Tennis: Justin Engel before the first ATP tournament – the German super talent will fly

Justin Engel caused a sensation in tennis among adults as a 16-year-old. Now Germany’s greatest hope for the future is competing in his first ATP tournament.

If Coleman Wong, number 128 in the tennis world rankings, wants to collect information about his first opponents at the ATP tournament in Almaty (Kazakhstan), he should not go through the official website of the men’s association. Because apart from its age and origin, nothing can be found there. Height, weight, style of play, coach – all fields are empty or the answer is: “unknown”. There is also no indication whether the backhand is one-handed or two-handed.

But that is likely to change relatively quickly, because if this player implements what many people expect from him, he will have a great career. It’s Justin Engel, the greatest German talent of that time. A young man who is considered the successor to Alexander Zverev, currently number two in the world.

Engel is the best at his age

On October 1st, Engel celebrated his 17th birthday, and 13 days later he gave himself the gift he had been working towards for years. In Almaty, the teenager will play his first tournament on the ATP tour, after having caused a sensation among adults at a slightly lower level in recent months.

Engel has won four ITF tournaments this year. He recently reached the quarterfinals at the ATP Challenger in Villena (Spain), where he stunned with a win against Luca van Assche (France), 121st in the tennis world rankings. So a player who is better positioned than his first opponent in a tournament that features top players like Frances Tiafoe (USA) and Kharen Khachanov.

Engel will start in Almaty as number 458 in the world, his previous top ranking was 516. He is by far the best player under the age of 18, there are only 17 teenagers who are better placed than the young German. The path to a great career seems paved.

Nadal as a role model, Struff as Training partner

“I wanted to get used to the men’s level step by step and see how far I could go. Then I won my first tournament and everything has felt a lot easier for me since then.”Engel said recently in an interview with the German Tennis Federation (DTB) about his rapid rise. He wants himself now “exclusively on the professional tour” Maybe focus on games in 2025 “one or two more youth Grand Slam tournaments”.

Engel is now playing with the big names in the tennis world; the top players in Germany have had him on their list for a long time. He has already trained with Jan-Lennard Struff as well as Philipp Kohlschreiber and Maximilian Marterer. His role model is Rafael Nadal, who ended his career a few days ago. “I’m also a fighter on the pitch and do everything I can to win.”said Angel.

“I’m much further along than most people my age”

The now 17-year-old played his first tournaments at the age of ten. “The ambition came up in me and I always wanted to win”he said. “I will just concentrate on tennis. This may sound a bit arrogant, but I know that I am much further along than most people my age. I have a plan and a goal for my life.”

Engel wants at the end of 2025 “At best, be in the top 200”. Given his rapid rise in recent months, this is almost a modest target. If he surprises Wong in his ATP tournament debut, he will be taking big steps closer to this goal. First and foremost, the trip to Almaty will be a new experience. The German super talent will fly.