However, Lilli Tagger surpassed everyone. The 17-year-old Austrian did not drop a single set during the women's junior tournament and secured Austria's first ever Grand Slam victory in the junior women's competition with her victory in the final over Britain's Hannah Klugman, to whom she conceded only two games. Apart from Tagger, only Jürgen Melzer was able to triumph in the junior competition at Wimbledon in 1999.
Tagger, who has been coached by former Italian French Open winner Francesca Schiavone since 2023 and is managed by the same team as Jannick Sinner, is fueling hopes that Austrian tennis fans may once again have reason to celebrate major successes in the not too distant future. Her potential is also demonstrated by the fact that she won her first title in the “big leagues” just a few months ago at a W35 tournament in Spain against Lois Boisson, who lost to eventual winner Coco Gauff in the semifinals of the women's competition at the French Open. ÖTV sports director Jürgen Melzer says of Tagger's potential: “The sky is the limit!”
Two titles in the wheelchair competition
Picture: Paul Zimmer
Maximilian Taucher, also just 17 years old, was equally successful in Paris in the junior wheelchair competition. Taucher successfully defended his title in the singles and, to top it off, also won the doubles title together with his singles final opponent Charlie Cooper. Incidentally, this year's Erste Bank Open will also feature a wheelchair tournament for the first time, with some of the world's best players taking part. Austria's top player Nico Langmann will also be serving.
Ofner and Misolic shine
In the men's competition, Austria's number 1, Sebastian Ofner, and Filip Misolic performed excellently. Ofner only lost in the second round after a great five-set battle against top 30 player Karen Khachanov, whom he had knocked out of the competition in three sets in Geneva the week before. After an intense May with many matches, he finally ran out of steam in the fifth set.
Even more sensational was Filip Misolic's run of success. After a difficult 2024, the young Styrian catapulted himself from a world ranking position beyond 300 back into the top 150 players in the world since the beginning of 2025. In Paris, Misolic plowed through the qualifiers without losing a set, defeated the strong Canadian Denis Shapovalov in five thrilling sets in the second round of the main competition, and finally had to admit defeat in the third round to 24-time Grand Slam tournament winner Novak Djokovic after a great match in three sets.
With this new momentum, Austria's tennis aces are now heading into the short grass season before moving on to hard court in the summer – with the highlight from a domestic perspective being the Erste Bank Open from October 18-26, 2025!
