ITF Class of 2025: Lilli Tagger
The ITF’s ‘Class of…’ series recognises players who have had a successful year on the ITF World Tennis Tour, identifies promising breakthrough talents and those predicted to go on to big things.
This year’s group was decided by a panel of experts. Ashley Keber (WTA), Julia Boyadjieva (ATP), Mark Woodforde (ITF), Mary Pierce (ITF) and Nao Kawatei (ITF) voted on a shortlist of 19 players. Next up, Lilli Tagger of Austria.
Sport is arguably at its most beautiful when it thrusts someone from relative obscurity to a loftier position in the blink of the eye, yet that individual appears completely at home in their new surroundings.
To an extent, that is what happened this season to Austria’s Lilli Tagger, who began 2025 ranked No. 776 in the WTA Rankings following greater ITF World Tennis Tour exposure during the latter stages of 2024.
That clearly laid a foundation as fast forward 12 months and Tagger is now a Top 200 player – the 17-year-old is ranked No. 155 in the world – and making significant strides within the pro game.
“This was an amazing year for me," said Tagger. "I played so many tournaments and I’ve had a great time at every tournament on the ITF World Tennis Tour.
"During the year, we worked a lot on my game style and of course we will continue to work on it. I can’t wait to continue next year with the tournaments.”
Tagger’s upturn and subsequent surge can be traced to January when she sealed her maiden Junior Grand Slam match-win at the third attempt before reaching the quarter-finals at the Australian Open Junior Championships.
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That showing suggested the teenager may well be a force to be reckoned with on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors during the coming season – and any such thoughts were proven correct in spectacular fashion.
Before then, however, came the first professional title of Tagger’s career at W35 Terrassa at the end of March. Having navigated qualifying, the Lienz-born teenager only dropped one set all week.
A first professional title is a big deal for any player, but Tagger was still dipping her toe into the junior game and in June she was crowned girls’ singles champion at the Roland Garros Junior Championships.
In claiming victory on the clay of Paris, Tagger became the first Austrian girl to win a Junior Grand Slam singles title and the first Austrian player to win a Junior Grand Slam since Jurgen Melzer in 1999.
She entered the Junior Championships, Wimbledon bidding to become the first girl to win back-to-back Junior Grand Slams since Alina Korneeva in 2023, and the first to complete the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double since Belinda Bencic in 2013.
Tagger suffered a quarter-final defeat but her season was about to go from strength to strength. A run to the final at W75 Amstetten was followed by a semi-final finish at W75 Vienna. From there, Tagger did not look back.
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Back-to-back ITF World Tennis Tour titles followed in September as Tagger triumphed at W75 Bucharest and then W75 Kursumlijska Banja. In the process, she became the youngest Austrian to win three or more ITF World Tennis Tour women’s singles titles.
Despite those accomplishments, this intrepid teen was not quite finished for the season. In November and on her WTA Tour main draw debut at the Jiangxi Open, Tagger became the first 2008-born player to reach a WTA final and both the youngest and lowest-ranked WTA finalist of 2025.
It has truly been a breakthrough campaign for Tagger, who boasts a stylish one-handed backhand similar to her coach – 2010 Roland Garros champion Francesca Schiavone – and the suggestions are there is much more to come.
"Lilli is disciplined and dedicated to work every single day," said Schiavone. "She focuses on improving constantly. She also has fun on court and is enjoying herself despite the intense and hard work that she delivers day in and day out."
In terms of the ITF World Tennis Tour, the Tour has once again proven itself a tremendous pathway to the upper echelons of tennis, realising the ITF’s mission of a global pathway for talented players around the world.
Lilli Tagger is very much a name to keep tabs on in the coming years.