Category: Story

January 28, 2021

“At age four, My dad put a racquet in my hand. I picked up basketball a few years later but when the time came I chose tennis without hesitation. By eight, I wanted to be a professional tennis player. I cannot remember a time when I wanted to do anything else. I am in my second year playing a full tour schedule, one of the biggest differences is the social life. In juniors, players are focused on the court but spend most of their time off court together. On the professional circuit, players aren’t big on fellowship. I did not know many people when I entered the tour and everyone was much more focused on themselves. Over time, I found a good balance where I have fun but know when to get serious. I try my best to surround myself with the right people. I never questioned my path. Tennis is where I can express myself. In 2019, my mom was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. My parents did not tell me for three months. I was on the road playing tournaments and they did not want me to worry. When I found out, I did not know how to help (more…)

January 21, 2021

“At age 8, I played my first tournament. There were three players in the draw and I lost to all of them. The other two players got gifts but I got nothing. I cried a lot. My grandparents tried to cheer me up. They did not expect me to have such an intense reaction. I was young and did not understand the impact of results.  At age 13, my grandfather died. He was a big part of my life and this was the first time I lost someone I loved. It was a tough timeand nobody paid attention to me. For weeks, I did not want to study or go to practice. I would arrive at the courts and tell my parents I was too sick to play. I took time off from tournaments. For the first time, I got bad grades at school. When I had to move a test date, the principal said I needed to focus on school instead of tennis. My mom considered this possibility. I was bummed and promised her I could do both. My mom did not want me to have a tutor because it is easier to understand life when you study independently. When you do homework by yourself, (more…)

January 14, 2021

“My parents gave everything they had so I could play tennis. They sacrificed money and property. I worked hard because it was a tough time for my family and I wanted to prove tennis was not useless. I put a lot of pressure on myself because I wanted to change our situation. I was not playing well and my results were pretty bad. It was tough because the tennis world is very unstable. I wanted to stop playing tennis and felt like my career was a waste of money because I was not good enough. I lost motivation to practice. It would have been easy to quit and find another job. In 2016, I was ranked 217 in the world but it was nearly impossible to continue on tour. I was the second alternate for the Wimbledon qualifying draw but was not sure if I should spend the money to travel. If I flew to London and did not play, I could no longer afford to practice. I decided to go all in and we flew to London for more money than we had. I got into the draw and was very excited. We could only afford to stay for (more…)

January 7, 2021

“In 2012, I broke into the Top 100. I did not make much money so every match was important, especially Grand Slam matches. I prepared to play the US Open qualifying draw. There was a rain delay and my stomach started to hurt. I assumed I was hungry. I won the match and we walked to dinner. I could barely walk and bent over with pain in my abdomen. I tried to sleep but it was painful so we went to the doctor and he said I had appendicitis. He told me not to play the next round. I did not want to know how appendicitis could affect my body because I needed to win. I needed to forget about the pain because I needed the money.⁣⁣I lost the first set and won the second. I had full body cramps at the start of the third set so I asked for a medical timeout. I would have defaulted but was not thinking straight because I needed the money. I had a match point and my opponent made an error but the line judge did not call the ball out. I lost the match in a tiebreaker. I was very disappointed (more…)

December 31, 2020

“I have spent 41 years being a human. At age 6, I picked up a racket but did not like tennis. A few years later, I fell in love with the sport. I grew up in Yugoslavia during the war. A few players managed to leave the country but we did not have much money. There were months when we could not eat much or go outside because there were planes over our city and we had to seek shelter underground. I would practice whenever there was an open court. I also played basketball until age 13. I was tall and moved well so basketball coaches made me play against 18-year-olds but I did not like that. Perhaps I could have gone to the NBA. Starting at age 21, I spent three years ranked 300 in the world. I got down on myself because I saw my peers reach higher rankings. I did not have a coach so I traveled alone. I thought about quitting before I broke through on tour. In tennis, you cannot be realistic. You have to be a dreamer. When you are young, you are joyful and hope to be number one in the world. Then (more…)

