Haider-Maurer wins in Hungary to reach career-best ranking

Lea Haider-Maurer has reached the best ranking of her career after winning a tournament in Hungary on Sunday, ORF reported. The 15-year-old from Burgenland is continuing her rise in international junior tennis.

Haider-Maurer defeated the much higher-ranked Czech player Kristyna Dulikova 7-6, 5-7, 6-4 in a final in Budapest that lasted more than three hours. She described it as the biggest success of her career, saying she had never before maintained such a high level throughout an entire match.

The victory is her fourth tournament win this year. She said her training at the tennis academy in Oberpullendorf was helping her become more consistent, make fewer mistakes and apply pressure at the right moments.

Haider-Maurer is already Austria’s second-best player in the under-18 world rankings, despite not yet being 16. She will not compete at the European Under-18 Championships in Oberpullendorf in two weeks because she is still in the under-16 age group.

Her main target for next year is to qualify for the junior Grand Slam tournaments. This week, she begins preparing for the European Under-16 Championships in Italy.