Welcome to "Next Up," where USOpen.org will showcase rising stars on the ATP and WTA tours who could be in line to make a splash to remember at the 2022 US Open. To kick off the series, we're highlighting Germany's Jule Niemeier, who reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in her tournament debut.
Just when you thought German tennis was beginning to age out—three-time Grand Slam titlist Angelique Kerber, Andrea Petkovic, Tatjana Maria and Laura Siegemund are all 34, Julia Goerges is enjoying retirement, and 2013 Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki, 32, has been slowed by a knee injury—along comes a fresh-faced Dortmunder with a heavy forehand and a penchant for muscling her way through draws.
Jule Niemeier, 22, turned heads in May when she raced through the qualifying rounds at Roland Garros, dropping just seven games over three matches to reach her first Grand Slam main draw. The following week, she claimed her first WTA 125 title on clay in Makarska, Croatia, defeating Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the final, 7-5, 6-1.
But Niemeier’s real breakout came in her main-draw debut at Wimbledon, where she scored her first Top 10 win—over the No. 2 seed—and reached her first major quarterfinal. She simply overwhelmed world No. 3 Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in the second round, 6-4, 6-0, in just 58 minutes. Two rounds later, she defeated home favorite Heather Watson, 6-0, 6-4, payback for an opening-round loss to the same opponent earlier this year in Monterrey. Afterward, she apologized to the crowd: “I just want to say sorry that I had to kick out a British player today.”
“I’m trying to be creative on court. I can play fast, I can play slower, use the slice, drop shots,” said Niemeier, who trains with former touring pro Christopher Kas through the German Tennis Federation in Regensburg. “That’s what I’m trying to do, just mix it up a bit on court so the opponent doesn’t know what is coming.”
Heading into her elite-eight matchup with compatriot Maria at the All England Club—the first all-German Grand Slam quarterfinal since 2012, when Kerber beat Lisicki at Wimbledon—Niemeier had won a tournament-leading 56% of her return games on the fortnight. Though her memorable debut came to an end via a 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 defeat to Maria, who was into the second week of a Slam for the first time in 34 attempts, the experience will surely prove valuable moving forward.
A year ago, Niemeier was ranked No. 167 and lost in the final round of Wimbledon qualifying. Now ranked No. 97, the woman nicknamed ‘Jules’ will head into the North American hard-court campaign with renewed confidence, having proven that she can hold her own against the sport’s elite. She's primed to make her US Open main-draw debut next month after losing in qualifying in 2021.
“In the first couple of matches against top players, I was hesitating a bit,” she explained. “I thought I had to play something special. When you play those players, you just have to stay there, you have to stay consistent, just focus on every point. That’s what I’m trying to do now, use that experience. Of course, I’m showing respect, but I’m trying to win every match.”
