Author: akeslo

March 19, 2020

March 19, 2020 “I was studying forensic psychology at the time. I set goals of where I wanted to be after a year and if I didn’t move in that direction I was thinking of putting up the racquets. It gave me the option if things weren’t making me happy. After the first year of studying, it becomes more of a workload, so I had to make the choice of whether I would stick with studying or tennis. It was my father who originally told me to study and have a backup, not to be so close-minded. It helped me play much better at the time. It may not have been the best preparation to study at 2 am before matches but it took my mind off the pressure, made me feel relaxed on the court. As much as we all complain about tennis, I think everyone’s going to miss the feeling and emotions that come with being on court. It’s quite hard to replicate but it’s something that we don’t really talk about. It’s sad that girls don’t feel comfortable opening up. They feel that if they open up to one person it will get around to everyone in (more…)

March 8, 2020

March 8, 2020 “It’s a miracle that I’m holding a racquet. When I was 6 years old, my dad introduced me to the sport and I quickly fell in love with the game. Soon tennis turned into a way to escape my reality. I was constantly bullied at school and I developed terrible anxiety and depression. I tried to raise my low self-esteem by being the best at everything, including tennis. My need for perfection turned into insanity. I told myself that I had to be the #1 professional player in the world, or else I was a failure. My talent was noticed by many coaches and I was recruited to join a top tennis academy. Physically I was good, but my opportunities were ruined as I mentally self-destructed, resulting in an eating disorder when I was 13. I continued to play tennis, but any dreams of playing competitively shrank with every pound I lost. I hid behind a fake smile hoping no one would know my secret struggles, but that didn’t last long. I was forced to leave my freshman year of college due to the severity of my anorexia. My weight fell to 56 pounds and my parents (more…)

March 6, 2020

March 6, 2020 “ I still remember my first ever lesson, I was wearing a boy’s outfit because we couldn’t find anything else that looked like a tennis outfit. I went into my first lesson the coach told me to warm up by doing laps around the court. I refused to do it, “There’s no point because I’m not racing against anyone, I’m not just going to run for the sake of it.” I was about six and a half years old, useless unable to even catch a ball. I was a good visual learner and I eventually picked it up quickly. I remember when I used to go back home to Russia when I was younger and I’d always hit balls against the wall. The neighbors didn’t love it but they just had to deal with it. I moved to Australia end of 2013, when I was 18. I got my residency soon after and my passport citizenship after that. I started to officially begin playing for Australia in 2016. When I first moved to Australia, I had a busted knee, just after having torn my ACL. The first thing I did when I got to Australia was to (more…)

February 23, 2020

February 23, 2020 “You get used to it once it becomes a habit. For me, I enjoyed discovering another side of myself, another personality. I like understanding more about the world, in order to share with others. I don’t think many people would think I would be where I am now, but my PhD in Sports Science has opened up new opportunities. Injuries are never easy to deal with, as it takes away from your tennis, but it gave me a chance to study. Many tennis players don’t ever have a chance to see the other side because of people around them. There is always an idea that school is something you can come back to if your tennis career doesn’t work out. They feel that if you just stay focused on only tennis that’s the way to succeed, but it’s not always true. With my education I have interacted with so many different people, on different levels, in so many different fields, that I would never have had without it. Through my education it has allowed me to believe in myself more than ever. I can only picture myself playing another four or five years on tour. It may (more…)

February 21, 2020

February 21, 2020 “I grew up playing in a very small town in Germany called Warstein. It was very tough to find partners for training sessions, which is why we could never really schedule anything. My mom would pick me up from school with packed lunch so I was prepared for practice. She then brought me to the bus stop, which was about a 30 minute ride to the train station. The train ride was about 45 minutes which was where I used to do my homework. After practice and my return home, it would be about nine at night. At that age it was very long days. I always had this dream of becoming a professional tennis player. It helped that I had two parents who coached close to home. I remember when I was young waking up at 5:30 in the morning to watch the Australian Open for a few hours right before school. There were definitely times when I was late for school because I wouldn’t stop watching. I would then rush home after school to catch the night session. It didn’t matter how good I was, I always had the desire to be where those players (more…)

January 26, 2020

January 26, 2020 “My family wasn’t into tennis and they didn’t give me the support I needed. The passion for the sport came from within when I found tennis courts near my house. My coach was like a father to me as he also helped raise me. I was fortunate enough to get the help needed from the Slovakian tennis federation. I was constantly putting pressure on myself that I wasn’t good enough and I was supposed to have the ranking that past champions had at my age. I had trouble playing challengers when my mind was only thinking about grand slams. I just never had the team around me I needed. It was sad to see the agency that signed me not trying to help with the development of me as a player, just worried about the money opportunities and wildcards. It was within the same year of getting my best ranking when doctors found out I had Lyme disease. I was devastated by the news. Doctors did say that I would be able to return after a few months off, but for some reason I felt that deep inside my career was over. I was mentally exhausted and (more…)

January 24, 2020

January 24, 2020 “Throughout my whole career I thought it was as simple as one plus one. If you put in hard work and don’t give up, you will be successful at some point. It’s not that easy though. I have always worked very hard to achieve my goals however for a long time fell short of my aspirations. I was a very ambitious kid and looking back probably needed someone to help me with the demands and challenges of professional sport. It would have been helpful if someone had tempered and guided my ambition and enthusiasm rather than allowing me to push myself to the limit. In my mid 20’s, at the end of 2012, I decided to quit the professional tour as it was a very unhappy time for me. I was burnt out and just felt the need to take a step back. I started to study psychology, which was always a passion of mine, and also started teaching tennis on a recreational level for fun. That gave me a completely different perspective of this sport. I was still playing tennis during this break, but it wasn’t for results, ranking points or achievements, which I’d been running (more…)

January 12, 2020

January 12, 2020 “I retired at the end of last year. I have recently been expanding my academy to four new cities around the world, while coaching part time on the side. After my many years on tour the number one thing I would teach others is persistence. Persistence helped me push through the tremendous amount of mixed emotions that came during my injuries. I am pretty unfortunate dealing with seven surgeries in the last five years. It is a psychological rollercoaster. Though difficult while going through them, it has allowed me to be a better father, husband, business owner, friend and son. I have learned that in order to grow as a person you need to learn how to deal with adversity while also being humble in times of hope. During my injuries there were definitely some serious mental problems I was dealing with, you can even use the term depression to describe how I felt. Dealing with all the ups and downs, doctors and opinions, you just become f**king insane from not knowing what to do. In the end I do not think the general advice of ‘stay positive’ is helpful. There were many times where I fought (more…)

January 7, 2020

January 7, 2020 “I had it made. Retired after 22 years of military service and working as an Engineer in the commercial nuclear industry…and yet, something was missing. Many years of my life were spent as the nuclear weapons officer on a trident submarine. I would switch between spending three months underwater, then above, then back under. I wasn’t truly happy with my career. I remember the day my life changed forever. It was August of 2017 and I was on the bus heading from Manhattan to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows. Eight and a half years into my 10 year career as a nuclear engineer I learned that a childhood friend had days to live; cancer was winning. His plan was to work until 60 and then raise horses, a lifetime dream. One of his last messages was to pursue my dreams in life and not wait until I thought it was financially feasible. My passion was stringing tennis racquets. Beginning with a way to help my daughter as a middle school player, who would constantly shank balls and break strings, I found this love in stringing. The problem was that stringing tennis racquets (more…)