Tennis News

Following an Achilles surgery that kept her off the tour much of last spring, 2014 Australian Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova was ranked as low as No.66 in the world back in January. The once odds-on darkhorse to pull off early upsets was left ruing missed opportunities in Indian Wells and Miami, both times losing to big names like Agnieszka Radwanska and Garbiñe Muguruza from winning positions. 

But a title at the Katowice Open turned everything around for the Slovakian dynamo, who roared into her biggest final since Melbourne at the Mutua Madrid Open, and pulled off a second straight win over Radwanska en route to her first grass court title at the Aegon International.

Chatting with WTA Insider less than 24 hours after arriving at the All England Club, Cibulkova discussed the stabilizing influence of her team – one now flanked by a new physio and sports psychologist – and the importance of playing free of expectations, even as the pressure heats up for the latest addition to the Road to Singapore’s Top 8.

WTA Insider: First grass court title for you, back in the Top 20 and the Top 8 on the RTS. Talk about what the title means to you.
Cibulkova: It’s very special because it’s on grass, and I never saw myself as a grass court player. After such a great win in Eastbourne, it gives me a lot of confidence and it feels so good. Yesterday, I was saying, ‘No, I cannot believe that I won such a tough tournament on grass.’ Many top girls played and it was a tough competition, but I managed with all the conditions and everything. It feels so great. Today, I’m a bit tired, so I’m lucky I’m playing on Tuesday so I can have some rest.

WTA Insider: Talk about your relationship with grass. You’re a big hitter and you can hit the ball really flat. So on one level, we’d say you should be dangerous on grass, but what was your feeling about it?
Cibulkova: Before, I’d made the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, and that was my first ‘something’ on grass, so after I thought, ‘Come on, I can play on this.’ Then, I played some third rounds and it was fine, but I didn’t have expectations for grass because I didn’t feel at home. That’s why I came to Eastbourne this year.

My coach told me, ‘Domi, every grass court match you play before Wimbledon will be good, so relax and play your game.’ We practiced just five days on grass, and that was a really good warm-up for me, and I was playing so well from the first round. It’s not easy to play against the taller girls who have such big serves like Pliskova. But I managed to play against them, and even beat them. I think my game improved a lot from the last few years; my serve and return improved, and those are the most important things on grass.

WTA Insider: What was it about grass that made you uncomfortable?
Cibulkova: At most, you really only have two or three tournaments on grass, and one is Wimbledon. You never get to practice on grass, so it’s not usual. For me, it’d be like one big question, ‘How will it be?’ It’s not like, I want to come here and do well, because I’ve trained and feel good. It’s more like, ‘I came here and, ok, we’ll see what’s going to happen.’

WTA Insider: A lot of players talk about the movement being the primary source of discomfort on grass; is that also the case for you?
Cibulkova: I don’t have this problem, but I know what you’re talking about because it’s very different and very difficult to move on grass. But everything is different: the bounce of the ball, very short rallies. It’s different tennis than any other surface.

WTA Insider: The first set of the final against Pliskova went back and forth, very tough to call. How were you able to pull that out?
Cibulkova: It was so difficult and so windy, so it was really tough to play. I made some unforced errors in the first few games because I was thinking about the wind and how it’s so hard to play, that it’s not nice tennis and I don’t feel comfortable on the court. My couch came and said, ‘Domi, don’t worry about the wind, just focus on the game,’ and from there I was serving much better. The most important ganme was 4-2 in the second set, when she had some break points to come back. That was the game where I won the match, because had I lost it, it might have gone quickly the other way around. But I was playing free and was really enjoying it.

WTA Insider: Did you come into Wimbledon this morning?
Cibulkova: No, we drove last night; it’s just a one and half hour drive, so it was fine. I’ve never had a good experience playing too long at a tournament the week before because I like to practice at the Grand Slam for a few days. But I cannot complain; I just won a tournament, so it’s going to be good, for sure.

WTA Insider: What is it like being back here? Does it bring any specific memories up for you, or is it different having just won a tournament?
Cibulkova: I’d never won a tournament the week before a Grand Slam, so of course, it’s a little bit different because of all the emotions and then, from one day to the other, you have to be focused on another big thing. It’ll be a little bit different this year, but I’m sure I’ll handle it good. I have a very tough opponent in the first round; I played [Lucic-Baroni] here once and it was a very tough match, so I’m prepared to have another tough one on Tuesday.

WTA Insider: Do you remember the first grass court match you ever played?
Cibulkova: No, I think it was in Roehampton when I played juniors, but I don’t remember that.

