While Tuesday was positive for the majority of German tennis talent, the horror series of one of the most promising DTB talents was extended by another bankruptcy.
Noma Noha Akugue (number 189 in the world rankings) lost her opening match at the W50 tournament in Porto with 5:7 and 2:6 against the Slovakian Polona Hercog (number 244 in the world rankings). For the 20-year-old from Hamburg, it was the eleventh bankruptcy in a row.
Since the DTB talent lost to former French Open finalist Sara Errani in the quarterfinals in Bucharest in mid-September, Noha Akugue has been waiting for a victory on the tour. The German hopeful even lost twice to players who were not ranked among the best 400 in the world at the time of the match. In total she only won two sets during this time.
However, things went better for Nastasja Schunk, who defeated the Chinese Xinyu Gao (number 267 in the world rankings) 4:6, 6:1 and 6:2. Schunk, who fell out of the top 800 in the rankings as a result of a long-term injury, is currently fighting her way back to the top. The 20-year-old once achieved her best placement at number 143.
Noha-Akugue conqueror Hercog is now waiting for the German in the round of 16.
Two more German tennis talents celebrate victories
17-year-old Josy Daems also surprisingly had a successful start to the week at the W15 event in Monastir, Tunisia. Daems, who is currently not ranked in the world rankings, won 6:2, 3:6 and 6:0 against Frenchwoman Alyssa Reguer (number 1077 in the world rankings). So far she has only rarely appeared on the tour, but showed her talent by reaching the semi-finals in Haren (W15) in 2023.
Max Rehberg (number 553 in the world rankings) was also able to record a respectable success. The 20-year-old defeated the Italian Raul Brancaccio in three sets 6:7, 6:1 and 6:2 at the Challenger tournament in Koblenz. Branciaccio is ranked 267th in the ATP rankings, well ahead of the German.