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Quotable Quotes: Charleston Charge

Posted: Jan 01, 1970

What did the top WTA stars have to say before play began at the Volvo Car Open? Venus Williams, Lucie Safarova, Belinda Bencic, and Andrea Petkovic all held court during a two-day All-Access Hour…

Venus Williams

On being in Charleston without Serena…
As soon as I got here, I was sad because Serena wasn’t here. I’ve had a lot of great memories with her here, and we’ve had a lot of great times. There was one year where we played all the matches on Center, and if I played first, she played second and if I played third, she’d play fourth. I don’t think there’s ever been a day like that in tennis. So I was reminiscing about that too, and a lot of good memories. There aren’t a lot of tournaments left in the United States, so just taking advantage of playing at home a few times a year is a good feeling.

On a possible fifth Olympic appearance…
Is that five already? Oh lord! I mean, it’d mean everything to me. The Olympics has always meant so much and it’s just been a joy and an honor to be a part of it. It’s been just icing on the cake with a cherry on top to be able to bring home some medal some of the time for the States. I think it’ll be surreal, so long as I have the opportunity to go – and it’s looking good, so far – I think it’ll be very emotional for me this time.

On the equal prize money debate in tennis…
There’s always going to be people who don’t think that another person should be paid equally. I think it’s important for men to get on board, because these same men have daughters, wives, sisters, and they should want those same opportunities for those people in their families. They have women in their lives who are important to them and they need to realize that when they say these sorts of things that they are also saying these things about the women in their lives and they have to really come to grips with what that means.

At the end of the day, we’re all human. We really are. So can we just leave it at that? This is what I can’t understand, why mankind has to dominate each other. I thought we were a little bit further along, but in a lot of ways I’m happy it happened because it was a little bit of a wake up call for me to not sit still and it’s made me examine what I can do more across the board, not just for women’s tennis but for women around the world. The next step is to really get men involved; we’ve rallied, fought for the right things and we’ve got women behind us, but that’s the evolution that I see.

Political leaders, business leaders, sports leaders, all sorts of leaders, we have to get men as advocates and we have to change minds. This new generation of young boys coming up, we need to change their minds, and we need to also appeal to the current men in the world. That’s how I see the evolution happening, that we haven’t done enough work to change their minds and to help them see that this is their family that they’re voting against.

Lucie Safarova

On feeling more like her old self since injuries and illness disrupted her start to 2016…
Almost there. Yeah, I mean obviously the clay will be more physical, so it will be a good test for me. But in practices I’ve been feeling pretty good, yeah.

On how she spent the time away from the tour…
You know what, there’s always something positive out of the negative. I’m never able to spend enough time with my family, so I really enjoyed that time, spending time with my nieces and doing little silly things, playing little silly games where I obviously don’t have to move. And so yeah. I saw a lot of movies, read some books. It’s been like it gives you another point of view, and now looking back at it, it’s kind of opened up my mind more.

Belinda Bencic

On dealing with increased media attention…
I see it as a positive problem to have. It’s good because when you have the attention, it means you’re playing well. I think it’s part of the process and you need to learn it. From the juniors, I had some practice with press conferences, so it didn’t come all at once. It was just more, and more, and more. It’s what champions can handle, so I’m trying to do the same.

On what she enjoys doing off the court…
I love to read. I love reading. I actually like to take normal books with me on the tournaments; I don’t like the ebooks. I have two with me here this week. I love to read crime novels; sometimes it’s scary but it’s very interesting.

On the secret to her rapid rise up the rankings…
I wish I knew the secret, but it’s just hard work. I always believed in myself, but for sure I didn’t think it’d go so fast. I don’t look so far into the future, so I don’t have big expectations. For me, I’m happy about every win; I’m as excited as I was when I was No.200 in the world, so I don’t take it for granted. I want to stay in this mindset.

