Switzerland excited about Henry Bernet. The youngster, on his 18th birthday, was crowned junior champion at the Australian Open. Bernet, the eighth seed in the tournament, defeated American Benjamin Wilwerth, 6-3, 6-4
The organisation of the ‘major’ in the Antipodes, something that does not happen in the rest of the majors, schedules the final on the main court, in this case the majestic Rod Laver Arena
I started playing because of my brother, my parents never played tennis
Henry was born in Basel, just like Roger Federer, and hits the backhand with one hand, like the 20-time champion. Federer, who is behind the Swiss brand On, managed to get the new promise of his country to sign for them. In 2023, he occupied the first place in the ranking of the category. The new Australian Open champion met his idol last September in New York, at the US Open. “We were talking for about 20 minutes and he was very polite with me,” he explains. “I don’t expect him to call me now to congratulate me. He’s a very busy person.”
Signed by On
Bernet, like Federer, started training at TC Old Boys and his favourite surface is grass. And he also skis like Roger. It is worth remembering that Switzerland does not currently have any representative in the world’s top 100. Roger never even reached the final at the Australian Open. Nor did Stan Wawrinka, with whom Henry shares an agency and has already trained
The junior has been showing promise for some time and became the first player born in 2007 to reach the quarter-finals of a challenger tournament. Henry is currently ranked 784th in the world, but his introduction to the tennis world is already a reality.
At the age of 12, he made the most important decision of his life. He chose tennis over soccer. Two years later, he was spotted by the Swiss Tennis Federation
Severin Luthi, the Swiss Davis Cup captain, would surely like to have him in the Davis Cup playoff against Spain in Biel (February 1 and 2). “Representing Switzerland would be a dream and I’m sure he will play someday,” says Bernet, who left Melbourne Park savoring a chocolate cake that had been given to him by the management.
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