Anastasia Sterner is seen as Austria’s hope. However, the Belarusian-born player’s career was practically over in Minsk in 2019 after disagreements with her coach. A visit to Linz AG Froschberg and the support of Günther Renner opened all doors for the 14-year-old. The Linz chairman immediately got Anastasia an Austrian ITTF licence, she played a few WTT tournaments from the end of 2020 and in 2022 she was awarded citizenship and allowed to play for Austria. Her first international match in Stockerau against Luxembourg was an absolute highlight. ‘I caught fire and then I started to fly. The next highlight was the European Games. I felt the atmosphere for the first time with all the world-class players,’ recalls Sterner, who then laid the foundations for her place in the last 16 at her European Team Championship debut in Malmö 2023. She then missed out on the quarter-finals at the U19 European Championships in 2024. In between, she won her first national title in mixed doubles, came third in singles and won silver in doubles. Sterner won Bundesliga gold with Linz AG Froschberg in 2024 and will make her singles debut as a 19-year-old at the European Championships in Linz in October 2024.