Tennis News

From prodigious talent to scrappy veteran, Ana Ivanovic’s 14-year career spanned every iteration of a professional tennis career. Throughout it all, it was Ivanovic’s thoughtfulness, poise, and grace – on and off the court – that will be remembered most, not just by her fans but also her colleagues and competitors. Tennis lost one of the nice ones on Wednesday, after the 29-year-old took to Facebook and called an end to her milestone career.

Along with Novak Djokovic and Jelena Jankovic, Ivanovic helped put Serbia firmly on the tennis map, so much so that it’s hard to remember that a time when it wasn’t one of the premier tennis nations. She shot out of the gate after turning pro in August of 2003, soaring through the rankings before winning her first WTA title in Canberra when she was just 16-years-old.

In one fell swoop she became the first woman representing Serbia to win a Grand Slam title and be ranked atop the game, after winning the 2008 French Open to ascend to No.1. Her natural, kinetic forehand, which often earned comparisons to Stefanie Graf’s, brought home that championship, and put a cap on what was a career-defining season in 2008.

Ivanovic had been a consistent threat at the big tournaments, having made the Roland Garros final the year before and the Australian Open final a few months earlier. Her win at the BNP Paribas Open in March of that year further solidified her position in the upper echelons of the game. So when she smacked inside-out forehand after inside-out forehand to knock off Jankovic in the semifinals – in what was a battle for No.1 – and then Dinara Safina in the final, the 20-year old’s ascension felt natural, almost effortless.

Little did anyone know the next nine years of her career would be defined by effort, guts, and grit. Not long after winning her maiden Slam, Ivanovic suffered a right thumb injury that not only ruled her out of the 2008 Olympic tennis event, but also led to changes in her forehand technique that left her vaunted weapon forever changed. While she won eight of her 15 career titles in the three years from 2005 to 2008, she would win seven titles over the next nine years.

Her results may have grown frustrating and her game may have altered, but Ana remained the same personable, thoughtful, intelligent woman throughout her career. Despite her fame and “glamour girl” magazine covers, Ivanovic was notoriously shy. At times it seemed she was more comfortable sitting in the aisles of a bookstore thumbing through her next read than playing in front of a roaring crowd on Center Court.

Her favorite tournaments were always quieter or smaller, whether it was the Australian Open, where she could enjoy backyard barbecues with her Melbourne family, or the BNP Paribas Open, where bookstores and resort life suited her, or even the French Open or Wimbledon, where the quaintness of the venue and its surroundings kept her at peace. It’s no surprise that those tournaments would also be her most successful.

Through the ups and downs of the latter stages of her career, Ivanovic never stopped believing she could regain her former glory. She was a workaholic, never turning away from hitting the gym or the courts to try and gain that edge. Her optimism was tested time and time again, but Ivanovic faced the press every time, answered honestly, and still looked you in the eye and said, rather confusingly, “thank you,” even as she left the room after another inquisition.

Finally, in 2014 and 2015, Ivanovic got the last laugh. After years of battling to stay in the Top 20, Ivanovic surged into the Top 10, posting consistent and quality results and wins. After reuniting with her coach Nigel Sears to take care of some “unfinished business,” Ivanovic scored one of the biggest wins of her career at the 2014 Australian Open, when she beat Serena Williams in the Round of 16, led the tour in match wins, and qualified for her first BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global since 2008.

Then, in what felt like a full-circle moment, Ivanovic returned to Paris to make her first major semifinal since winning Roland Garros in 2008.

It was a sweet moment for Ivanovic, a reward for her persistence, self-belief, and work ethic. This time she could savor the moment. Ivanovic will be the first to admit that she was not ready for how her life would change after becoming No.1 at 20 years old. It took her time to get comfortable in her own skin, to shut out the squaks and the stares – and later the whispers – that would follow her wherever she went.

But as she hangs up her racquets and transitions to a new life, Ivanovic’s legacy in the game is a simple one. The game may change but you don’t have to. The sport is cruel but you don’t have to be. And champions will be remembered not just by the number of trophies they’ve won but also their character.

Much like Kim Clijsters, Ivanovic was one of the nice ones. And the game was better for it.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

SINGAPORE – Three-time WTA Finals champion and former No.1 Monica Seles is back at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global as a WTA Finals Ambassador. Aftr getting a chance to catch a glimpse at the Greatest Eight in action in Singapore, the nine-time major winner had one champion in mind when asked who had what it took to capture the Billie Jean King Trophy. 

“I think you do have to favor Kerber,” she said in a press conference on Wednesday. “The way she’s playing, the way she handled pressure at the US Open, knowing she would be No.1 and to win her first US Open – I was very impressed by that.”

Seles has been keen on Kerber, the first left-hander to ascend to No.1 since the American herself, especially since she lifted her second Grand Slam title in Flushing Meadows, the latest in a series of major milestones for the German in 2016.

