"I try to stay as far away as possible from it": Eva Lys opens up on dating as a tennis player

Eva Lys starred in a special interview recently for Tennis Channel, in which the interviewer was none other than her colleague Ajla Tomljanovic. The German spoke about her breakthrough a year ago at the Australian Open – when she reached the fourth round coming in as a lucky loser in the main draw – and about her dating life as a tennis player.

This time, the German could not repeat the great performance of 2025 in Melbourne and ended up falling in the first round against Sorana Cirstea (6-3, 4-6, 3-6). A few days later, an injury forced her to withdraw from the doubles tournament during her first-round match alongside Suzan Lamens, playing only five games against Klepac and Bouzkova.

Lys also lost 20 positions in the rankings after failing to defend last year’s points. She fell from No. 39 – her best ranking so far – down to No. 59, which she will occupy in the next WTA Ranking update.

In a recent Tennis Channel video for her social media, Lys responded to an interview with former Aussie No. 1 Ajla Tomljanovic. “Hey, what's up, everybody? It's Ajla here. As you know, I've never been shy on social media, and I love connecting with all of you,” began the former Australian world No. 31 Ajla Tomljanovic. “This next girl you're about to meet, she's next level. She's talented, cute, creative, with a sense of style, and a creative edge. The girl I'm talking about is Eva Lys.”

The 24-year-old German replied: “I'm happy I finally got invited,” she said with a smile from a park in Melbourne. “I was looking—no, I'm going to be honest—I was looking on Instagram, and I'm like, this is someone I want to do an interview with.”

One of the first topics Tomljanovic and Lys discussed was Lys’s breakthrough in 2025, when she was still unknown and played the Australian Open qualifying. She lost in the final match against Aiava and was out of the main draw, but she stayed a few extra days in Melbourne waiting for a last-minute withdrawal that allowed her to enter the tournament as a lucky loser.

“We are in a special place for you, because last year you had your breakthrough result. You went from lucky loser to making the fourth round,” said Tomljanovic. “Eva Lys, you made an extraordinary run. There was a clip that went viral where you didn't even know how much money you had made. $420,000.”

“When you came on, you were just kind of a breath of fresh air,” added the 32-year-old player. “Like on social media, I really love looking at what you post because you don't have that, 'Oh, I'm a professional tennis player, I have to make sure I just post my practices.' You're normal.”

Lys has become one of the favorites of the public on social media, both for her sense of humor, her playful videos, and for content that is less ‘formal’ than that of other high-profile athletes. “Everyone hated that I'm not just being professional on my Instagram,” she said. “Everyone was telling me, 'Oh, if you want sponsors, you can't be posting that.' And I was always, like, kind of boycotting that view, because I'm like, hey, I want to post what I would post if I had 20 followers. I don't care how many people are watching me, I just want to be myself.”

The high exposure on social media also brings the usual risks of receiving hateful messages – with many bettors who usually insult players after defeats – but Lys does not let the messages affect her too much.

“I block religiously. I've had a lot of hate after losing the first round, and it was, like, the first time where I was a little bit overwhelmed with how many people were hating on me,” she explained. “It's usually because they're telling me I should spend less time on Instagram, I should do fewer photo shoots, less of this, less of that, and focus more on practice.”

Another topic Lys discussed was her dating life, and how difficult it is to balance having a relationship while being a professional tennis player – considering the busy calendar and constant travel of players. “It didn't happen often, but I feel like we have our own schedule. It's, like, not as easy as people think to really meet new people.”

In this regard, Tomljanovic asked if she would be willing to date someone else in the tennis world. The Australian herself had been in a relationship for about three years with former Wimbledon runner-up Matteo Berrettini, but they ended their relationship in early 2023. “Would you be opposed to dating, like, in your work, or is that…I mean, I wouldn't recommend it, but it's sometimes inevitable because, like, we see each other all the time,” said the Australian with a laugh.

“I try to stay as far away as possible from it,” Lys replied with a smile. “If you start dating and it's not going to work out and it's going to get messy, every single tournament, you'll have to live with it.”

Tomljanovic showed her good sense of humor, joking about her colleague’s response. “Are you telling me?” Tomljanovic replied jokingly as both started laughing.