Steep rise to the tennis elite: 7 facts about Lilli Tagger

Tagger’s performance at the young age of 18 years and five months gives Austria’s tennis fans hope for a great future for the Lienz native. The KURIER did a little digging into the numbers of the best tennis players in the world. Seven facts about the rise of the Lilli Tagger.

The world rankings

Lilli Tagger rose to 45th place in the world rankings with her first tournament victory. This makes her the second best Austrian behind only the naturalized Anastasia Potapova (27). Exactly a year ago she was ranked 519th. To be seeded at the US Open, Tagger still needs 200 points in the world rankings. Won in Prague she alone 250 on Sunday.

The youngest

Lilli Tagger was born on February 17, 2008. There is no player in the top 100 of the world rankings who is younger than the Lienz native. Only the American Emerson Jones, who has just turned 18 and ranks 139th, is younger than Tagger.

The comparison

If you take a look at the top 10 women’s world rankings, only four players there won their first tournament ahead of Lilli Tagger. Coco Gauff was only 15 years and seven months when she won in Linz in 2019. Amanda Anisimova was 17 years and seven months in 2019 when she won in Bogota. And Russian prodigy Mirra Andreeva was 17 years and three months old in 2024 when she won in Iasi, Romania. Elena Svitolina was 18 years and two months old when she won her first victory. Exciting: Iga Siwatek was already there 19 years and four months, but her first tournament victory was the Grand Slam tournament in Paris.

The prize money

Tagger earned $37,390 (almost 33,000 euros) with her tournament victory in Prague. The 18-year-old won a total of $487,373 (428,000 euros).

Mental strength

Although Tagger repeatedly admits that she is nervous in or before the game because of her opponent’s background, you hardly see it on the pitch. She plays through her game regardless of the score and takes the same risks if the score is 0-0 as she does with match point. That’s no wonder either. She is looked after by Grand Slam winner Francesca Schiavone and is looked after by the same management as Jannik Sinner, currently the best player on the ATP tour. “In the mental area I can learn a lot from Jannik,” says Tagger, who has already trained with the superstar.

The will

Trainer Francesca Schiavone praises Tagger for her daily work ethic and willingness to constantly improve. She left her homeland at the age of 13 to become a tennis professional in Italy. “It was difficult at the beginning, I couldn’t speak a word of Italian. That’s changed, of course.”

The Tagger Game

Lilli Tagger combines the creativity of a classic all-court player with the consistency of modern power tennis players. She is offensive, courageous and has a one-handed backhand that is rare in women’s tennis. She will not only be seen often in the highlight videos in the coming years.

ÖTV-Sport coordinator Marion Maruska is enthusiastic about the development of Tagger: “Lilli has already celebrated some great successes, and I think her journey could go very far.” ÖTV sports director Jürgen Melzer emphasized: “Beating a player like Krejciková in her home country, especially in the semi-finals, and then holding her nerve in the final is impressive. She is still only at the beginning of her journey. We will still have a lot of fun with her.”