Breakthrough seasons are supposed to come with champagne moments and the odd bruised toe — not men tracking your hotel room number. Yet this is where Eva Lys now finds herself: rising, winning, adapting, and suddenly discovering how fragile the sport’s protective shell really is
Germany’s new No.1 walked into Billie Jean King Cup week with momentum and expectation, a home crowd behind her and a ranking jump still warm to the touch. But the tie against Turkey turned into a slow unravelling. Ella Seidel put Germany ahead, only for Lys — the one meant to steady the ship — to be dragged into a match that refused to bend her way. Zeynep Sonmez broke her eight times and shut the door with a ruthless 6-2, 4-6, 6-0 finish.
“I am really disappointed, but I fought until the end,” Lys said, visibly stung. “Zeynep is a great player and was the more dominant player on court today. I couldn’t really find my game, although I won the second set. She was very powerful in the third set and deserved it. She was the better player today.”
A Court Too Fast, A Schedule Too Full
Her year has been a race — Hong Kong to Europe, slow courts to skidding hard courts — all of it dizzying. Even for players accustomed to the carousel, this turnaround was brutal.
“I spent the last two months in Asia playing on very slow surfaces,” she said. “Over the past few days here I’ve felt very comfortable, but this is one of the fastest hard courts I’ve played on in recent months. Normally I like that, but today I couldn’t quite find my timing in the match. I had to search for my rhythm the entire time, and I never really managed to get into it.”
A year ago, Lys was a promising prospect. Now she’s expected to anchor Germany, win rubbers, and justify a ranking that catapulted her into the world’s top 40 — a leap that changes how opponents see you, how the public sees you, and how you’re judged.
“Of course, I think about it,” she admitted. “On tour or even here within the team, I’m still trying to find my place. I’ve gained a lot of confidence after this year, but it’s still an unfamiliar situation in which I put more pressure on myself than I should, because I want to live up to that position.”
The team room remains a refuge. “Within the team I get support from all the girls… I have a lot of trust in the players we brought with us. They’re all very dangerous, and I see myself as one of them.”
But outside that room, the world has become less forgiving — and far more intrusive.
Eva Lys – 2025 Season Match Table
| Month (2025) | Event & Round | Match | Score / Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | Australian Open Q1 | Lys (ranked 128) d. Hanne Vandewinkel [BEL] | 6-4 6-3 — Win |
| Australian Open Q2 | Lys d. Arina Rodionova [AUS] | 7-5 6-4 — Win | |
| Australian Open Q3 | Destanee Aiava [AUS] d. Lys | 6-1 2-6 6-4 — Loss | |
| Australian Open R128 | (LL) Lys d. Kimberly Birrell [AUS] | 6-2 6-2 — Win | |
| Australian Open R64 | Lys d. Varvara Gracheva [FRA] | 6-2 3-6 6-4 — Win | |
| Australian Open R32 | Lys d. Jaqueline Cristian [ROU] | 4-6 6-3 6-3 (ch) — Win | |
| Australian Open R16 | Iga Swiatek [POL] d. (LL)Lys | 6-0 6-1 — Loss | |
| Linz R32 | Petra Martic [CRO] d. (WC)Lys | 6-4 5-7 6-3 — Loss | |
| February | Dubai Q1 | Lys d. Ann Li [USA] | 4-6 6-1 2-0 RET — Win |
| Dubai Q2 | Lys d. Kamilla Rakhimova [RUS] | 6-1 6-3 — Win | |
| Dubai R64 | Lys d. Irina Camelia Begu [ROU] | 5-7 7-5 6-3 — Win | |
| Dubai R32 | Jasmine Paolini [ITA] d. Lys | 6-2 7-5 — Loss | |
| March | Indian Wells Q1 | Lys d. Aliaksandra Sasnovich [BLR] | 6-4 6-3 — Win |
| Indian Wells Q2 | Jule Niemeier [GER] d. Lys | 6-4 6-3 — Loss | |
| Indian Wells R64 | Caroline Dolehide [USA] d. (LL)Lys | 7-6(3) 6-4 — Loss | |
| Miami Q1 | Lys d. Petra Martic [CRO] | 7-5 6-3 — Win | |
| Miami Q2 | Aoi Ito [JPN] d. Lys | 4-6 6-4 6-2 — Loss | |
| La Bisbal 125 R32 | Lys d. Nuria Brancaccio [ITA] | 6-3 7-6(7) — Win | |
| La Bisbal 125 R16 | Lys d. Marina Bassols Ribera [ESP] | 6-1 6-4 — Win | |
| La Bisbal 125 QF | Panna Udvardy [HUN] d. Lys | 6-4 2-6 6-3 — Loss | |
| April | Stuttgart R32 | Jasmine Paolini [ITA] d. Lys | 6-2 6-1 — Loss |
| Madrid R128 | Lys d. Teodora Kostovic [SRB] | 6-2 6-2 — Win | |
| Madrid R64 | Jessica Pegula [USA] d. Lys | 6-2 6-2 — Loss | |
| May | Rome R128 | Lys d. Moyuka Uchijima [JPN] | 6-1 6-0 — Win |
