Linda Fruhvirtova: Will 17-year-old be a breakout player of 2023 after winning first WTA Tour title?

Breakout: suddenly and extremely popular or successful.

Every year there are breakout players on the ATP and WTA tours. This year some of the more notable were Holger Rune, who reached the top 10 after starting outside the top 100, Jack Draper, who moved up over 200 places in the rankings, and Zheng Qinwen, who rose over 100 places in the WTA rankings.

Who will be the breakout players to watch out for in 2023?

What did Fruhvirtova do in 2022?

Fruhvirtova came on the radar in March when she beat 20th seed Elise Mertens and former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka at the Miami Open.

At the US Open she came through qualifying and made the second round before an eye-catching title run in Chennai where she beat three of the top five seeds to become the youngest player to win a WTA title since Coco Gauff in 2021.

The result saw Fruhvirtova soar up the rankings and at 17 she is the youngest player in the top 100.

She finished the year by qualifying for the WTA 1000 in Guadalajara, but lost to Sloane Stephens in the first round.

At the same time as Fruhvirtova was winning in Chennai, her younger sister Brenda, 15, was lifting a fifth straight title on the ITF Pro Circuit after a 25th win in a row.

The sisters are both former champions at the renowned junior tennis tournament Les Petits As (Linda in 2019 and Brenda in 2020).

Why could Fruhvirtova have a big 2023?

Fruhvirtova was a strong junior player and looks set for a bright future.

As a youngster she spent time at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy, and Patrick Mouratoglou, former coach of Serena Williams, could hardly have been more effusive in his praise of Fruhvirtova earlier this year.

“A lot of players say they want to become world No. 1 but only some players believe it deep inside and Linda is one of them. She wins because she’s just stepping in, stepping in, hitting, hitting, hitting until you crack. She has one main quality, which is the mental side. She’s an incredible competitor. She’s an incredible fighter,” he told ‘The Eye of the Coach’.

“She’s feisty. She wants it so bad. She’s giving 100 percent every time she’s stepping on the tennis court. This is all mental assets. I think mentally she has the full package.”

Former world No. 1 Chris Evert has also been impressed with Fruhvirtova.

“She practiced at my academy for a few weeks in January and was very impressive,” Evert wrote on Twitter last summer. “Playing sets with WTA pros and competing with them showing confidence and skill… She’s got it.”

Fruhvirtova has said her fighting spirit is one of her biggest strengths. She also has a strong backhand that can move opponents around the court, and she is well balanced elsewhere. While her serve looks to be an area for improvement she is still smart with it and looks solid tactically.

What have they said?

Linda Fruhvirtova at the Miami Open: “I have always answered that I want to reach No. 1. I want to win Grand Slam titles, which hasn’t changed. We always said that with my sister it’s my goal and, yeah, we just want to achieve that.”

Auckland Open tournament director Nicholas Lamperin about Linda and Brenda Fruhvirtova: “They’ve been on the radar of most clothing manufactures and agents for many years. I think they were signed when they were 11 or 12 and they’ve delivered at every step of the way, like winning the European Championships and we’ve seen the evolution of Brenda on the ITF [circuit] this year, which has been tremendous. Also for Linda on the WTA tour, so they’re growing really fast.”

Key stats

• Age: 17
• Current singles ranking: No. 78
• Highest singles ranking: No. 74
• Coach: x
• Honours: One WTA Tour title

Did you know?

In 2019, Fruhvirtova became the first player born in 2005 to compete in a junior Grand Slam at the French Open.

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