The serve? Crashing. The power? Impressive. The height, which prevented him from taking part as a ball boy a second time at the Swiss Indoors when he was a junior, is his advantage as a player. And the self-confidence? This is evidently there, as are the high ambitions.
We’re not talking about Dominic Stricker or Leandro Riedi, who played in the junior final at the French Open in 2020, but rather about Jérôme Kym, a year younger and probably the strongest Swiss tennis player in recent months. The 1.98 m tall talent from Möhlin has won two Challenger and two ITF tournaments this year. In the world rankings, the Fricktaler, who, like Roger Federer, has outgrown the TC Old Boys Basel, improved from 444th place to 140th this year.
The recent successes are not a coincidence. For the Swiss tennis authority Heinz Günthardt, Kym was one of the greatest talents in the world at the age of 15. In 2017 he became U14 world champion with the Swiss team, defeating Carlos Alcaraz in the final. Before his 16th birthday, he made his debut against Estonia in 2019 with a win for Switzerland in the Davis Cup.
Top 100, sooner rather than later
The high goals coincide with the prospects: “I want to be in the top 100 and firmly believe that I can do it this year,” said Kym on Monday after the narrow defeat against Ugo Humbert (ATP 16) at the Swiss Indoors , his first match in the main draw of an ATP tournament.
The frustration over the defeat and the decisive break to 5:7 in the third set against his first opponent from the top 50 in the world rankings are still written on his face half an hour after the match point. «It’s difficult at the moment. I need a few more hours to be able to analyze the game in peace,” he says. Only later does he add: “Even though I lost, I’m pretty proud of how I handled the situation. I actually keep up well and win a set. I’m really disappointed right now, but when I see where I was five or six months ago, I can be happy.”
You learn the most from defeats like this, says Kym. The game also shows him that the gap to the best is no longer large. “I’m number 140, he’s 16, but I’m fully involved. I now know that I am close to being able to beat such players.”
Via detours
In order to make it to the gate of the 100 best tennis players in the world, Kym had to take a detour. Physical problems have repeatedly slowed him down in the recent past. In October 2022, Kym competed in the Swiss Indoors qualification for the first time. He lost to Slovakian Laszlo Djere after a 6-1, 5-1 lead, and as it turned out, it was his last match for a while. Problems with the patellar tendon and a misalignment of the left kneecap put him out of action.
In March 2023, Kym achieved a perfect comeback in Trento, Italy, with his first ITF tournament victory. But three months later the next setback followed due to renewed inflammation of the patellar tendon. The result: a knee operation and a longer rehabilitation phase.
So now the strong debut in the main draw of an ATP tournament, but not rewarded with a victory. And the impression that Jérôme Kym can be expected to take part in ATP tournaments on a regular basis sooner rather than later. If the body doesn’t force any further detours.
