by Great Britain’s next big tennis prospect, 14-year-old Hannah Klugman, is taking inspiration from fellow teenager Mirra Andreeva as she takes on the junior draw in Melbourne.
As Klugman told reporters at the Australian Open on Sunday: “Mirra was here this time last year [in the junior event] and a lot can change very quickly. This year, she made the fourth round [of the main draw, before losing to ninth seed Barbora Krejcikova]. It’s crazy.
“Actually, I think I play a little bit like her,” Klugman added. “You know, she changes the pace. She doesn’t hit that much, she doesn’t hit like crazy. I think that’s what I will do. Yes, it definitely gives me a lot of confidence and trust in myself, if I keep working hard every day I can do it.”
Klugman – who is the fourth seed here – was speaking after a simple opening match against 17-year-old Chilean Antonia Vergara Rivera. Klugman, for context, does not arrive 15 until February.
The Brits were never stretched in a low-key 6-2, 6-3 victory that took just 61 minutes. A large crowd gathered on Court 3 to watch her ease into the second round.
Klugman has become one of junior tennis’ most sought-after properties since winning a title at the Orange Bowl in December. Held in the Floridian city of Plantation, the Orange Bowl is probably the most prestigious junior event of the year, with a list of former champions that includes Chris Evert, Gabriela Sabatini, Caroline Wozniacki and Coco Gauff. In its entire 76-year history, no British woman has ever won it.
Reflecting back on her title run, Klugman said she lost early in the Grade One junior event in Mexico the week before. “I went in with not a lot of expectations and a fresh mind,” she explained. “And yes, played excellent tennis. It was amazing. I was walking past a poster with all the winners, and there were some really great people. Many of the Brits messaged me, like Jack [Draper]Katie [Boulter]. Yeah, they were really nice to me about it.”
Klugman grew up in Wimbledon, playing quality tennis and hockey. His first coach was Alison Taylor, wife of former Wimbledon semi-finalist Roger Taylor. Today, she works with the highly regarded Ben Haran.
It was a struggle, she says, when she had to choose between her two favorite sports. “I loved the hockey team,” she said. “I’m quite a social person. I like to be around friends, and tennis is quite lonely. That’s why having a good team around you is such a big deal.
“I’ve been working with Ben since I was about nine years old,” Klugman added. “So, yes, we are really close. He is like another father to me when we travel. Me, him and Laura, my fitness coach – we all get on really well.”
‘It’s hard juggling GCSEs and Australia’
This is Klugman’s longest overseas trip yet. She flew out to Australia two weeks ago, taking her father Robert with her but leaving her mother Libby at home. Last week, she played in a Grade One junior event in Traralgon, a few hours east of Melbourne, and reached the semi-finals.
One casualty of the schedule was her place in the classroom at Wimbledon High School. “I just switched to online schooling a week ago,” she said, “because it’s really impossible. I want to do well in my GCSE. I want to get a good education. So it’s hard juggling all that while you’re away in Australia.”
Will she miss school? “Yes, great, but I will definitely keep in touch with my friends. My favorite subject? Maybe biology. My sister does biology. So yeah, I think it’s in the genes. I haven’t really started [online schoolwork] still but I know I have to be disciplined.”
Already tall, strong and athletic, Klugman has so many talents that agents are swarming around her like bees around lavender – she has yet to sign with an agency. On Sunday, her serve had a top speed of 113.7mph, which would be well above average in the main draw here. However, she does not rely on power alone, preferring to build points with intelligence and diversity.
She is not the youngest player in the Australian Open junior draw, being a few months older than Australia’s Renee Alame. At the Orange Bowl, however, she became the second youngest Briton to win such a competition. Because of her inaccuracy, this feat was only surpassed by Laura Robson, who won junior Wimbledon when she was 14 in 2008. As it turned out, Robson turned 30 on Sunday.
A natural ball-winner, Robson would go on to crack the world’s top 30 before a career-limiting hand injury (which first surfaced when she was just 19) left-handed. With no luck, Klugman can expect to be the go-to guy at these events for many years to come.