“I think she has matured so well, playing really consistent tennis. I’m so impressed with how strong she is, mentally. To have the breakthrough, winning the Australian Open, was huge – beating Serena Williams like that. But it was even bigger to win the US Open, knowing all the pressure of being No.1, winning a second Grand Slam to solidify it.

“Sometimes in winning the first one, you still have that innocence and can play without pressure. But when it comes to the second, and having that extra little pressure, I was very impressed with how well she handled it.”

Contrasting Kerber with another first-time major winner this season, Seles said all eyes will be on Roland Garros champion Garbiñe Muguruza, and how soon she can back up her big breakthrough on the terre battue.

“The first one is super hard to get, and very difficult, but I think going into the event, before you win the first one, you just don’t have the same pressure. You’re thinking, ‘Ok, I’m just going to go out there and swing at the ball.’ The second is when you’re feeling that you belong here and you want to prove, not just to everyone in tennis, but also to yourself that you’re meant to be here.

“I think that’s what Kerber has done so well. I think it’s also how you handle it mentally. She’s a bit more mature; she’s been on the tour, and nothing seems to faze her mentality. She fights so hard for every ball, and is in unbelievable shape. So she really prepared herself, both physically and mentally.

“For Garbiñe Muguruza, I think it might take another year – or however much more time, it’s hard to put – because she has the game to win more Grand Slams; there’s no question. She probably won on her least favorite surface, the one that would least suit her game, when you think about it.”

Looking ahead to the next batch of major champions, Seles has high hopes for Agnieszka Radwanska, the defending champion in Singapore. Though the Pole rode the momemtum of her WTA Finals victory into a 13-match winning streak at the start of the season, she stalled at the Slams since reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open.

“As a player who played the sport and now loves to watch it, it’s wonderful to watch players making their breakthrough. You’d hope a player like Radwanska, who won this event, will have a breakthrough where she puts it together at a Grand Slam too. Once a few players are exiting the tour, there will be a lot more changes at the top.

“She seems to play so well at the lead-up tournaments, but I think she has the game where she could really pull through and do what Kerber did. But you have to give so much credit to Kerber and her team for putting it all together at 28.”

Check out more quick hits from Seles as she weighed in on Serena’s chances of surpassing Stefanie Graf, Maria Sharapova’s return to the sport next spring, and how she forecasts the future of the sport.

On veterans making breakthroughs…

It comes down to generations. Before me, there was Tracy Austin, who was probably just as young. I think it’s a lot healthier for women – or even girls and teenagers – that players are maturing later. You can handle the pressure a lot better, both physically and mentally, at 22, than at 16. Improvements in recovery and training, the courts have been slowed down tremendously. The schedule is a lot lighter; the ladies now have two months off, which was unheard of in my generation. The WTA has made many great changes to extend the longevity of the players. I think you’ll see players staying in the game a lot longer than mine, where the average retirement age was 26-30.

On who is the Greatest of All Time…

I think Serena, Stefanie Graf, and Martina Navratilova are still fighting it out; it will depend on what Serena ends up doing for the next few years. It’s unfortunate that Serena had periods where she wasn’t able to play on because of injuries, because she is still playing unbelievable tennis at 35, but it’s definitely not her prime, the way it was when she was in her late 20s. To have a player like Serena has been great for the sport across the board.

I remember when I played Serena; she was 16, and we were playing in Chicago. I was No.1 in the world, and I lost to her; I told my agent that my days at No.1 were numbered because you could just feel that she was already a player who was so complete. I know everyone talks about how strong she is physically, but her groundstrokes, fundamentals, and technique are all very sound. As someone who loves the sport, I want to see her healthy next year, and try to go for a few more major wins.

On Maria Sharapova…

I think she’s probably one of the toughest competitors that the tour had. She’s mentally very strong. She’s never been a player that needed a lot of matches, kind of like Serena, to play well. I don’t think there’ll be any trauma to work through with her, so I think she’ll do well coming back. It might take a few matches for her, but I’m not sure it’ll even take that long.

On how she envisions the WTA’s future…

Since I stopped playing, the game has gotten a lot more global, and that’s only ten years, give or take. I remember when I first went to play in the Middle East and in China; now, there are tons of tournaments in those regions. Hopefully, we’re able to inspire a lot of young girls. I look back in my career, and I feel I inspired a lot of the younger ladies from Eastern Europe. I think Li Na has done the same in the Asia/Pacific region. I hope we continue opening up the sport for a lot more kids in different parts of the world, and try to prevent the sport from being too expensive so more can have access to it.

You look at the United States, where we have so many courts, and still don’t have the players we’d hope we would. But I think it’s about making the sport more accessible. It’s wonderful to see the younger players being more involved with the charitable side of things, where you do give back to the sport. All of us – legends and current players – are very thankful to be doing what we’re doing.

As juniors, I’m sure we never thought we’d actually be making a living in tennis, so it’s our responsibility to give back to the sport and make it grow, so we can see stars from different regions around the world.

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.