TENNIS – Arian Hardono (26) of Mapple set his final international record last year. He made his debut in all four Grand Slams and was ranked 158th in the world. Next season she wants to break into the prestigious top hundred of the WTA rankings.
“That’s for sure,” Hardono replies firmly. “I’ve played enough games against players who are already there. The differences are very small and it’s not in the physical area. A ball can land behind the line or completely. With a point like that, turn full speed. Round a match, then you’re one or two more games, and then You either win or lose the match.”
Hardono will also play in some smaller tournaments outside of the Grand Slams next season, where he is immediately in the main draw and doesn’t have to qualify. This will allow him to earn world ranking points a bit faster.
Achieving a place in the top hundred is crucial because he doesn’t have to play in the qualifiers for major tournaments in the future.
She hasn’t played tennis in over four weeks. Because Meppels has a tear in his abdominal muscle. There is no serious reason, so it seems like overload. A difficult season of international progress has taken its toll.
“I also played with it for a while. But in retrospect it wasn’t so smart. In the meantime I can already see a lot in the gym. It’s getting better and I can do more and more, so I hope to return to work soon,” Hardono explains.
It’s the first serious long-term injury of his career and time-wise it doesn’t work out too badly. “He should be fit again at the beginning of January,” explains his performance coach Jan Willem Koopman. “She had a good period before she got injured, so it can go back very quickly. But we have to take it step by step.”
