AUDIO: Eva Lys and Ella Seidel – tennis hopes from Hamburg (2 min)
As of: November 13, 2025 2:05 p.m
From Friday, the German team will fight in the Billie Jean King Cup to stay in the world tennis group. The first opponent is Turkey, Belgium is waiting on Sunday. Right in the middle of it all for Germany are two young Hamburgers, Eva Lys and Ella Seidel, who have made a remarkable rise.
It’s still pretty early by tennis professional standards. Tuesday morning, shortly before 9 a.m. in Ismaning, north of Munich. It is the first training session for the German Billie Jean King Cup team. Rookie Ella Seidel hits the balls over the net. The 20-year-old has been called up to the absolute German tennis elite for the first time. Also there is team boss Rainer Schüttler and, on the other side of the net, the late nominee Jule Niemeier, who has been a fixture in the German team in recent years
Everything is still being worked on. The stands for almost 1,500 spectators are already in place, but there is still a lot to do. Almost symbolic of German tennis. After Resignation of Angelique Kerber Only Alexander Zverev is world class. Apart from the sporadic successes of Laura Siegemund and Tatjana Maria, who were in their late thirties, the tide was otherwise low for a longer period of time.
But that has changed. With Eva Lys and Ella Seidel, two young women from Hamburg have come onto the stage who want to try to shake up women’s tennis. And they have already started doing it.
The fairy tale of Lucky Lys
For Lys, the older of the two at 23 years old, it happened with a big bang. Although she lost in the last qualifying round at the Australian Open in January, she moved into the main draw because another player was injured. Lys took advantage of this unexpected opportunity and made it to the round of 16. “That changed my entire tennis life. It made me into the top 100 in the world rankings for the first time and that makes a lot of things easier,” says the Hamburg native.
Jump to number 40 in the world rankings
In addition, the eloquent Lys, who can be seen enjoying her sport on the court, has awakened many tennis fans from their slumber. Suddenly there was someone else you could get excited about. Advertising contracts and television appearances were the result. And Lys confirmed her success in Melbourne with increasingly consistent performances that have taken her to number 40 in the world rankings.
“I have a family that keeps me grounded and that’s a good thing.”
Eva Lys
As much as the circumstances have changed for her, the 23-year-old has remained the same as a person. “In my personal life, nothing has changed on the whole. I have a family that keeps me grounded and that’s a good thing,” she says.
No comparison with Graf and Becker
The sudden rise of Lys cannot be compared to that of Steffi Graf or Boris Becker. Everything is one size smaller. And as talented as she is, the comparison with those responsible for the German tennis boom in the 1980s is flawed. Lys still has playful deficits, especially physical ones. An autoimmune rheumatic disease keeps stopping it. But she knows how to deal with the illness. “Patience, a lot of patience, I had to learn that. When the body says stop, I really have to listen, otherwise I’ll be out for months,” explains the German.
The illness has rarely stopped Lys this year and that is why she was able to land her most valuable victory in October. At the 1000 tournament in Beijing, the highest category after the Grand Slams, she defeated Elena Rybakina, becoming a top ten player for the first time. “That obviously gave me a lot of self-confidence and showed me that I can keep up with the best,” says Lys.
Seidel’s awakening experience in Cincinnati
The younger of the two Hamburg tennis newcomers had a similar experience. Ella Seidel had her great awakening experience in Cincinnati, also a tournament of the highest category. There she won against the American and then number eleven in the world, Emma Navarro. She couldn’t really enjoy this success. “It was so warm, so humid and suddenly it was over. But afterwards I was very happy,” remembers the 20-year-old. This victory had the same effect as Lys. It gave a boost to self-confidence.
Aha moment after injury at Wimbledon
The second aha moment in Seidel’s tennis year came at Wimbledon. The North Germans confidently played their way through the qualification on the sacred turf. However, she then sprained in the first round, tore an outer ligament and had to miss four weeks. “This break was actually good and showed me how much I want to play tennis,” said Seidel. “I really wanted to get back on the pitch quickly and have been playing with more fun and joy ever since.”
Before the injury, Seidel was often too stubborn and wanted too much. Former national coach Barbara Rittner recognized early on that her perfectionism and ambition were sometimes counterproductive. Schüttler can understand this assessment well: “You have to slow Ella down sometimes. She already did two training sessions on the pitch and one in the weight room yesterday.” And that even before the others from the German team had arrived in Munich.
“The sky is the limit”
The attitude is right with Seidel and Lys. This is also a reason why Schüttler sees “really a lot of potential” in both. “And you shouldn’t forget, they’re still so young. There’s more to come.” In the words of Lys: “The sky is the limit.”
There is some evidence to suggest that, despite all the differences, both will continue to move up in lockstep. And we do this with mutual respect and a lot of empathy for each other. “We are from different age groups and have only gotten closer this year, but we have become really good friends. Ella is a very cheerful person,” emphasizes Lys. What Seidel appreciates about her teammate is that “you can talk to her about anything and she tries to help me as best she can.”
On Friday in the first match for the German team at the Billie Jean King Cup against Turkey, 37-year-old Siegemund will probably play in the singles alongside Lys. Seidel will have to be patient for now. But she has no problem with that: “If that’s the case, I’ll sit on the sidelines and cheer on Eva and the others.”
