Nellie Taraba Wallberg: From Childhood Illness to Tennis Prodigy

Nellie Taraba Wallberg overcame juvenile arthritis to become a tennis prodigy: "It saved me" • She recalls witnessing her mother, Frida Wallberg, being knocked out when she was just six.

As we speak, Stockholm is bustling with student celebrations, white caps, and youth looking forward to summer freedom. For 18-year-old Nellie Taraba Wallberg, a typical high school life was never an option.

– Even in ninth grade, I found it tough to focus on tennis. It's completely different now without school. I can do everything to become the best, she says.

With supportive parents and backing from the Good to Great tennis academy, the decision was easy.

Nellie Taraba Wallberg has just finished a typical training day at the academy when we talk: Up at seven, two 90-minute tennis sessions, and a fitness session. With warm-ups, cool-downs, and meals, her schedule is packed.

– I'm usually done by four or five. Then I mostly chill.

Raised in Gothenburg, Nellie still represents the Gothenburg club Påvelunds TBK, but she spends most of her time in Stockholm, specifically at the academy's facilities in Danderyd.

– I live here at the academy. The courts are just 50 meters away, she says.

You live at work.

– Yes, exactly. But then I usually go home sometimes when I've been away for three or four weeks. It's always nice to land at home for a few days.

Yes, the elite commitment means Nellie Taraba Wallberg travels more than the average 18-year-old. She doesn't know how many travel days she has in a year.

– I live out of a suitcase. I'm away for three or four weeks, then I go home for a few days, and then I'm away again. That's how it is all the time.

What do you think about the constant traveling?

– I really enjoy it! It's so much fun to travel the world, play the sport I love, and meet my best friends. I've ended up having more friends in tennis now because that's where I hang out.

Diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis at Three

Nellie Taraba Wallberg seems to have found her path in life. But her introduction to tennis was actually due to an illness. At three, she started having joint pain, especially in her knees and elbows. After consulting healthcare, she was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis – a rare disease with an unknown cause.

– It was extremely tough. I remember crying at night and my dad having to stretch my joints every evening.

The family was advised that little Nellie should stay active.

– Dad had contact with a tennis coach from Gothenburg, so I started playing with him at a very young age. And then I just continued.

After a few years, the pain disappeared, and she was declared completely healthy – but tennis remained. Today, she is Sweden's highest-ranked junior, holding the 22nd spot on the ITF junior ranking. A position boosted by her victory in the J500 tournament in Cairo earlier this year.

– It's one of the biggest tournaments you can play as a junior.

But there won't be many more junior tournaments. Next year, she will be a first-year senior and is already aiming to play more senior tournaments.

– I'm really ready. I feel done with juniors. It's going to be so much fun. It's the real tennis, you know. So now I'll start from scratch again and just build up.

She made her WTA tour debut at 16 when she received a wild card to the Swedish Open and surprisingly won the opening match in Båstad against Caijsa Hennemann.

– It felt so big and powerful. Not just because I won but also for the experience of playing on the center court in front of everyone – it was magical!

Sometimes Trains Boxing with Mom

Before fully transitioning to senior life, she has a few junior goals left: This year's remaining grand slam tournaments and – hopefully – the junior finals in Chengdu, China, where the top eight ranked junior players compete for the title.

Earlier this summer, Nellie Taraba Wallberg achieved her first victories at a junior grand slam, winning her first two matches at the French Open. Days she looks back on fondly.

– It was so much fun. All grand slam weeks are the best.

After a sweaty victory in the second round against Julie Pastikova (6–3, 6–7, 7–5), she mentioned in the victory interview that she sometimes varies her training by boxing with her mother, former boxing world champion Frida Wallberg.

– I think boxing is a very good training sport for tennis. And I find it quite fun too.

There are also some fitness sessions with her mom when she visits.

– She's good at it. She knows how to get strong.

Has she mainly supported you physically, or has she helped you in other ways, considering her elite background?

– I would say a lot physically. But also a bit mentally, how she thought when she was my age and how everything was with her boxing. It's nice to have someone who's been through it. But I also have a mental coach, Tommy Davidovic, whom I talk to every week. That has helped me enormously.

The Fear When Frida Wallberg Was Knocked Out

Starting boxing herself was never an option.

– No, absolutely not after what happened to mom…

Nellie was six years old when her mother, Frida Wallberg, came to the Golden Ring gala in Stockholm as the reigning WBC champion. The match against Diana Prazak changed her life forever. After a blow to the head, she lay on the floor in severe pain. In front of the TV, daughter Nellie watched.

– Yes, I remember being at my grandmother's house. We were watching the match. But then grandma just turned off the TV. She couldn't watch. I didn't really understand what was happening. But, yes… To be honest, I haven't even wanted to see the match in retrospect either. And I haven't done it yet.

Frida Wallberg was taken by ambulance to Karolinska University Hospital and underwent emergency surgery for a brain hemorrhage. For several days, she hovered between life and death before a long struggle began to return to a normal life.

– I remember being with mom at the hospital, and it wasn't good at all. She wasn't well, and it wasn't something I liked to see.

That it became a tennis racket instead of boxing gloves for Nellie Taraba Wallberg is easy to understand.

No Prize Money: "It's So Crazy"

As she now stands with one foot in the senior world, much can change. Both the sporting competition and the financial conditions. As a junior, you can't win any prize money.

– It's crazy, but as a junior, you don't get any money at all. Even if I win Wimbledon now, I won't get a penny. However, it can bring sponsors.

And sponsors are needed. So far, she has had support from the Good to Great academy since the age of 13. The company EY and private sponsor Charlotte Söderström have also been crucial for her career.

– EY has financed my training and accommodation at Good to Great, and Charlotte has invested large sums so that I could travel the world to compete. Without them, it would have been difficult to be where I am today.

The support from the private sponsor is now concluded, and Nellie Taraba Wallberg is looking for new sponsors to continue her pursuit of the world elite.

– Right now, we're looking around a bit. But yes, dad is still helping me.

Yes, even though she seemingly already lives a full-fledged tennis life with elite commitment and travels worldwide, it's easy to forget that most her age still live at home and have just started their summer vacation. But for Nellie Taraba Wallberg, this life is the best she can imagine.

– I'm enjoying it! she says.