"FLT Tennis Team Competes in Malta: Overcoming Bad Luck and Rising Competition"

2023-05-28 10:05:00

Without Crhis Rodesch, who just won the NCAA title at college in the USA, but with Eléonora Molinaro, the FLT will compete in Malta. The tennis players want to make the bad luck in Montenegro forgotten.

The rain games in Montenegro – this is how the JPEE four years ago should have been remembered by tennis players in particular, who suffered like no other sport from the bad weather conditions in 2019 and whose games almost fell through. In the end there was silver for Eléonora Molinaro and Ugo Nastasi in the singles and bronze in the mixed competition. Molinaro in particular should still have an unfinished business with the JPEE, after all she missed six match points in the 2019 final. And so the 22-year-old is actually in the FLT squad for Malta. As is well known, Molinaro decided against professional tennis in 2020 and decided to go to university in Tennessee in the USA, since then things have been quiet about her in Luxembourg. For those responsible, however, she was always an option for Malta: “Even if she no longer plays for world ranking points, she has a full program in the USA. She’s also back on the Fed Cup team. It’s difficult to judge the level, but she’s still in full training,” says Claudine Schaul, who will be there as a supervisor this year.

In the last few editions, the general level has really risen a lot. There was no such strong competition in my time.

Claudine Schaul,

Meanwhile, Marie Weckerle recently collected her first world ranking points, making her appear in the WTA world rankings for the first time. Since the 20-year-old has been back in Luxembourg and has been looked after by Tim Sommer and Mandy Minella, Schaul believes that she has made great progress: “I’m happy for her, because that’s the most difficult step at this level. Being in the rankings like that makes planning a lot easier, because otherwise you never know exactly which tournament you might slip into.” It is difficult to predict what could be possible for the women’s duo in Malta, as it is not yet known exactly which competition will be competing at the Games this year. But the JPPE-experienced Schaul noticed a development in women’s tennis. “In the last few editions, the general level has really risen a lot. There was no such strong competition in my time.” However, she is convinced that the two Luxembourgers have their chances. “They both proved that they can hold their own against WTA players.”

level increased

The fact that the level has constantly evolved also applies to men’s tennis at the JPEE. “Almost more than for the women,” explains Claudine Schaul. With Chris Rodesch, however, the FLT in Malta will have to do without the player who has once again made a name for himself in the past few days by winning the NCAA championship in the USA. “It’s a pity, he would have liked to come too. But his college program just didn’t make it possible. Nevertheless, we are all very happy about his results there in Virginia.” Alex Knaff and Raphaël Calzi will therefore represent the Luxembourg colors in Malta in the next few days. And these two still have a score to settle in the games of the small states. Four years ago, Knaff twisted his ankle on the wet surface in Montenegro, had to give up in the singles game and the doubles with Calzi couldn’t be played like that either. According to Schaul, the two men have been in good form over the last few weeks and so they definitely have the ambition to play for medals. Incidentally, the game is played on hard courts in Malta, which could also suit FLT players.

Men: Raphaël Calzi, Alex Knaff
Women: Eleonora Molinaro, Marie Weckerle
Supervisor: Michael Bellaca, Claudine Schaul

In 2017, Jenny Zeyen, born in 1984, joined the sports editorial team as a permanent journalist. But at the age of 18 she began working as a correspondent for the daily newspaper and for 14 years she preferred to report week after week from the various Luxembourg basketball courts. She also worked on the first edition of the now traditional basketball supplement to the daily newspaper. She still loves the sport with the orange ball and continues to be the main focus of her reporting. As a correspondent, however, she gained insights into many other sports over the years, whereby she increasingly dealt with gymnastics, several other fringe sports and popular sports.