Eva Lys shares dark side of career breakthrough with 'obsessed' stalkers seeking out hotel room numbers and addresses

Eva Lys not only ha to deal with constant social media abuse after matches like most players but also now stalkers as she revealed during Billie Jean King Cup Play-Off action on Friday.

Lys was part of the Germany team who were playing on home soil albeit she was defeated by Zeynep Sonmez as they slumped to a 2-1 loss to Turkey. Ella Seidel won the opening singles rubber but the now German No.1 couldn't seal the win and fell in three sets. They went on to lose the doubles shortly after.

Sonmez broke the serve of Lys eight times to secure a 6-2, 4-6, 6-0 win and a critical point for Turkey. I am really disappointed, but I fought until the end. 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,” she said.

Lys has gone from playing in Hong Kong to this and albeit could've been forgiven after a breakthrough season and one that is now prolonged for not being at her best but she said the quick change of pace didn't help. “I spent the last two months in Asia playing on very slow surfaces. 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.”

But also it is about adjusting to a new status for the World No.40 who has gone from being a player on the rise to now in the top 40 of the world after and is now German No.1. At 23-years-old she is now a player to be expected of over a potential winner in German circles.

“Of course, I think about it," she mooted over the pressure. 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," she explained.

"Within the team I get support from all the girls. You don’t really notice it there. When we go out on court, we all give our best. 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 also part of the dark side of the sport especially as a female player now in a further spotlight has come harassment and stalkers with Lys saying that obsessed stalkers have managed to get hotel room numbers and addresses of where she is and staying.

She has also had to deal with rape and death threats to both herself and family after defeats and even in some case if people bet on other players it seems when she wins. Telling Die Zeit, a German newspaper about this, she said that her and the WTA have partnered up to note these individuals and keep them away from tournaments. Albeit the scary part for a player like Lys is as she admits een 'security measures have their limits' showing the issue that players like her have to deal with.

“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 said. “They were apparently obsessed with me. That crossed every possible line.”