When you think of domination in racket sports you think of the likes of Serena Williams, Lin Dan, Nicole David and Roger Federer. Well, you can add Christine Seehofer to that list.
Tomorrow marks three years exactly since the World No.1 last lost a singles match on the FIR World Tour. Since that contest in Prague, the Austrian has won 75 straight singles matches, a simply phenomenal feat. That doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of her achievements though.
Christine Seehofer: Breaking Records and Making History
The last time Christine Seehofer was not ranked No.1 was February 2015. In March she overtook then No.1 Nathalie Vogel and has remained at the top of the women’s game ever since.
That is 48 months, 211 weeks and 1476 days she has stood atop the sport. Since becoming World No.1, she has won 52 trophies in all competitions. 23 of them have been Women’s A elite trophies. Alongside that, she has also won six Triple Crowns in that time, including one this year at the Vienna Classics.
Her most recent triumph came at the IWT Czech Open 2019. There she took home the Women’s A Singles title along with the Women’s A Doubles trophy with Austrian compatriot Bettina Bugl.
She narrowly missed out on a 7th Triple Crown as she and Dan Busby lost the Mixed Doubles final to Morten Jaksland and Zuzana Severinova.
Will Christine Seehofer Win Another World Doubles Gold?
“Of course I’m very satisfied with two wins and one second place in the mixed”, Chrisi said following the tournament. With the World Doubles Championship around the corner, she was particularly interested in trialling a partnership with Busby.
“We played for the first time together and we can improve. It could be regular… as I have to look for another partner.”
However, when asked whether the pair would be competing together at the World Doubles Championships she was giving nothing away. “We’ve not decided yet”.
In the singles final in Prague, she found herself playing rising star Zuzana Severinova. The young Czech is fast-improving and is emerging as one of the most powerful players on Tour. Even so, she was no match for the World No.1, with Chrisi winning before tennis.
Chrisi only had warm words for her opponent following the match. “Zuzana’s improved a lot in badminton and squash. I try to win table-tennis and badminton quite high because in squash I lost in the mixed doubles against her. Luckily, in the end, I could win the squash as well, so it was great.”
Christine Seehofer now turns her attention, along with the rest of the World Tour, to the upcoming World Doubles Championships.
As the defending Women’s A and Mixed A champion, Seehofer has plenty to defend. With all her titles and experience though, you’d be hard pressed to bet against her from winning both titles once again and then going on to win the King of Rackets singles title for good measure.
With 75 singles matches won in a row, the only question left is can she make it to 100? It’s going to take a sensational player to stop her.
Sam Barker / FIR Media Officer
Image Credit / Czech Racketlon Association
