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Andrea Petkovic was one of the German figureheads in tennis for many years: she won seven WTA titles and twice reached the top 10 of the world rankings. Moreover, the Darmstadt native with Bosnian roots quickly gained a reputation as a ‘tennis intellectual’, even though she does not enjoy it herself. Her love for literature was evident from her columns and essays that she published in various German media. After ‘Between Fame and Honor Lies the Night’, she has now presented her second book. Blick met the 36-year-old author and TV expert during a lecture at Maurice de Mauriac’s watch studio in Zurich.
View: Andrea Petkovic, last year you climbed down into what the show called the “narrowest cave in Europe” for Joko and Klaas’s “The Duel Around the World” – bringing a sweat of fear to the brow of every claustrophobic. What brought you there?
Andrea Petkovic: (Laughs.) When I was asked that, I first asked what exactly it would be about. Then it said: We’re going to a cave in Yorkshire. And I thought, cool, I’ve never been there. So I joined in. A lot of people came to me and said, How could you do that? But that was okay for me. For example, I would have had much more difficulty with my fear of heights. So overall it was a cool experience for me. There was something else that was bad.
What?
At the end of the video you can see how the cave fills with water due to the rain. That wasn’t staged. We were all nervous, but luckily we got out in time.
You once said that after you resigned in 2022, you simply said yes to every request. Was that part of your self-therapy to prevent yourself from falling into a hole?
Yes, “The Duel Around the World” was actually one of them. I definitely wanted to stay busy and not feel too empty. And I also wanted to try it out a bit. Just discover what suits me and what doesn’t.
Talking about self-therapy. In your new and second book, ‘Time to Get Out’, you describe leaving professional sports. Has writing healed you?
I think it made the process easier because most of the time you are stuck in your own head and the chaos of thoughts. The letter creates order in this. And I also noticed that it helped me to look at my body a little more rationally, only to then realize: I just can’t go on anymore. Because there were days at the end of my career when I thought I was way too old and too bad, and there were days when I wanted to try everything again. Writing has given me clarity about this.
Peter Sagan, one of the greats of cycling, recently said that he misses ‘nothing’ about road racing.
Nothing?
Yeah, apparently nothing at all. How much do you miss about tennis?
For me it’s different. I really miss the matches and the competition itself. But what’s interesting is that after I retired I still enjoyed training. But that was completely gone after a month. After only a month I could no longer imagine that I had ever played tennis four hours a day and also done fitness and preventive exercises. I certainly don’t miss that. But the big games, the big places, the emotions, the excitement. And win, of course.
What feels better: holding your own book or winning a tournament?
Winning a tournament feels better right now. You are more euphoric, but the feeling of triumph passes very quickly because the next tournament is already approaching. With a book, on the other hand, the advantage of direct comparison is that it feels good for a longer period of time. You can always reach for it. It gives you a feeling of satisfaction.
They are called ‘tennis intellectuals’. What does that do to you?
Usually it irritates me a bit. Not at all, because I don’t like to be called an intellectual. But first of all, I don’t really feel that way. I would rather describe myself as very emotional – without suggesting to intellectuals that they cannot be. And secondly, it seems to me like you’re somehow belittling other tennis professionals. As if they had never read a book or been interested in anything else in their lives. Included…
… Yes?
I can confirm that the tennis world is a completely normal cross-section of society. Some are interested in art, others play video games. Some like shopping, others like reading.
To stick with this term: is the number one in the world, Iga Swiatek, who is also a great book-eater and impresses with her eloquence, the next tennis intellectual?
In any case, she will definitely be labeled that way if she continues to read so much. And she really devours these fat girls. (Smiles.) No, seriously: I really like Iga as number one in the world. She may be shy and introverted, but that doesn’t stop her from raising her voice when she sees injustice somewhere or wants to express her opinion. She accepts this important role. You can tell that she knows the tradition and history of tennis and knows that as number one, other things are expected of her than just playing good tennis. And I also like the rivalry with Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina, which is slowly developing.
Swiatek also became involved in the discussion about prize money on the women’s tour. Some tournaments already pay out the same amount of bonuses for women as for men, but not all of them yet. Where is women’s tennis now?
It’s nice that we have the same prize money at the Grand Slam tournaments. But I think ultimately the female players would benefit more if we had a balance with the men on the WTA Tour. After all, these competitions cover approximately 80 percent of the year. And I also think that more tournaments are needed in the first place. It cannot be the case that, for example, in Dubai a number 40 in the world has to play in the qualifying tournaments for $1,000. She has a trainer and a physio with her – if she is kicked out in the first round, she will immediately lose 10,000 euros. Moreover, at the larger tournaments the women take each other’s prize money – because all the good guys are there. For men, however, the choice is much greater. Multiple Challenger events take place at the same time, allowing players to spread out well.
The WTA finals will take place in Saudi Arabia, Rafael Nadal is already the country’s ambassador – and the ATP has entered into a partnership with Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF. What do you think of the Saudi offensive?
I believe it cannot be avoided. There will be serious discussions about what the right course of action is. On the one hand, they want to improve the prize money on the women’s side. On the other hand, you also have to ask yourself whether you want such a partner on board. I wonder what conclusions will be drawn. At the same time, to be honest, I am also happy that I do not have to support the decision.
American player Jessica Pegula said last year that she thought the WTA finals in Saudi Arabia would be okay if they really “brought change” in the country. Do you find this realistic?
Well, this discussion has already come up once when the tournaments in Dubai (United Arab Emirates, editor) and Doha (Qatar) were discussed. When the WTA first went to Doha, women were not even allowed to drive there. That was over 10 years ago. And a lot has changed now. Not because of us tennis players, but we could see a development. And yet I think it is important that this debate continues.
At the 2022 US Open, your very last opponent was Belinda Bencic, who is now on maternity leave – and will join a prominent list of tennis mothers. Will Bencic achieve major Grand Slam redemption as a mother?
I think Belinda will come back very strong. The reason I say that is because I played against her a lot and trained with her a lot. I think I know her well. Not as a person, of course, but as a tennis player. And I think her nerves often got in the way – and tennis wasn’t a problem at all.
What do you mean?
If you ask me: can Belinda win a Grand Slam tournament? Then I would say: Yes, not one, but maybe even six. Because that is the quality she has. I played against the best in the world. And I know that if Belinda plays well, she will be at the same level. But she was always very strict with herself and very perfectionist. But we’ve recently seen other moms like Elina Switolina, Caroline Wozniacki and a little bit of Angelique Kerber change.
How?
They all became a little softer and softer with themselves. There is now something more important than tennis successes. I can’t speak from my own experience, but it is what I have often observed among colleagues. I would definitely give Belinda a title like that, because she really deserves it.
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
