- Hannah Klugman was beaten 6-2 6-0 by Austria’s Lilli Tagger on Saturday
- She was aiming to become the first British junior to win the title since 1976
- Klugman had sought advice from Rafael Nadal and British No 1 Jack Draper
A young British tennis star narrowly missed out on the French Open juniors title despite a sensational run to the final.
Hannah Klugman, 16, was beaten 6-2 6-0 by Austria’s impressive Lilli Tagger in her first junior Grand Slam singles final at Roland Garros on Saturday.
The teenager was looking to become the first British player in almost 50 years to win the title, after Michelle Tyler clinched the French Open girls’ crown in 1976.
But Klugman, who is ranked 13th in the world and looks poised for a major breakthrough, saw her confidence quickly drain away before falling to defeat.
Despite the result, an emotional Klugman said she was proud of her efforts.
‘I want to start off by saying congratulations to Lilli, honestly you deserve it so much’, Klugman said on court. ‘You broke me mentally and physically today.
British teenager Hannah Klugman narrowly missed out on the French Open juniors’ title
Klugman, 16, was beaten 6-2 6-0 by Lilli Tagger in her first junior Grand Slam singles final
An emotional Klugman said she was ‘proud’ of her efforts at Roland Garros
‘It’s been a long week, I’m proud of myself, I’m very tired it’s been a long week. I want to thank my team, for all of the hard work – it means a lot.
‘The crowd, you were amazing, I’ve never played in an atmosphere like this so thank you so much. Hopefully I’ll be back some time in the seniors so thank you so much.’
London-born Klugman made headlines after winning two matches at Wimbledon women’s qualifying last June, and has won LTA Junior National titles in Britain.
She has also taken part in two Grand Slam girls’ doubles finals, losing at Wimbledon in 2023 and last year in the Australian Open trophy match.
After initially possessing little experience on clay, she has now embraced its distinct challenges, and spent two months practicing on it last year.
She even trained at Rafael Nadal’s academy in Spain for a few days, and admitted after her semi-final victory at Roland Garros that the advice she received from the 14-time French Open men’s champion – and ‘King of Clay’ – had helped give her more belief.
Klugman also sought advice from British No 1 Jack Draper after a tough season.
However, a swaggering Tagger was superb in Paris to deny Klugman history.
