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clockwise from top: Diana Shnaider, Paula Badosa, Belinda Bencic, Bianca Andreescu, Madison Keys, Iva Jovic
center: Jessica Pegula
all photos by Daniel Ward |
Five of the Credit One Charleston Open's top seeds and two wild cards met with the media today to talk about everything from training to playing styles to dealing with injury--and a lot more.
"I'm my own thing."
Top seed and defending champion Jessica Pegula talked about her unique playing style. Someone pointed out that Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybankina, the two hottest players on the tour right now, are known for their power. "Iga (Swiatek) and Coco (Gauff) are kind of a separate thing--how do you see yourself?" With no hesitation, Pegula replied, "I'm my own thing." She talked about how Sabalenka and Rybakina are very powerful, and how Swiatek and Gauff use their athleticism and their forehand spins.
"I think," Pegulaa added, "I'm kind of a little bit of an outlier...." She considers her game to be balanced, she redirects power well, and she takes the ball early. "I think that I'm just an all-around, very balanced player. I think that it kind of fits my personality, as well. I feel like players kind of play to their personality a little bit."
Diana Shnaider, when asked to reveal something about herself that might surprise fans, said that--while she enjoys being around others--she also likes to be alone. “I want to spend time just by myself, alone….I prefer just shut the room, maybe order Uber Eats and just don’t see anyone.”
Shnaider also discussed the status of her doubles partnership with Mirra Andreeva. She that she and Andreeva will continue to play together at some events; for example, they will be a team in both Madrid and Rome. However, because Andreeva will be concentrating on singles this season, Shnaider will also play with other partners.
“I get goosebumps, no matter where I play.”
The always-candid Paula Badosa, who has long endured a back injury, and more recently, a related hip injury, told us: “I think we all have, like, two voices in our head, and sometimes you can control the negative a bit better, and then there are other moments in your life when you cannot.” Badosa confirmed that her second injury occurred because of over-compensation from the back injury, for which she receives injections.
The former world number 2 said that she was "not expecting" an injury this time: “I was being very tough on myself—I still am.” Badosa explained that not being in the place that she would like to be has caused her to have anxiety, and that mental training is very important to her. “I love to work on my brain and on my mind because I think it’s another muscle, and I think it’s one of the muscles that doesn’t stop; it’s the only one.”
Badosa likes yoga, but is currently doing more meditation, writing in a journal, and talking a lot with her psychologist.
She also explained that--when she sustained her first injury, she was busy traveling to different countries and searching for solutions, but when she sustained the labral tear, she just shut down. "I feel it constantly," she said, and every day, she has to make a decision to train or practice or play. Badosa, who does not want to undergo surgery, pushes through because “I still have this faith, and I still believe in myself. I get goosebumps, no matter where I play.”
“I don’t have so much time to think about tennis, and maybe that’s a good thing for me."
Someone asked 2022 champion Belinda Bencic what advice she would give her younger self, and she replied: "To enjoy a little bit more. It went quicker than I thought. Everyone told me that it would go quickly, and I thought, ‘no, I have time.'" She added: "I would also say try to find the right people around you.”
Bencic has a daughter, Bella, who is almost two, and she brings her to every tournament so that she can be with her in the morning and at night. I asked her if having motherhood as her main focus has eased her tennis mentality, and she said that it indeed has. “I would say it’s eased it up for me a little bit because I can separate my private life and my professional life much more....I don’t have so much time to think about tennis, and maybe that’s a good thing for me. I’m not over-thinking things, I’m more productive on the practice court. I put less effort into being a professional tennis player, and somehow, it’s working for the better.”
As for the Charleston Open, Bencic--echoing the sentiments of other veterans--said that “This is a tournament that I have always played throughout my career, and I will always play it.”
2019 champion Madison Keys was asked what it was like to defend her title in Australia. “It’s kind of like the end of the chapter," she said, "where I got to do the thing I dreamed of for my entire life.” Asked whether winning a major had allowed her to be a bit lighter in how she approaches the game, and she gave a quick "no," and said that the pressure "all comes back pretty quickly."
Keys is a co-host of "The Player's Box" podcast." I enjoy it a lot....It’s been really nice to kind of get to show our personalities a bit more. I think it’s hard for fans to fully grasp who we are as people….”
The 2025 Australian Open champion said that she also enjoys gardening and taking care of her house, and that lately, she and her husband (who is also her coach) have been expanding their cooking repertoire.
“I just try to take everything as a challenge, rather than a setback.”
2019 U.S. Open champion Bianca Andreescu is in Charleston for the first time. Andreescu has endured multiple injuries, and she talked about the strange course that her career has taken. After she won the U.S. Open, there was the Covid delay, and then she became injured, and didn’t play for 13 or 14 months, a series of events that she described as "very unorthodox." "In a way, I thought that (having a huge win at the beginning of her career) would be my norm because that’s how I started the tour, you know, that was my first year on tour, so I was like ‘cool!’”
It has been my observation that Andreescu plays better when she has to do instant problem-solving on the court, and I asked her about that. She confirmed my observation: “And I think that’s still the case. I guess the way I look at it is, when there’s more of a threat. So when I’m down, or maybe I’m playing somebody that I really wanna beat, that extra threat gives me a bit of a push, but I’ve been working on trying to execute from A to Z, the same, and not relying on having that.”
Discussing her many injuries, Andreescu said, "I just try to take everything as a challenge, rather than a setback." She has doubted, from time to time, whether playing tennis is what she’s supposed to be doing, but she believes that it is. In 2024, she thought about playing challengers, but “I guess my ego got in the way of that.” This time arund, she has successfully played on the ITF circuit.
As for training post-injury: "You kind of just learn as you go.” Andreescu explained that from time to time, she thinks that she's found a good routine, but then she has to change it. As for mental training, for which Andreescu is known, she said: “I’ve tried many different modalities and methods….” “How much do I work on visualization, how much do I work on manifestation, surrendering—this and that? So I’m playing around with it.”
"I think that tennis players are very stubborn, and that can work with us or against us."
Another new face on the Charleston scene is 18-year-old Iva Jovic, who has made quite an impression on the tour. Jovic, who is already ranked number 16 in the world, said that she feels lucky that there are so many other players around her age on the tour. “It’s great to have Vicky and to have Mirra and to have Alex…I’m great friends with all of them, but even with that, it still is lonely. It’s not like you see them at every tournament, and sometimes we’re busy—we don’t have time to grab dinner or catch up….”
Asked if she played any other sports, Jovic enthusiastically talked about playing soccer, and said that playing soccer as a child helped her with her tennis footwork. As for her short-term goals--Jovic is trying to maximize training, and is also working on getting more variety in her game. “How can I get better every day?... I think that tennis players are very stubborn, and that can work with us or against us."
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