Nellie Taraba Wallberg secured a hard-fought victory against Julie Pastikova at the Roland Garros Junior Championships on Tuesday. The match, which lasted two hours and 46 minutes, ended with Wallberg winning 6-3, 6-7(2), 7-5. After the match, she expressed gratitude for the support from fans: “It’s so nice to have people cheering for you. Like, I get so pumped and it makes me fight even more for every point,” she said.
The Swedish player, known for her powerful backhand and forehand shots, comes from an athletic background. Her mother, Frida Wallberg, was a champion boxer who held the WBC super-featherweight title from 2010 to 2013. Wallberg sometimes incorporates boxing into her training routine: “I do boxing sometimes with her and fitness sometimes also because she is very strong,” she said.
Wallberg will face Austria’s Lilli Tagger in the next round as she aims for a spot in the quarter-finals of the girls’ singles. She draws inspiration from former professional Johanna Larsson: “She played not long ago and she actually helps me a lot,” Wallberg mentioned.
In other matches at Roland Garros, No. 1 seed Emerson Jones of Australia defeated Vendula Valdmannova in three sets. Hannah Klugman from Great Britain won against Ksenia Efremova with a score of 6-1, 6-3. Spain’s Charo Esquiva Banuls advanced after beating Elizara Yaneva.
Argentinian Luna Maria Cinalli overcame Sonja Zhenikhova and will play Ruien Zhang next after Zhang’s victory over Daphnee Mpetshi Perricard.