PARMA/STARNBERG, September 29, 2025
Austria’s rising stars in women’s tennis continue to make headlines. Just three and a half months after Lilli Tagger’s historic first-ever red-white-red junior Grand Slam triumph at the French Open in Paris, Anna Pircher achieved another sensational milestone on Saturday afternoon by winning the U16 European Championships in Parma – as a year-younger player in her age group.
The second-seeded Tyrolean defeated fifth seed Antonia Stoyanov of the Netherlands 7-5, 6-1 in the final of the 2025 European Junior Championships 16 & Under to secure a historic gold medal for the Austrian Tennis Federation (ÖTV). The 15-year-old, who has already broken into the Top 100 of the U18 world rankings and earned her first WTA Ranking points this year, becomes only the second Austrian U16 girls’ singles champion after Petra Ritter, who triumphed in Zaragoza in 1988. The last Austrian finalist in this age category had been Barbara Schett in Berlin in 1992.
In total, this is the fifth Austrian women’s singles title across all age groups (U14/U16/U18) at the European Junior Championships. None have come at U14 level so far; Petra Huber (Geneva 1983), Marion Maruska (Zagreb 1990) and Barbara Schwartz (Klosters 1997) have all won at U18 level. By comparison, Austrian boys have collected six singles gold medals — among them Reinhard Wawra (U14 Lisbon 1987, U18 Zagreb 1990), Horst Skoff (U16 Ostend 1984), Stefan Koubek (U16 Hartberg 1993), Lucas Miedler (U16 Moscow 2012) and Joel Schwärzler (U16 Prerov 2022).
“This is definitely my biggest title so far,” Pircher said with a smile. Last year, she captured silver in U14 doubles at the European Championships in Most, Czech Republic, alongside Lea Haider-Maurer. This time she stood alone atop the podium. In the final she trailed 4-5 in the opening set and was just two points from losing it before storming back, conceding only one more game.
“It was a great week. I played the tournament very consistently and lost only one set in the third round, where my opponent played really well. I’m very happy to have won and proud of it. I’m also honoured to have been able to play for Austria,” Pircher said, thanking Pia König “for her super support. She helped me a lot throughout the week.”
Former WTA player König had been on-site in Parma on behalf of the ÖTV to support Pircher, who trains under Oliver Ploner. “It was a fantastic week from Anna,” König said. “If you know her game, you knew this victory was possible. As the week went on it became clearer and clearer. When she plays her game, there aren’t many in Europe at this age who can beat her. She finished it off cleanly and deserved it.”
European 16 & Under Championships: Final Results
Boys’ Singles: (1) Leon Sloboda (SVK) d. Stan Put (NED) 3-6 6-4 6-3
Girls’ Singles: (2) Anna Pircher (AUT) d. Antonia Stoyanov (NED) 7-5 6-1
Boys’ Doubles: (3) Dominik Macej & Leon Sloboda (SVK) d. (1) Eric Mueller (GER) & Vincent Reisach (GER) 7-6 6-4
Girls’ Doubles: (6) Tereza Hermanová & Sara Oliveriusová (CZE) d. (14) Sophie Ray & Antonia Stoyanov (NED) 3-6 6-4 [10-6]
