon she says that she knows how to classify them completely differently today. “For me personally, these are two completely different worlds,” she says, “if you were a good junior, that doesn’t directly mean that you’ll be a good professional or that you’ll be very high. The intensity and level can’t be compared. ” Niemeier speaks calmly, she is also a quiet one, which is a small problem on the pitch. “It doesn’t really go with my game.”
She prefers to play offensively, creatively, with slice, stop, her forehand from the wrist is full of dynamics. She wants to “always show that aggressiveness and be dangerous” and therefore learn “to be a little more self-confident”. In the first round against the Chinese Wang Xiyu she did well, 6: 1, 6: 4 – it was her first match success in a Grand Slam. “I’m just happy that I got my first main draw victory right at the second attempt,” she says. In the second round she meets the second in the world rankings, Anett Kontaveit from Estonia. Niemeier expects a “very good game”. She seems grounded.
Rittner raves about Niemeier: “She’s tall, has powerful strokes, good net play, is variable. It took her a little time to realize that.” Schunk, who is also a member of the DTB talent team and reached the final of the Wimbledon junior tournament a year ago, is characterized by her courage. “She is completely unimpressed by the big stage. In Paris she played well against Simona Halep,” says Rittner.
After the three-set defeat, Schunk also looked very disappointed when she appeared at the press conference. A good sign. She doesn’t just want to play along. In Wimbledon she prevailed again in the qualification, on Tuesday she had her first round match against Mihaela Buzarnescu. The Romanian, 34, showed all her experience in the 6: 4, 6: 2. This includes fluctuations.
But Schunk learned a lot again, “that’s what these phases are all about,” says Christopher Kas. The former dual specialist is enthusiastic about Niemeier’s curiosity and her urge to discover new things. Niemeier herself also tells how she watched Rafael Nadal in training. “When you hear that sound of the ball coming out of his racquet, that’s very impressive,” she says, eyes shining.
Both can and will certainly work even more on their fitness. “I think that the physical is now extremely important,” says Niemeier. She also wants to be less strict with herself, she often expects too much from herself, for example that she plays perfectly – “that’s impossible,” she knows. Andrea Petkovic, who lost quite unadorned against Viktorija Golubic 4: 6, 3: 6 on Tuesday, took over the role of a mentor for Niemeier and Schunk a year and a half ago – this is also a signal that the handover is starting to intensify, “that helps both of them immensely,” says Rittner. The talented Eva Lys, 20, born in Kyiv and at home in Hamburg, benefits as a third party from helping each other. Rittner also has her on the screen.
The fact that people are now looking more closely at them, the new faces of German women’s tennis, does not put any pressure on them, says Niemeier. “It doesn’t really matter to me.” She wants to go her own way anyway. Like back then with the tattoos.