December 24, 2020

“Soccer runs in my family. Both my grandfather and brother played for Columbia in the World Cup. My dad wanted me to play a recreational sport so I asked him to choose between swimming, basketball and tennis. He chose tennis. I started to play and fell in love with the sport. At age 11, I left Columbia and came to Florida. I did not understand one word of English. I lived by myself for three years and did not see my parents often. It was tough to speak to the other players as there was a language barrier and we did not understand each other. Sometimes I wanted to go back home. My dad told me to stay because I wanted to become a professional player. This was my dream and I had to fight for it even though it was not easy.  I never thought about quitting tennis but I missed being back with my family. Sometimes I felt sad after losing a match or tired from training. But I had to keep going. For three years, I tried to win a Junior Grand Slam. I visualized winning the 2019 US Open. My family pretended to give me the (more…)

December 17, 2020

“The most difficult part of my career was during junior tennis. At age 17, I had knee surgery and the doctors underestimated my recovery time. I did not play for nine months while I was living at the Spanish Tennis Federation. I was young and it was frustrating. I watched my peers leave for Junior Grand Slams while I stayed there alone. I wanted to go home but had to stay at the federation for school. I was not well. I did not have motivation to study so I would watch television all night until 3 or even 4 in the morning. I always had a good ranking but people said I would not make it on tour because I had bad character. In 2018, I thought about quitting tennis. I played Roland Garros and did not feel good about myself. I lost in the first round of the qualifying draw and blamed my coaches. That was the lowest point of my career. I said, “I have to change because I cannot continue like this and reach my highest level. Everyone around me is suffering as well.” People were speaking about me saying that I was too crazy and I (more…)

December 10, 2020

MyBTR – “Removing my large intestine both saved and changed my life in tennis. People have heard of Crohn’s disease; I have something similar but less well-known called Ulcerative Colitis and needed surgery to stop a downward spiral. Steroid medication inflated my face to the size of my racquet head and chemical rescue therapy double-bageled my immune system. I passed early mornings in hospital watching Andy Murray’s first retirement at the Australian Open and felt just a little teary. A new trial drug kept me out of hospital to watch the French Open from home and I got back to teaching physics and coaching the school tennis program. I knew I was back to form when an earnest pupil said ‘Sir, you’re so good at tennis, why don’t you ditch the physics and coach full-time?’ By Wimbledon, the medication had stopped working and I was back in hospital. I can only apologise to the other patients for my outbursts of anguish as Roger missed his match point chances. Surgery to fit a stoma bag was the final option. Now I play with a constant risk of damaging my stoma or causing a hernia. A protective and restrictive hernia belt feels (more…)

December 3, 2020

#LegendaryBTR- “One of the most difficult parts of my career was my confidence. I was too hard on myself and went through times where I would automatically lose matches. My ranking would drop because I put too much pressure on myself. I wish I could have handled those times better.  As a child, I was very shy. I sat in the back row at school. I had a modest personality. When I went on tour, I became more social because I had no choice. On the court, I was alone and off the court, I had to gain confidence speaking English. That helped me get to where I am today.  The tour is very different now. If you are a top player, you have an entourage. You probably spend more time with your team than your competitors. If you get wild cards into big tournaments and play well, you quickly break into the Top 100. Other guys have a longer path to the top. They start with lower-level events and gain confidence in themselves. These players become friends because they only have each other, they can’t afford to travel with their coaches.  After my professional career, I partnered with my friend (more…)

November 26, 2020

“I started playing tennis on a recreational level. At age 10, I decided to compete and become a professional. My dad was my coach but is new to the tennis world since he was a soccer player. My dad surrounded us with other coaches who understood our philosophy, style and game. I never felt pressure from my dad to play sports or do anything in life. He gave me the green light to make my own decisions and introduced me to many different activities. I played baseball, soccer, volleyball and ran track.  However I loved tennis and once I realized there were Junior Grand Slams, I set a goal to win one. Last year, I reached the Junior Australian Open final and was disappointed to lose. A few months later, I won the Junior French Open and became the first Canadian player in seven years to capture a Junior Grand Slam. This year, I started playing on the WTA Tour.  It is difficult to balance tennis, school, and friends. When I started playing tennis, I was in regular school. I had friends and teachers who supported me but I constantly traveled to compete. I missed moments in my friends’ lives so it (more…)