Curious tennis final

Girlfriend 18 years older gave up against Ried ace

Arabella Koller is national champion(Bild: GEPA pictures/ Armin Rauthner)

"A successful tournament", said Martin Ohneberg, President of the Tennis Association, after the state championships in Burgenland. Where Tina Pesendorfer from Upper Austria won the wheelchair tennis and Ried ace Arabella Koller won a curious final against her 18-year-old friend.

What an extraordinary final at the state tennis championships in Oberpullendorf! Top seed Julia Grabher and second seed Tamara Kostic were unable to qualify for the final. It came down to a generational duel between Arabella Koller (23), who plays in the national league for UTC Fischer Ried, and Betina Stummer from Salzburg, who is 18 years older. The 41-year-old is Koller's training colleague and friend, who had been coaching her from the stands the day before! 

Betina Stummer (41) and Arabella Koller (23)(Bild: GEPA pictures/ Armin Rauthner)

"Maybe I'll win when I'm 50"
"Of course we know each other very well," said Koller, who skillfully "tormented" her 41-year-old opponent on court. "I'd already had pain in my foot in the six matches before and played with painkillers. Arabella played cleverly, one stop ball after the other," said Stummer, who then had to retire at 1:6, 6:1, 3:4. "Maybe I'll win the title one day when I'm 50," sighed the tennis mom, while Koller had "mixed feelings" about her friend's defeat

Third title for Pesendorfer
Styrian Filip Misolic won the men's final with a gala performance, beating Jurij Rodionov 6:0, 6:2. Top seed Nico Langmann won the men's wheelchair tennis event, his seventh state championship title. Tina Pesendorfer from Upper Austria defended her title in the women's event and won her third trophy at the national championships!