| Rome R64 | Elena Rybakina [KAZ] d. Lys | 7-6(3) 6-2 — Loss | |
| Strasbourg Q1 | Lys d. Aleksandra Krunic [SRB] | 6-4 6-0 — Win | |
| Strasbourg Q2 | Lys d. Bernarda Pera [USA] | 7-6(3) 6-1 — Win | |
| Strasbourg R32 | Xin Yu Wang [CHN] d. Lys | 6-4 7-5 — Loss | |
| Roland Garros R128 | Lys d. Peyton Stearns [USA] | 6-0 6-3 — Win | |
| May | Roland Garros R64 | Victoria Mboko [CAN] d. Lys | 6-4 6-4 — Loss |
| June | Berlin R32 | Paula Badosa [ESP] d. Lys | 6-1 6-3 — Loss |
| Bad Homburg Q1 | Lys d. Ana Konjuh [CRO] | 6-2 4-6 6-4 — Win | |
| Bad Homburg Q2 | Ajla Tomljanovic [AUS] d. Lys | 6-4 3-2 RET — Loss | |
| Wimbledon R128 | Lys d. Yue Yuan [CHN] | 6-4 5-7 6-2 — Win | |
| Wimbledon R64 | Linda Noskova [CZE] d. Lys | 6-2 2-6 6-3 — Loss | |
| July | Montreal R128 | Lys d. Leolia Jeanjean [FRA] | 6-1 6-4 — Win |
| Montreal R64 | Lys d. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova [RUS] | 6-3 6-4 — Win | |
| Montreal R32 | Iga Swiatek [POL] d. Lys | 6-2 6-2 — Loss | |
| August | Cincinnati R128 | Lys d. Bernarda Pera [USA] | 6-2 4-6 7-5 — Win |
| Cincinnati R64 | Madison Keys [USA] d. Lys | 1-6 6-3 7-6(1) — Loss | |
| Cleveland R32 | Lys d. Maya Joint [AUS] | 6-4 6-4 — Win | |
| Cleveland R16 | Lys d. Polina Kudermetova [RUS] | 6-4 6-3 — Win | |
| Cleveland QF | Anastasia Zakharova [RUS] d. Lys | W/O — Loss | |
| US Open R128 | Lys d. Francesca Jones [GBR] | 6-0 7-5 — Win | |
| US Open R64 | Linda Noskova [CZE] d. Lys | 6-4 3-0 RET — Loss | |
| September | Seoul R32 | Lys d. Ashlyn Krueger [USA] | 6-3 6-4 — Win |
| Seoul R16 | Clara Tauson [DEN] d. Lys | 6-2 7-6(4) — Loss | |
| Beijing R128 | Lys d. Ruien Zhang [CHN] | 6-1 6-0 — Win | |
| Beijing R64 | Lys d. Iva Jovic [USA] | 6-3 4-6 7-5 — Win | |
| Beijing R32 | Lys d. Elena Rybakina [KAZ] | 6-3 1-6 6-4 — Win | |
| Beijing R16 | Lys d. Mccartney Kessler [USA] | 4-6 6-1 6-2 — Win | |
| Beijing QF | Coco Gauff [USA] d. Lys | 6-3 6-4 — Loss | |
| October | Tokyo Q1 | Lys d. Yuliia Starodubtseva [UKR] | 6-3 6-2 — Win |
| Tokyo Q2 | Lys d. Viktorija Golubic [SUI] | 6-3 7-6(4) — Win | |
| Tokyo R32 | Lys d. Katie Boulter [GBR] | 6-2 6-1 — Win | |
| Tokyo R16 | Victoria Mboko [CAN] d. Lys | 6-1 6-1 — Loss | |
| Hong Kong R32 | Lys d. Kristiana Sidorova [RUS] | 6-0 6-3 — Win | |
| Hong Kong R16 | Leylah Fernandez [CAN] d. Lys (now ranked 44) | 6-4 6-1 — Loss |
The Stalker Reality of a Rising Star
The darker side of her breakthrough arrived quietly at first: hostile messages, gambling-fuelled abuse, threats after losses — the usual sewage female players learn to block out. But this season, it escalated into something more chilling.
Lys told Die Zeit that she has been targeted by stalkers who managed to obtain information no athlete should ever have to worry about: training site details, hotel addresses, even her room numbers. This isn’t online toxicity — this is proximity. This is the thin veil between athlete and danger being peeled back by people who feel entitled to her life.
“I’ve recently had to deal with stalkers who managed to get hold of the addresses of practice sites, hotels and even my room numbers,” she revealed. “They were apparently obsessed with me. That crossed every possible line.”
The threats have turned grotesque — rape threats, death threats, attacks on her family — and perversely, some of them come even when she wins. The WTA has stepped in, working with her to flag names and keep them out of tournaments, but Lys knows the truth too many players whisper about: no system catches them all.
Even “security measures have their limits,” she told the paper — a line delivered plainly, but with the weight of someone who has already learned too much, too quickly.
A Star Rising Into the Light — and the Dark That Comes With It
Lys is 23. She’s ambitious, grounded, vocal on social media (https://www.instagram.com/eva.lys/), and rising faster than the tour can smooth the path beneath her. But tennis has never been just about the matches. For women, especially those climbing into visibility, it’s also about navigating the shadows that follow success.
Her game will adjust. Her ranking may climb further. But the real story now is her learning how to exist in a spotlight bright enough not just to illuminate her talent — but to attract those who refuse to stay behind the line.