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MELBOURNE, Australia – In stalking the back courts during junior Grand Slam events, the sight of a one-handed backhand has become an increasingly rare phenomenon.

Not just among the girls; the boys, as well.

So when you do come across one – and it’s a beauty – it’s worth shouting out.

Lilli Tagger, who only turns 17 next month, is an Austrian who is into the singles quarterfinals of the AO juniors.

Unseeded, she has defeated a Japanese wild card, then No. 5 seed Teodora Kostovic when the 17-year-old Serbian retired down 2-4 in the third set, and then No. 9 seed Mingge Xu of Great Britain to get there.

She will face No. 1 seed (and junior world No. 1) Emerson Jones of Australia on Thursday.

A great one-handed role model

We spotted Tagger a week ago, as she was wandering around the back courts at Melbourne Park. While she wouldn’t have stood out on her own – other than her impressive height – it was the former player she was with who caught our attention.

It was 2010 Roland Garros champion Francesca Schiavone, now a coach. And, most pertinently, the possessor of a one-handed backhand herself. Hard to ask for a better role model.

Schiavone founded a tennis academy called “Schiavone Team Lab” in 2022, and it opened its facility just last September. It’s in Varese, in the very north of Italy close to the Swiss border, about 60 kilometres northwest of Schiavone’s hometown of Milan.

Every former WTA player who gets involved on the coaching sight is a welcome development.

All-around fundamentals

We’d have loved to post up some video of Tagger and her one-hander; unfortunately that might be grounds for expulsion at the AO.

So we’ll have to make do with photos; it looks like a very comfortable, secure shot.

Tagger also has a good serve, and from watching her play doubles she has a sense of when to make a move at the net, and good volleys.

So while we always avoid hyping potential, she seems like an interesting prospect.

Tagger is at a career high No. 45 in the junior rankings, and has played much of her junior career on the dirt.

She qualified for junior Wimbledon last summer – her first junior major – and lost to current world No. 3 junior Tyra Grant in the first round. She lost to Xu (whom she defeated here in Melbourne) in the first round of the US Open juniors.

In the pros, she’s at a career best No. 770, having played 11 pro events in 2024 (mostly at the entry-level $15Ks).

It’s hard to know how these journeys will play out. But she’s definitely one to keep an eye on.

AO Junior Stories: Dominick Mosejczuk

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