Category: Story

September 10, 2020

“I have been traveling since age 12. When I was 18, I met my girlfriend while she was at the University of Liège. I hardly saw her because I was constantly traveling. My family and friends understood what I was doing, but I missed them, especially when I lost matches or went through tough periods. During those times, you want to spend time with family but you have to go back to working hard on the court. Without the support of my family, being on tour would have been tough. They were times in my childhood when I wanted a normal life. I was far from home and sometimes I just wanted to be with friends. When I was at the Belgian Tennis Federation, I didn’t spend time with my friends at school because I had to practice as soon as I was done with classes. But it was fun to play tournaments and compete against young players from other countries. When I stepped on the court, I was happy because I was practicing my passion. The toughest part of my career has been my confidence. When you come back from injury, your body is not feeling one hundred percent. (more…)

September 3, 2020

#CelebrityBTR “ I was a ranked junior tennis player in Wisconsin and played on the freshman tennis team at Stanford University. I was not only a tennis player but an avid spectator of the sport. I remember going to Forest Hills in the ’50s and watching the US Open and Davis Cup. I’ve been a regular season ticket holder at Indian Wells for over 30 years. That is my favorite event in the world of tennis. I love that tournament. Even though I stopped competing, I have continued playing tennis throughout my life. I’ve played almost every day during the pandemic. I always dreamed of having my own tennis court. I’ve been doing construction work on my property for 40 years and the tennis court was always part of the plan. About five years ago, I realized this dream. Not only do I have my own tennis court, but it’s become world famous, much to my pleasure and enjoyment. I was able to buy the house next door and build the tennis court there. It’s become known as an infinity court, with a view of all of Los Angeles. Many of the top players have been here. Roger Federer and (more…)

August 27, 2020

“Our third child was born with a genetic disease that severely affects his skin. When he was three years old, we moved from Connecticut to Idaho because the dry air was better for him. Tennis taught me to expect the unexpected and adapt to unique situations. These skills helped me adjust to his condition. Being a father is the biggest adjustment you make as a human being. My career was split in two parts. During the first part of my career, I achieved my limits physically and emotionally but not joyfully. At age 16, I turned professional. At age 17, I won my first challenger event and the 1982 French Open. For the next six years, I captured Grand Slams and climbed the rankings. It seemed too easy. At age 24, I won the 1988 US Open and became the number one player in the world. That evening I thought, ‘Was that really my goal? Because my motivation has gone out the window.’ I kept playing and struggled with injuries. At age 27, I took a break and didn’t play for two years. I was 29 when I returned to the tour. This time, my purpose was enjoying the experience (more…)

August 20, 2020

“In 2010, I was on crutches for 6 weeks due to an ankle injury. It was difficult to leave my apartment and I had to learn to walk again. We take a lot for granted. Many people said I would not return to the circuit but I never thought about giving up. In 2011, I was ranked outside the Top 200 and four months later, I was ranked inside the Top 30. I won the Aegon Classic in Birmingham and reached the semifinals of Wimbledon. Two years later, I played in the Wimbledon final.The last few years have been difficult. In 2018, I was starting to play well again and reached the finals of the Taipei OEC Open. The next year, I started feeling weak and did not know why. It took more than six months for doctors to figure out that I had mononucleosis. I had no energy to go to the grocery store. When I got cleared, I had to start from scratch. After fifteen minutes of exercising, I was exhausted. Over time, I slowly regained physical strength and was about to return to the tour when the pandemic hit.My parents never gave up on me and I’m (more…)

August 18, 2020

“Tennis was never supposed to be my crutch in life, but I was forced to lean on it throughout the ups and downs of my life. Up until nine, I was a designated baseball batter, but I wanted to hit the ball more than a handful of times. It never seemed to click, that was until I found tennis and I fell head over heels for the sport. I grew up in a small town; to play at the top level you had to travel every weekend, and that’s exactly what I did. But, tennis became difficult to continue after my health took a turn for the worst. Constant nausea and abdominal pain sidelined me, and eventually, I was diagnosed with Gastroparesis, a paralysis of the stomach, along with numerous health issues. I had multiple surgeries and, after a long recovery, began back on the grind.My dad and I grew immensely close traveling to tournaments, and I got up to 188 in the nation. But, when it seemed like I was at the peak of my tennis career, life threw a curveball at me; my dad was killed by an intoxicated driver. Numb from the shock, tennis went from a (more…)

