09-07-2025
Emma Weisenfeld, 16, on her journey from Coral Gables to Italy to French Open juniors
When Emma Weisenfeld arrived at Roland Garros in Paris to play in her first French Open junior tournament two months ago, her mind wandered to the courts at the Biltmore Tennis Center in Coral Gables, where she trained for eight years before moving to Italy in January 2024 to chase her dream.
Weisenfeld, 16, remembered all the lessons she learned from coaches Robert Gomez and Juandell Brunner, whom she said set the foundation to help her deal with the challenges of playing in a highly competitive environment.
Those lessons served her well as she trained at the Saviano Tennis Academy in Davie from 2020-23 and now at the Piatti Tennis Center in Bordighera, Italy, a picturesque facility that boasts world No. 1 Jannik Sinner among its alumni.
She has been home just twice since moving to Italy and said the transition was not easy.
'It was much easier to train at the Biltmore, which was five minutes from my house, but I knew I had to step out of my comfort zone to reach my goals,' Weisenfeld said by phone. 'It can be lonely being so far away from my family, and I fractured my foot last winter, so that set me back, but I feel this is where I should be.'
After recovering from the injury, she had some good results on the junior circuit, reaching the final at a tournament in Lyon, France, and the quarterfinals at a tournament in Portugal. She was rewarded with a wild-card entry to the French Open junior qualifying draw.
Although she lost her first match 6-2, 6-2 to the No. 4 seed Thalia Kokkinis from Australia, who is ranked No. 45 in the ITF junior world rankings, Weisenfeld, who is ranked No. 405, called it 'an incredible experience.'
She admitted she was nervous, was not sure what to expect at her first Grand Slam event and did not play her best tennis. But she also learned what she needs to improve to play at that level.
'I am so grateful I got that experience because I learned so much, just from being around top players,' Weisenfeld said. 'I tried to enjoy every moment because it was a gift to be there, and it will help my confidence level going forward. I am going to keep working hard and hopefully next year I won't need a wild card to get in. I want to enter on my own.'
Since the French Open, she reached the third round of a tournament in Germany and the semifinals of a tournament in Switzerland, which boosted her ranking 30 spots.
'I'm super happy,' she said on Tuesday. 'I'm at the training center for the next few weeks, then plan to play in Poland and Austria, and then I have French championships in Paris in August. It's a long process to get where I want to go, but I have to be patient and learn from each experience.'
