“We had a long conversation on Wednesday and went through all the options. Rainer then decided on this line-up,” said Jule Niemeier shortly after the line-up secret of the German selection was revealed on Thursday. The 23-year-old, who positioned herself as a new hope in German women’s tennis in 2022 with the quarter-finals and round of 16 in Wimbledon and at the US Open, has to overcome her first phase of weakness in the first third of the new season.
For the first two singles in the qualifying round of the Billie Jean King Cup (formerly Fed Cup, editor’s note) on Friday from 4 p.m. against Brazil, team manager Rainer Schüttler nominated the more in-form Anna-Lena Friedsam and Tatjana Maria. The latter, as a mother of two, won the WTA tournament in Bogotá again a week ago. As number 71 in the world, she should ensure a safe point on day one against the much weaker Brazilian number two, Laura Pigossi (ranked 124 in the world).
Friedsam, who has patiently returned to the top 100 after suffering a serious shoulder injury, is a blatant underdog against top 20 player Beatriz Haddad Maia. After a doping ban, thanks to strong results in 2022, she played her way into the extended world class. “The fact that she was once banned doesn’t matter to us at all, but of course we talked intensively about her,” said Laura Siegemund, who will play the doubles with Niemeier. This week, Siegemund plays perhaps the most important role in the German team in the background with all sorts of insider information. She recently reached the doubles final in Indian Wells alongside Haddad Maia.
clear words
With all the successes of Siegemund and Maria on the tour, German women’s tennis is not only in a tricky situation at the weekend in Stuttgart and is struggling for attention. The charismatic Julia Görges and Andrea Petkovic have resigned; Angelique Kerber became a mother for the first time a few weeks ago. Eva Lys (21, in the squad) and Noma Noha Akugue (19) still need time in their development. Nastasja Schunk (19) will be out until at least June because of a shoulder injury sustained during fitness training in the fall. The responsibility for the good results of the succeeding generation therefore lay with Jule Niemeier in the past few months.
The Dortmund native has only won two matches since her committed performance against Iga Swiatek in the first round of the Australian Open in January; retired five times in the first round. “I fully support Rainer Schüttler’s decision. It makes tactical sense. I’ll be here on Friday and support the girls,” says Niemeier. In media interviews, she usually appears calm and stoic. On Thursday, however, she chose clear words for her circumstances.
It is completely normal that you need your own functional team to help you from time to time during this difficult sporting phase. “I have to learn as a young player that defeats in tennis happen almost every week. You need a team that has your back completely,” she explains. Whom does she mean: her trainer Christopher Kas and her physiotherapist Florian Zitzelsberger and his fiancé Simone Elliott, a professional dancer who constantly gives Niemeier new impulses in the physical as well as mental area.
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The quartet, reports coach Kas, returned from a long eight-week trip last week. “We deliberately trained a lot, regardless of the result, and tried to build up a lot of substance with maximum volumes.” Kas distributed extra praise to physiotherapist Zitzelsperger for his daily work with Niemeier. Often injured in the past, Niemeier has played without injury for twelve months.
But Kas also knows that due to the short preparation, there was and is still room for improvement. According to Niemeier himself, “everything” improved during the intensive tournament trip, “but above all my fitness,” said Niemeier, summing up the training week in Stuttgart.
Kas, who is in contact with Rainer Schüttler and the other coaches in the national team, has heard positive signals about his protégé. With a view to the eight-week trip, which was modest in terms of results but important for technique, tactics and fitness, he said: “It is basically the case that Jule is now a better tennis player than six to twelve months ago.” What is still missing is self-confidence. Niemeier could perhaps get that on Saturday in doubles or even in singles. She kept a low profile on possible line-up changes. “We’ll see.”