Miami-based junior player gets a shot at Roland Garros

Miami-based Emma Wiesenfeld (16 y.o.) started competitive tennis with Robert Gomez at the Biltmore when she was 8. It turns out that her junior career is on the rise as she recently got a wild card to compete in the qualifiers at a Junior Grand Slam — it was her shot on the big stage at Roland Garros.

Florida Tennis connected with her father, Michael Wiesenfeld, to get more information on how things unfolded for her at the French Open.

Photo courtesy of Michael Wiesenfeld.

Unfortunately, Emma lost 6-2, 6-2 to the No. 4 seed Thalia Kokkinis from Australia, currently ranked #49 in the ITF Juniors and WTA #931 (with a career-high of #832).

According to Emma's coach Andrea Volpini (who coached Jannik Sinner for 8 years at the Piatti Tennis Center till 2022), Emma fought hard and didn’t come away with too many regrets. It was her first experience at this level, and she was a bit overwhelmed emotionally in the first set—making unforced errors on a few key “easy” shots.

Photo courtesy of Michael Wiesenfeld.

Although the second set had the same scoreline, it was tighter on her serve, with many games going to deuce. She was more composed, held rallies, and dictated some points. However, her opponent’s serve was dominant, and points went quickly when Emma was returning.

Emma’s serve and backhand (her “go-to” shot) were strong, but her forehand lacked depth at times. Despite the loss, she was grateful for the opportunity to compete at this level and took the time to reflect on the journey that brought her here since she was a kid.

Photo courtesy of Michael Wiesenfeld.

Emma gave special thanks to her long-time mentor Robert Gomez, who brought her into his high-performance program at The Biltmore when she was 8 and supported her through her years even when she was training full-time at Saviano (2020–2023) and now at Piatti Tennis Center (Bordighera, Italy), where she’s been training since October 2023. In fact, Emma made the decision to move to Italy on her own at 14 to pursue her tennis goals.

According to her father, Emma really enjoyed training alongside top pros like Swiatek and Sabalenka during her days in Paris — which made the experience even more memorable. And she realized a new chapter is beginning, and that it will be even more demanding than the previous one. 

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Written by Florida Tennis Editor Matt Pressman with written input (and photos) from Emma's father Michael Wiesenfeld.