WTA Insider: So grass really does sound like a short, specific time of the season.
Cibulkova: Exactly, it’s just two-three weeks, maximum, during the year. We never used to have a grass court at home, and it was always something so different.

WTA Insider: Stepping back a little bit, let’s talk about your season. In the last 12 months, you’re pretty much almost where you were when you left off. That has to be an incredibly satisfying feeling.
Cibulkova: It is. It’s what motivates me, because I was working really hard after that, and it wasn’t easy to come back. I was around No.60 or No.70 in the world, and facing top players in the first round because you’re not seeded. You really have to play well to get back to where you were before, and I think that’s the hardest part. If you can manage that, then I think it shows you’re a good player.

WTA Insider: What was the most important thing to get back; was it just a matter of getting the game back together, or was it mental?
Cibulkova: It was everything all together. Physically, I was working out even when I was injured, at the gym almost every day. But I lost some matches to players I didn’t think I’d lose to, and sometimes it was tough. You start to think you want to come back, but this isn’t where you should be, or that you should have a better ranking. It doesn’t go that fast, so when I stopped thinking like that and just playing, really focused on tennis, it all came together.

WTA Insider: Do you feel you’re playing better now than before the injury?
Cibulkova; Yes. I would say tennis is very mental, and I started working with a mental coach. Actually, before my operation, I started working with him, and I’ve seen it really help me. It’s not like I talk with him once a week on the phone and he tells me what to do; it’s not easy like that. I realized that I have to work on this side, like regular practice.

We have mental training sessions, and we work that way also with my coach in practices. It’s something that’s helped a lot. Now I realize everything I’m doing on the court, and I’m doing it with purpose. I don’t lose my emotions so much. I’m not saying it’ll be like this all the time because nothing is perfect, but I hope to keep it like this as long as I can.

WTA Insider: Talk a little bit about your team, because obviously your coach is always there, your boyfriend/fiance is also always around. We see them all the time. That must be very nice to have a traveling team with you, to give you more stability.
Cibulkova: It is. For me, this is the most important thing. Now we have a new physio on the team as well, and we’re all having a really good time. We all live and work for me to be good, so it’s very nice.

WTA Insider: What do they do for you to be good?
Cibulkova: It’s personal, and not business. They care. When we’re at tournaments, we go for dinner together and spend almost all our free time together. It’s very nice. We can talk about everything because we’re like a family.

WTA Insider: I saw a quote that came out of Eastbourne that you had posters of the Spice Girls on your wall, and not tennis players.
Cibulkova: Yes! They were asking me who motivated me to play tennis growing up. I said, ‘I have to tell you that I never had any athletes on my wall, just Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys.’

WTA Insider: Do you still listen to the Spice Girls?
Cibulkova: No, I like more Rihanna (laughs). She’s like the new Spice Girls!

WTA Insider: You’re on the Top 8 on the RTS. What would it mean for you to qualify?
Cibulkova: Right now I’m not thinking about it because in 2014 I was very close, and that’s what made me very intense and want it too much. I was over-motivated and it didn’t happen. So, I’m not thinking about it. It’s really far and I want to learn from my mistakes and really enjoy what I’m doing on the court. I’m really happy right now on the court, and when I’m playing free is when I’m at my best.

WTA Insider: It seems like you’ve learned to let go over the last 12 months, the concept of wanting something too much was holding you back.
Cibulkova: Yes, exactly. I realized that, even if I hadn’t won Eastbourne, when I woke up this morning, it’d be the same. It’s nice, but life goes on. I have a great boyfriend, family, friends, and I’ve already done a lot in my career. I want to be stressed so much because it’s not helping. It’s easy to say, but not easy to do. This week I was able to do it, and I played well.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

Asia Muhammad was born into a family of athletes. Her parents played basketball; her brother Shabazz plays for the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves. Muhammad chose tennis, and almost instantly became a star on the junior circuit.

“I started having really good results, beating the top college players,” she told WTA Insider after beating Donna Vekic for just her second career WTA main draw win at the Brisbane International. “When I was younger, they had the rankings, and I started to beat them pretty badly. I started to think, “Why not? School is always going to be here.” My dad went to USC, and so that’s where I was going to go; it was always a dream, but if I want to do this, I need to start now.

“People sometimes ask me if I regret not going to school, and I honestly say no. My best friend went to USC, so I’ve still gone there to hang out, but I don’t regret it at all.”

At her last two junior tournaments, Muhammad earned wins over the likes of Heather Watson and Kristina Mladenovic, but the American admitted her all-court game took time to develop as she transitioned onto the senior level.

