The 17-year-old tennis player confidently sets ambitious goals.
Top tennis talent Justin Engel has his sights set high – and makes no secret of it. “I firmly believe that I will become number one. I’m doing a lot for it, working hard for it, and hoping for the best,” said the 17-year-old, who made a brilliant start on the professional tour in October, at Blickpunkt Sport.
The teenager from Nuremberg has no problem with the newfound attention. On the contrary. “That’s what I train for. I really like being in the spotlight. I enjoy it and that’s why I work so hard for it,” said Engel, who has recently been coached by former top 20 German player Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Engel hopes that his new coach will help him to become more versatile in his game. “I am firmly convinced that he can really help me reach the top of the world rankings. Philipp is the kind of guy who can help me bring my game intelligence to the court,” he said. “I’ve always been someone who just hits the ball hard, a real hitter. Philipp is the kind of guy who can help me become more versatile.”
In the long term, Engel dreams of winning Grand Slam titles – he is particularly keen to do well at the Australian Open, where he has already competed as a junior. In the short term, Engel is hoping for a wild card for the ATP tournament in Munich. “Maybe I can achieve an even better result there, let’s see how it goes. In any case, I want to make it into the top 200 next year, that would be my goal,” said Engel.
Engel played his first-ever ATP professional match in Almaty, Kazakhstan, at the beginning of October, shortly after his 17th birthday, and celebrated an immediate victory against Coleman Wong from Hong Kong. He thus became the youngest winner of an ATP match since top star Carlos Alcaraz in 2020. He then held his own against world number 31 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina, losing 4-6, 6-7.