Brenda Fruhvirtova is all of 15, however on court docket, she handles enterprise like a seasoned skilled. In the round-of-32 of the KPB Trust ITF Women’s Open on the KSLTA Stadium right here on Wednesday, Brenda was ruthless in a 6-1, 6-0 win over Lee Ya-hsuan.
A powerful baseliner, Brenda’s highly effective groundstrokes flattened Ya-hsuan. The Czech Republic teenager has made a exceptional begin to her skilled profession. Earlier this 12 months, Brenda turned the fifth youngest participant to qualify for the Australian Open ladies’s singles major draw. This monumental achievement got here on the again of a stellar 2022, when Brenda received eight ITF singles titles.
Brenda is the youthful sister of Linda Fruhvirtova, the 2022 WTA Chennai Open champion.
In a super world, Brenda would have favored to journey and compete in tournaments alongside Linda, however the WTA Tour’s age restriction makes it tough to take action. The guidelines state that 15-year-olds can solely play as much as 10 skilled occasions, and a further 4 occasions based mostly on efficiency. This is actually Brenda’s first event look since her first-round exit on the Australian Open virtually two months in the past.
The restrictions, which in impact bars gamers from taking part in the complete schedule till they’re 18, have been put in place to stop early burnout.
In the case of the Fruhvirtova sisters, this makes for difficult event scheduling. The household, which incorporates mom Martina and father Hynek, doesn’t spend a lot time collectively. Hynek travels with Linda (World No. 53), whereas Martina accompanies Brenda (World No. 163) to tournaments.
“It is difficult to plan the tournament schedule. In order to stay high in the ranking, you must plan smart. There is big pressure on the whole family, as we cannot travel together for the same tournaments. The goal is for Brenda to stay close to Linda in the rankings, so that they can at least sometimes travel together for tournaments,” Martina informed The Hindu right here on Wednesday.
The strain is on Brenda to carry out properly each time she steps on court docket. Brenda, the top-seed right here, relied on sister Linda to offer her a number of tips about how to achieve India. “I spoke to Linda before coming here. But Chennai is different to Bengaluru. Chennai is humid, while Bengaluru is hot and dry. It’s good to be here and get the first round win under my belt,” Brenda mentioned.