As of today, people do not understand what it means to be a professional player

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Although it has been more than ten years since he started competing on the professional circuit, Elias Ymer's career still has a big gap to fill. His face appeared on that first list of the #NextGen, a campaign from which several top 10 players emerged... and some who have not even reached the top 100 yet. This is the great challenge that the Swede still has ahead of him, as at 29 years old, he continues to pursue the dream of being in that front group of the world rankings, working hard until his moment arrives. The reality, however, seems to have other plans, as this week you have to go down to #235 to find him on the list. In an interview highlighted by tennis.com, we can hear what his ambitions are after turning 29 last April.

"I am increasingly discovering my playing style, feeling that every day I am closer to that moment. I am trying to evolve, to be more aggressive on the court, to work harder to approach the net more often during matches. I know I have that game within me, I can bring it out, but I haven't been able to show it yet. The goal is to build a more offensive style of play, a style that I am not currently using." admits the man who reached #105 in the ATP rankings back in 2018, a time that we hardly remember. It was the time when he came closest to achieving his goal, just before the circuit was filled with predators.

Why is it now harder to reach the top 100 in the rankings? Very easy to explain: the level has risen beyond what we could have imagined. While in the nineties they weren't even considered professionals, the current circuit shows how the world #200 can easily challenge a top 20 player, even if the mental factor prevents them from winning. “People still have in their minds this narrative that only the top 100 players in the world really know how to play tennis, maybe even the top 50. Or perhaps only the top 20 can reach a very high level of tennis, the best tennis. I would say that, right now, the top 200 and the top 300 in the rankings can play incredible tennis on a particular day,” adds the Swede.

AN OUTSTANDING GOAL

With a 21-15 record this season, the most recent results do not suggest that the elder Ymer is approaching the challenge of his life, although his intention still points towards that goal. What he can still boast about is remaining the best player in his country, both among men and women. Of course, this fact, beyond being good news, reflects the true desert that Swedish tennis has been for the past twenty years, devoid of leading figures since Robin Soderling hung up his racket. To the point that the Ymer brothers have been holding up, as best they can, the responsibility of a potential world that once produced champions almost effortlessly.

“Maybe we are still stuck in the good times, which are also the old times. Tennis has become a very competitive sport in recent decades, people do not always understand what it means to be a professional player today. In my case, I remember doing very well in my junior stage, but once you reach the adult circuit you face the best and start losing more frequently, this is what affects your confidence. My advice to juniors is to get out of the Futures as quickly as possible, as those levels can be very mentally tough,” Elias concludes.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, “A día de hoy, la gente no entiende lo que significa ser un jugador profesional”