Elias Ymer broke through early and was already a Sverigeetta as a 16-year-old. In the same year, 2013, he also debuted in the Davis Cup.
But it has been a lonely journey. Because there were no other Swedish role models on the tour.
Robin Söderling, our latest tennis star, was forced to end his career back in 2011 due to illness and mental health issues.
A few years after Elias’ breakthrough, it was time for little brother Mikael to make the same journey and for a period it was only the Ymer brothers who represented Sweden on the tennis world stage.
But after Mikael’s doping suspension last summer, Elias is left alone again.
– I think it helped me a lot when Robin Söderling was the Davis Cup captain, he felt like a big brother and I learned a lot from him. I try to take that energy with me.
The career has not taken off
At best, Elias Ymer was ranked 105th in the world in 2018. Today he is 160.
He mostly plays Challenger tournaments, that’s the tour just below the ATP. His ranking allows him to play the qualifiers for the Grand Slam and he has played both the Australian and French Opens, but did not make it past the second round.
The career has not really taken off but he has shown that the capacity is there. As recently as November, he made it to the quarter-finals of the Nordic Open at home in Stockholm, a tournament for which he received a wild card.
– The way I played there, when I beat players who then did well in the Australian Open, I know I have it in me. There are small margins but I just have to rub it in and keep the level.
The best ahead
Elias turns 28 this spring and hopes he has the best ahead of him. Physically, he feels stronger than before, but a lot is in his head.
His younger brother Mikael has told him that he has had problems with that particular part. It’s tiring to travel alone and live alone in a hotel room 11 months a year.
Elias works a lot with the mental part.
– I have been stable year after year. If you look at my career, it’s pretty straight forward, although there have been some peaks. Where I am right now is almost only mental.