Week 38 WTA pick
Left-handed, currently No. 124 in the WTA singles rankings.
Career-High Rank
No. 124
SINGLES
Current Rank
No. 130
28 SEP 2026
Age
22
B. 2 DEC 2003
RTT Pick
Wk 38
RISING STAR
Subscriber exclusive · Issue No. 12
A WTA final at nineteen, then two years back
No academy and no federation contract: German Bundesliga club tennis carried her to a tour final as a teenager. Then came two seasons going backwards, with no published cause. Nine pages on the club route, and on what the record does and does not explain.
Country
🇩🇪 Germany
Tour
WTA singles
Plays
Left-handed
Age
22
Born
2 December 2003
Current Rank
No. 130
Career High
No. 124
Career W–L
223–156
2026 W–L
40–23
Raised in Reinbek outside Hamburg, she was put on a court at TSV Glinde at the age of three by her father Roland, a Nigerian-born former boxer who ran her early technique and fitness work; she now trains at Club an der Alster in Hamburg. The tennis world met her in July 2023, when a wildcard at the Hamburg European Open turned into a run to the final — the then-19-year-old beat Laura Pigossi, Storm Hunter, Martina Trevisan and Diana Shnaider before losing to Arantxa Rus 0–6, 6–7(3). What followed was harder: she finished 2024 at No. 212 and 2025 at No. 306.
"He did a lot of technique and athletic training with me" — on her father Roland; tennis MAGAZIN portrait (translated from German)
2026 has been a patient rebuild from the ITF circuit up: titles at W75 Altenkirchen in February and the W100 Wiesbaden Open in May (d. Mia Pohánková 6–2, 7–6(3)), plus wins in Helsinki and Birmingham, and round-of-16 runs at the Rome, Hamburg and Warsaw WTA events. A career-high No. 137 arrived in July. Then, seeded third at the Montreux Nestlé Open (WTA 125) in September, she beat Daria Zoldakova, Anouk Granwehr, Anastasiia Sobolieva and Marina Maristany Zuleta de Mena to reach the final, where Fiona Ferro beat her 6–1, 6–2. The week was worth 13 places — a new career-high No. 124 and her first time inside the top 125.
"I like it. I copied it from Naomi Osaka."
ON HER ON-COURT POKER FACE · TENNIS MAGAZIN (TRANSLATED)"I think that's why I'm so physically fit."
ON HER FATHER'S COACHING · TENNIS MAGAZIN (TRANSLATED)