Klugman: The 14-year-old British prospect taking inspiration from Andreeva

Young Briton in confident mood at Australian Open as she goes in search of junior title with Russian acting as proof age is no barrier

Great Britain’s next big tennis prospect, 14-year-old Hannah Klugman, is taking inspiration from fellow teen Mirra Andreeva as she navigates the junior draw in Melbourne.
As Klugman told reporters at the Australian Open on Sunday: “Mirra was here this time last year [in the junior event] and a lot can change really quickly. This year, she made the fourth round [of the main draw, before losing to ninth seed Barbora Krejcikova]. It’s crazy.
“Actually, I think I play a bit similar to her,” Klugman added. “You know, she changes the pace. She doesn’t hit that big, doesn’t hit like crazy. I think that’s what I do. So yeah, it definitely gives me a lot of confidence and trust in myself that if I keep working hard every day I can do it.”
Klugman – who is the fourth seed here – was speaking after a straightforward opening match against 17-year-old Chilean Antonia Vergara Rivera. Andreeva, for context, doesn’t turn 15 until February.
The Briton was never stretched in a low-key 6-2, 6-3 victory that took only 61 minutes. A sizeable crowd congregated on Court 3 to watch her ease into the second round.
Klugman has become one of junior tennis’s most sought-after properties since her title-winning run at December’s Orange Bowl. Held in the Floridian city of Plantation, the Orange Bowl is probably the most prestigious junior event of the year, with a list of former champions that includes Chris Evert, Gabriela Sabatini, Caroline Wozniacki and Coco Gauff. In all its 76-year-history, no British woman has ever won it before.
Thinking back to her title run, Klugman said that she had lost early in a Grade One junior event in Mexico the previous week. “I went in with not much expectations and a fresh mind,” she explained. “And yeah, really played some great tennis. It was amazing. I was walking past a poster with all the winners, and there were some pretty amazing people in there. A lot of the Brits messaged me, like Jack [Draper], Katie [Boulter]. Yeah, they were really nice to me about it.”
Klugman grew up in Wimbledon, playing tennis and hockey to a high standard. Her first coach was Alison Taylor, wife of former Wimbledon semi-finalist Roger Taylor. Today, she works with the equally highly regarded Ben Haran.
It was a wrench, she says, when she had to choose between her two favourite sports. “I loved the team side of hockey,” she said. “I’m quite a sociable person. I like to be around friends, and tennis is quite lonely. That’s why having a good team around you is such a big thing.
“I’ve worked with Ben since I was about nine,” Klugman added. “So yeah, we are really close. He’s like another father to me when we are travelling. Me, him and Laura, my fitness coach – we all get along really well.”
This is the longest overseas trip that Klugman has yet embarked upon. She flew out to Australia a fortnight ago, bringing her father Robert with her but leaving mother Libby at home. Last week, she played a Grade One junior event in Traralgon, a couple of hours east of Melbourne, and reached the semi-finals.
One casualty of the schedule has been her place in the classroom at Wimbledon High School. “I’ve literally just switched to online schooling a week ago,” she said, “because it becomes impossible really. I want to do well in my GCSEs. I want to get a good education. So it’s tough to be juggling all that when you’re away in Australia.”
Will she miss school? “Yeah, massively, but I’ll definitely keep in touch with my friends. My favourite subject? Maybe biology. My sister does biology. So yeah, I think it’s in the genes. I haven’t really started [online schoolwork] yet but I know I’ll have to be disciplined.”
Already tall, strong and athletic, Klugman has so many virtues that agents are crowding around her like bees around lavender – she has yet to sign with an agency. On Sunday, her serve clocked a top speed of 113.7mph, which would be well above average in the main draw here. Even so, she doesn’t rely on power alone, preferring to construct points with intelligence and variety.
She is not quite the youngest player in the Australian Open junior draw, being a couple of months older than France’s Renee Alame. At the Orange Bowl, however, she became the second-youngest Briton to win a tournament of such stature. For sheer precocity, this feat has only been surpassed by Laura Robson, who won junior Wimbledon as a 14-year-old in 2008. Coincidentally, Robson turned 30 on Sunday.
A superb natural ball-striker, the left-handed Robson would go on to crack the world’s top 30 before suffering a career-limiting wrist injury (which flared up for the first time when she was only 19). Barring similar misfortune, Klugman can expect to be a fixture at these events for many years to come.