“In the beginning, I was always tall, so I was more of a power player. When I was 10, my coach Tim Blinkiron – who’s in Vegas and is Australian – right from the beginning, he had me volleying. Now, I’m so thankful for that, because the older you get, the tougher it is to try and do that. He’s always had me volleying, playing mini-tennis against boys, just for my hands.

“He’s always known what he wanted my game to be; I’ve trailed behind, not really trusting in it. But now, I’m getting to that stage where I know what I need to do and working on it. It’s there, but I just need to trust in it and do that.”

At 25 years old, Muhammad sees herself as a late bloomer in the vein of Samantha Stosur, one whose early investments could pay off big in the next few years.

“I think a lot of players who play like me had their successes later too, and it came with doubles first. I think doubles is a huge part of helping my singles with all the volleying.”

Muhammad is already a Top 50 doubles player, winning two titles in the last two years, and ended the 2016 season partnering Nicole Gibbs to reach the final of a WTA 125K in Hawaii. The pair joined up with other rising Americans like Shelby Rogers and Kayla Day for a pre-season bootcamp in Carson, California – courtesy of the United States Tennis Association.

“This was definitely my best pre-season of my career so far. Nicole and I would do fitness every day together and really push each other. That was very crucial to my pre-season training. I wasn’t in Vegas – that’s where I live – and I just knew I wanted something with a lot of structure, and that’s what you’re going to get there. We played a lot of tennis, had fitness every day, had amazing fitness trainers and physios helping us. It had everything there, and that helped a lot.

“That was the biggest difference, knowing myself and that I need to have structure, and then finding that and staying and sticking with that.”

Getting to know herself as a player and athlete has already paid dividends in Australia, where Muhammad enjoys ordering the local lattes.

“It’s definitely been up and down,” she said looking back on her career thus far. “I was one of the up and coming juniors, doing really well. I got stuck a little, trying to figure things out with my game. I try to move forward, and do a lot of different things. I think that takes a little bit longer to put all of that together because there’s a lot of moving parts.

“How I try to play takes a lot of guts, so I would get stuck not doing it, and then trying. That would make me feel all over the place. But this year, I just want to have consistent plays, doing the right things on the court no matter what.

“Maybe it’s taken me until 25 to really figure that out, but there’s nothing wrong with that; I’m only competing against myself. I’m really happy, healthy, and in a really good spot now. Everything that’s happened so far, I feel like that’s helped me get to where I need to get.”

Muhammad takes on World No.6 Karolina Pliskova on Tuesday morning.

More quick hits from Muhammad…

On growing up in a family of athletes…
It’s good because my mom and dad played basketball, my brothers played basketball. My brother Shabazz, who plays in the NBA, is so supportive. He’s literally my biggest fan; when he comes to watch me play, he gets so into it and wants me to do so well. But it’s also good because when I’m away from tennis, I can watch him play, and it’s a break. My whole family play sports, and so they understand the life and are really supportive.

From a young age, we were all so competitive. I used to play basketball against my brothers, and back when I was taller than them, I could beat them and push them around. But we went from being really competitive at a young age to just being so supportive of one another. We want each other to do well, like if I have a good win and Shabazz has a good game, it’s such a great day for us to be able to do it as a team even if we’re not playing the same sport.

On debating individual vs. team sports with her family…
We’ve definitely had disagreements with that, because, just for example, when you’re playing the first set of a match and get nervous or struggling, you can’t time out, sub, or do anything like that. I tell them how lucky they are to be able to do things like that, and that I’m out there by myself. Luckily, you have a partner to help you in doubles, but we’ve disagreed about things like that. I tell them, ‘You can go sit on the bench for a little; I can’t!’

On playing tennis with Andre Agassi and Stefanie Graf in Las Vegas…
I think the thing that really helped was that my cousin and I were both living in Vegas, and we both started playing at the Andre Agassi Boys and Girls Club. Andre and Steffi would come out and were so nice; they would hit with us and everything. I just like the environment and the people around. It was a really good vibe.

On who she calls for dinner at tournaments…
Lately it’s been the American girls; I’ve been hanging out with Christina McHale a lot because we’re playing doubles. I also hang out with Samantha Crawford, Nicole Gibbs. We’ll do dinners and it’s just easy. We want each other to do well, and so it’s easy to hang out and talk about things. They understand; not only did I spend the pre-season with most of them, I grew up with them as well. Christina and I grew up traveling together in juniors. It’s crazy.

On the last song she listened to…
Can I look? Let’s see. It was Starboy by The Weeknd.

All photos courtesy of Tennis Photo Network and Getty Images.