Noma Noha Akugue before the start of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix: "Was a bit shocked"
Noma Noha Akugue from the Porsche Junior Team won the German championships in 2020 and surprisingly reached the semifinals at the ITF tournament in Hamburg in January after two straight wins against top 300 players. The 17-year-old is currently 104th in the junior ranking and 786th in the WTA ranking. She will start qualifying at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on April 17th.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Apr 11, 2021, 01:05 pm
Noma, you last played an ITF tournament in Manacor, on the Rafa Nadal Academy facility. Was Nadal there too?
Yes, he was actually training there at the time, alongside the other kids and teens at the Academy. Unfortunately, I didn't see him play, only once while eating.
You have an interesting story about how you got into tennis. At the age of three, through “kindergarten tennis”. What's it all about?
It came from a club, so there was an opportunity for the very little ones to play too. I was there. But I can't remember anymore. My father told me that I had a lot of fun and always wanted to go. I stayed with the club for a long time, got better and better. And at some point I started playing tournaments.
In August 2020 you dared to step from the juniors to the ITF tournaments for the women, and at your third tournament in Alkmaar you reached the finals via qualification. In December you won the German championships. And in January 2021 you reached the semi-finals in Hamburg, beating two top 300 people. Are you surprised that you are so successful so quickly?
It actually started well with Alkmaar, I played well there. I had a really good phase last summer and it has continued until now. I was able to go into these tournaments quite relaxed, I have more pressure with the juniors than with the women. In the end, they're much older than me, so I don't have as high expectations as I do against players who are the same age as me. Maybe it was an advantage to be able to take it easy.
Have you ever trained with the pros from Porsche Team Germany?
Yes, I played with Laura Siegemund twice. She came to Stuttgart and was looking for someone to train, she wanted a partner who played fast. Barbara Rittner had arranged that at the time.
Laura is also a former winner of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. For the qualification you have now - together with Nastasja Schunk - received a wildcard. How did you find out about it?
My father told me that, he also found out about Barbara Rittner. I was a bit shocked, just thought: Wow, okay, crazy! I'm really looking forward to it, of course.
# IMG2 #
Do you follow tennis in general, also as a fan?
I've been following Naomi Osaka almost exclusively since she came up to the top two years ago, becoming a top player. I just like her, I like her way, even on the pitch. Because she has a poker face too. I was impressed by that back then.
You say "also a poker face" - do you have that too?
(laughs) Yeah, maybe not as extreme as them, but a little bit.
Barbara Rittner once praised your fast arm. Do you have a similar game, Naomi Osaka and you?
Yeah, I play pretty aggressively too. My trainer also often shows me videos of Naomi, how she reacted in certain situations, then we practice that too.
In addition to the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix: What is your plan for 2021?
My plan was actually to play the Junior Grand Slam tournaments. Unfortunately, the Australian Open was canceled due to the corona pandemic, the rest is still open. It's a bit difficult for me because I'm not doing so well in the ranking yet and would like to play a lot of matches. I'm now trying to get into the women's ITF tournaments and collect points there.
Noma, thank you for the interview and good luck in Stuttgart!