August 13, 2020

My toughest time was the year after I broke into the Top 100. In 2005, I was 21 years old and had a breakthrough on tour. I started the year as number 140 and four months later, I was in the Top 75. You have higher expectations and put more pressure on yourself. The next year, I struggled to defend the points from the previous year and fell outside the Top 100 for several weeks. This was the only time I left the Top 100 for another 12 years. In 2010, I retired from a match because of nothing. I won the first set and lost the second set in a tiebreaker. I was losing in the third set and just retired. I was always a player who liked fighting until the end of a match so to retire out of nothing was really strange for me. During a changeover, I told my coach, “If I lose the next game, I’m done.” Then it happened. I just retired. I told the umpire that my leg hurt so I couldn’t play anymore. After the match, I went into the locker room and my coach came in. I thought he would be (more…)

August 6, 2020

”I was born to an athletic family. My mom was a bronze medalist in the 1976 Montreal Olympics in the 4 x 400 relay. My dad coached an Olympic medalist in the hammer throw. I have sport in my genes. My parents introduced me to tennis and I had success right away. At age 14, I won my first ITF Junior event and realized I wanted to play professionally. That same year, I played my first WTA event. The transition from juniors to the professional circuit was difficult because I had to raise my physical and mental level. I slowly got to that level and at age 17, I turned professional. In 2005, I broke into the Top 10. In 2006, I climbed to number 3 in the world. I won tournament after tournament on clay and was one of the favorites heading into the 2006 French Open. But the rest of the ride was not as smooth. A couple days before the 2006 French Open, I injured my left hip. That injury threw me off and I was never able to return to the same level of tennis. I came back and played the 2006 US Open Series but (more…)

July 30, 2020

“In 2018, I broke into the Top 15 and was seeded in Grand Slams. That’s when I understood my potential. In the beginning, I traveled with only my dad. Now, I travel with my dad, mom, and three siblings. I’m the main source of income for my family.  I have hobbies that keep me interested in different aspects of life. These activities keep me creative and are reflected in my tennis game and presence on court. Sometimes, I post things on my social media that not many people understand. These posts express my inner creativity. I’m just trying to be different from the rest. I put Stefanos’ twist on life. I am philosophical, I come from a country with a history of philosophy and I don’t know if I was Pythagoras or Socrates in my previous life, but I wouldn’t mind being either one.  There was a time when I wasn’t doing well. I started to play futures and was doubting myself. I wasn’t sure if I was good enough to play professional tennis. My country was going through hard times. Greece was on the verge of bankruptcy. The entire population was suffering. My father’s siblings were unemployed and couldn’t (more…)

July 23, 2020

“As a kid, I was used to winning way more than losing. Everyone around me considered winning as ‘normal’, and something to not even really celebrate. It changes when you start moving up age groups, and need time to get used to that level of tennis. I struggled a lot and took me some time to break into the top 100. My career has been very up and down, ranking wise but thankfully have been steadily between 50-100 in the world the last couple years. After getting to the WTA level, I kind of lost my purpose. Once money, agents and everything else got involved I lost focus. All of 2019 I was asking myself questions, ‘Do I want this? Is it my dream or everyone else’s around me? Am I okay with top 50 or do I feel the need to do better for my coaches and family who think it is not good enough? What are my own dreams, wishes, needs and goals? How do I want to play my tennis and how do I enjoy myself?’ I am a very intuitive person and I feel like everyone’s opinion got in the way of my own intuition and (more…)

July 16, 2020

“At age 14, I was number one in the nation. At age 15, I turned professional and signed a five-year deal with Nike and signed with CAA. By 16, I was number 3 in the world in juniors. At 17, I made the finals of Junior French Open and won a $50,000 challenger event. By 18, I was number 39 in the world. Then I tore a ligament in my elbow. I decided to avoid surgery and took six months off to heal because I needed a break. I had been treating tennis like a job since age 13. I was burnt out and in a dark place. I developed an eating disorder. I was not handling the pressure of being on tour. My expectations were doubled by those of my family, team and agents. When I took time off, I did not freeze my ranking so it fell from inside the Top 50 to outside the Top 200. Eight months later, I felt mentally and physically strong enough to play again. My Nike contract was over and I had to pick up the pieces. My elbow felt better but never fully healed. At 19, I got married to fellow (more…)