Andrea Petkovic

On her most vivid memory in Charleston…
When I won it, I had a superfan. She was there at every match and she was screaming so loudly after each and every point. Before the finals, I signed a ball for her and gave her tickets to the final. She was really nice and she cheered me on. We took a picture afterwards and that was very nice.

On how good friend Angelique Kerber has dealt with Grand Slam glory…
I think she’s handled it well. Of course, she had two tournaments where she didn’t play as well as she wanted. I was at Fed Cup and it was crazy. She had so many things to do and so many media requests, a lot of things outside the court going on that were probably new for her, so she had to adjust and learn to deal with new situations. I think she handled it really well; she only had a letdown for two tournaments and then played really well in Miami again. That’s pretty good, I think.

On being at a WTA-only tournament…
I always love this period of time because we have Charleston and Stuttgart. Those are both women’s only tournaments and the fans love them. They’re always sold out and two of the best tournaments in the whole season, no matter if it’s combined or not. They always have the best matches; a lot of the best matches that we’ve seen on either the men’s or women’s side, have happened in Charleston or Stuttgart. I think that’s the reason, because people just love watching us play and we always push harder. I think the performances speak for themselves; I don’t think we need to use a lot of words considering what a few guys have said in the past. I think we just speak for ourselves.

On whether she would recommend tennis as a career to a young person…
You have to be built for it, definitely. I wouldn’t recommend it to everybody. I think you have to have a certain kind of character, be very independent and be able to embrace the loneliness at times – not only on court but also off it because there are a lot of moments where you’re just alone in the hotel room. It sounds sad, but it’s not that sad! I think it’s just part of being a professional tennis player that isn’t sold on all of the commercials.

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Insider Podcast: Coach's Corner

Posted: Jan 01, 1970

On this episode of the WTA Insider Podcast, we recap last week’s action at the Volvo Car Open and Katowice Open, which saw Sloane Stephens grow her title collection with her third title of the season and Dominika Cibulkova end her title drought. Then we debut the Coach’s Corner, a recurring feature that puts the spotlight on the hard working men and women sweating away in the players’ box.

David Taylor may have started as “just” a hitting partner for Martina Hingis, but he’s now one of the premier coaches in professional tennis. He has coached Australia’s two best prospects in the modern era into the Top 10, taking Alicia Molik and Sam Stosur into the upper echelons of the game and he was there, heart in his throat, when Stosur fired that inside-out forehand return on match point to win the 2011 US Open. He’s seen the highs and he’s lived the lows, and he was happy to talk about it all.

On being Hingis’ traveling hitting partner: “You could see the way Martina practiced was just translated into what she had to do. It was very specific. That was a time when the Williamses were coming onto the scene and she was definitely the Queen of that time and the other ones were coming. It was an interesting time. A lot of things were constructed on how to deal with the power of Davenport, Serena and Venus, and Capriati.”

On how the game has changed: “The skill has gone down but the striking of the ball has gone way up. So the ability to hit the ball amazingly fast and with power has increased. That’s what tennis is about. But a lot of the skill, because it’s so fast, has gone out of the game now. It’s interesting. It’s not better or worse. It’s just what it is.”

On conflicts of interest: “It’s a funny set up in tennis because the player is paying the coach, while in other professional sports they’re paid for by an outside body. Like basketball, the players don’t pay their coach. They all work for the organization, coach included. In tennis it’s very personal. I don’t think it’s that great a set up. I don’t see the alternative though.”

On the need for weapons: “I believe to be a great player you have to be able to win points on your own terms. And that’s reflective of any great player that we’ve had in recent times. That’s where we’re at. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a market for all types of players. Being aggressive doesn’t have to be cracking the ball hard. It can be playing from a very aggressive court position. Halep’s an aggressive player. She doesn’t hit a tremendous amount of winners, but she’s an aggressive player. It’s not just hitting the ball hard. It’s where you play from, your mentality, what you can do under pressure.”

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or on any podcast app of your choice and reviews are always helpful, so if you like what you’ve heard so far, leave us one. You can also get new episode alerts by following us on Twitter @WTA_Insider.

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