STUTTGART, June 10, 2025
It’s mid-June – time for tennis players to take stock of their seasons so far. For Jan-Lennard Struff, the halfway mark of 2025 hasn’t brought the most satisfying results. The 35-year-old German has managed just four match wins this year before stepping onto the grass courts at the BOSS Open in Stuttgart this week.
That’s why his 6-4, 6-4 first-round victory over Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi on Whit Monday at the Weissenhof Club carries added significance.
Home is where the heart is ❤️@boss__open | #BossOpen pic.twitter.com/u8gkBXxoDu
— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 9, 2025
“I played well today and had incredible support from the crowd. I’m obviously very happy,” Struff said after the match. He also shared that following his first-round loss to Sebastian Ofner at Roland Garros, he hadn’t touched a racket for a week.
“After Paris, I focused on my fitness and spent the weekend with my family. Then I got back on court and started training the key movements for grass: changing direction, running, stopping. It’s a completely different game compared to clay.”
With wildcard back into the Top 100
At the ATP Tour event in Stuttgart, Struff is one of three wildcard recipients, alongside Italian veteran and former Weissenhof champion Fabio Fognini, and German youngster Justin Engel. Does the seasoned Struff worry that wildcards might increasingly go to rising stars in the future?
“I’m very thankful for the wildcard here. I almost made it into the main draw directly – I was just one spot short. But if someone else gets a wildcard in the future, they’ll have earned it,” acknowledged the current World No. 103. “Still, I think this wildcard is also a recognition of what I’ve accomplished over the past years.”
Despite a disappointing season so far, Struff doesn’t regret his coaching switch at the start of the year from Carsten Ariens and Marvin Netuschil to Markus Wislsperger.
“With Markus, I’ve got a great coach by my side. We’re working hard. And with Uwe [Liedtke], I have someone who’s been with me for 15 years. He’s a real confidant. When the results don’t come, you also have to look at yourself. I’m the one making the mistakes after all. But I’m still fully motivated and excited to play.”
He’ll have his next opportunity to prove that on Wednesday, when he takes on Czech Jiri Lehecka in the second round of the BOSS Open.
