Mailbag II

Your questions, my answers

Another week has gone by and at least in Germany there is no hope in sight for the sky to be any other colour but grey ever again. The season, while nowhere near the end, can feel like a letdown after the US Open and before the WTA and ATP finals. While many people think it has something to do with tournaments being in Asia or specifically China, I personally don’t think that’s the case. I just believe the season is long and players are tired. Whether that’s in Europe, America, Africa, Australia or Asia - players would still be tired. Adrenaline is a wondrous thing that can help you over the hump when there’s a highlight in clear sight but right after the US Open the path to the WTA and ATP finals seems too far away for Adrenaline alone to be the solution.

It’s still an interesting time of the year as there can be upsets we didn’t anticipate. No Sinncaraz in the Shanghai final, for example, despite the tournament directors apparently slowing down surfaces for them. That is according to Alexander Zverev which is a weird stance to take a few weeks after the Cincinnati and US Open final, both on the quicker side when it comes to surfaces. But alas, the season is long and the times are trying.

There were so many of your questions I didn’t get to in the Mailbag episode I did a few weeks ago that I decided to answer some more today before I take a break (with occasional comebacks) to focus on my book. Here we go.

Can you become friends on tour? Patrick.

The short answer is: Yes. And the true answer is: No. LOL. I don’t know if you meant it to be as layered of a question, Patrick, but intentionally or unintentionally you hit on something very complex. The reason I say that is that I would’ve answered your question differently before and after I retired.

I always had friends on tour and I keep in touch with some of them still today. It’s not hard as I travel to tournaments for TV and will always find somebody to have dinner or coffee with. When I retired, however, I noticed that our conversations became more intimate, that some of the women (or men sometimes) would tell me things they wouldn’t have told me before. No matter how close you think you are, when you know in the back of your mind that you might have to play each other soon, you will seal shut some of the vulnerability you might’ve shown otherwise.

The question is: What is a real friendship? Can you still be truly good friends if you don’t tell each other some of the hardships you’re going through? Is enjoying each other’s company enough to constitute a friendship? I’m not sure I’m qualified to answer these questions definitively but one thing is certain. There are only a few women in this world who know what you go through as a professional tennis player on a daily basis. Those women may be your rivals and opponents but they often time, and maybe wrongfully so, feel like your friends and sisters.

It’s like that old friend from high school you have nothing in common with. They listen to the Foo Fighters, you like Britney Spears. They want to see the new Paul Thomas Anderson film while you have tickets for the Lego movie. They know which stocks to buy and what an ETF is while you prefer to spend your money on stuff you can hold (like shoes). But deep down you know that you have gone through hell and back together because let’s face it, puberty is hell (and back) and that’s why you still love each other.

How does a broadcasting schedule come about? When do you know which matches you will call? Jeff.

I always thought being a tennis player is really hard because tennis is one of the only sports where you truly don’t know when you’ll play. It might be Monday, but it could be Tuesday and you have to be ready at 11am but also prepared to play a night match. The one question other athletes ask me most often is about scheduling and how one plans one’s routine. I always tell them: One doesn’t. Underprepared and overconfident is the route to go. Poke in the dark, light a candle in church, try and hope for the best.

Little did I know that broadcast scheduling will be a lot worse. And I should’ve known because it’s obvious. Broadcasting needs to wait for the schedule for the players before they can even begin to think what they want to do. In the first days of Grand Slams particularly, it can be a mess and if it rains, forget it. One of the hardest jobs in broadcasting is that of the producer. They basically have to do it all. Keep talent in check, follow 10 matches at the same time, each of those matches has 4 to 6 cameras on them, be aware of that, and pray for the schedule to be out on time so you can start planning for the next day. If you can’t multitask and improvise, you shouldn’t be a producer.

For talent (we, the announcers, are referred to as talent in the business which is funny because nobody ever called me a talent when I was still playing tennis), however, it’s quite easy. You have to call 2 matches a day (plus remain on standby in case one of the other announcer’s matches go long and you have to fill in) which means you have to prep 4 players maximum.

I will say, though, that Tennis Channel is different. At TC, we work in shifts and they try to keep a steady pace. If you are doing early morning shifts, chances are very high that you will remain on the early morning shifts. It sometimes means more prep work in terms of amount of players you have to be ready to call matches for but at least you know when you start and when you’ll be done.

The best way to do your job is honestly to follow everything as best as you can. It doesn’t mean you have to watch every single match that’s being played in the world right now. But keep tabs on results, watch as much as you can and check out players who are continuously doing well on the challengers tour. Chances are, these are the players you will very soon be talking about (*cough* Victoria Mboko *cough*) A LOT.

Is there no such thing as an unforced error? Joel.

Now, that is a great question. I strongly believe that there are only very, very, very, very few TRUE unforced errors on the tennis court of professional tennis players. Some of you, who have heard me commentate on matches before, know that I go on and on about it. When you play tennis on the level we typically show on TV, it’s very rare for tennis players to just miss a ball because they weren’t focused. Usually, it’s a combination of stress, being uncomfortable and feeling rushed. All of these things can be manipulated by the opponents. Their entire job consists of figuring out what you like and don’t like during the match.

When you see players missing a lot towards the sidelines, it’s highly likely they’re playing a great mover who makes the court feel small to them. When you see players miss long, chances are they’re playing a big hitter who makes them feel like they need to have good depth and risk more. And when you see them missing in the net, it’s almost certain that their muscles are tight and they feel pressure, whether that’s mental or physical doesn’t really matter. Pressure is pressure. There is always a reason why somebody “commits an unforced error”. More often than not, the reason is on the other side of the net and her name is Serena Williams. That’ll do for stressing you out. LOL.

How often do you still play? Mark.

Thank you very much, Mark, for such an important question! I do still play and I am, in fact, still changing as a tennis player. Unfortunately for the worse but change is change. I sometimes like to say my tennis is accelerating, backwards and hill down, but accelerating nonetheless. When I’m at home in Germany, I try to hit once a week and I use it as a workout where I run to every ball and try to sweat out all the toxins from my body that have accumulated over the course of the last weeks. It’s still the number one sport in my heart and I find it important to continue to play in order to be a better commentator. I don’t ever want to become the type of announcer that forgets how hard tennis actually is. So, if you see a wondrous, little talent of a female tennis player out on the public courts of New York or California, do not fret. It’s just me. Yours truly.

Things that make me happy:

Two weeks ago, I started a project that has given me joy every single day of my life. Some months back, I noticed how annoyed I was by my music playlists and how I was virtually listening to the same 3 artists and the same 5 songs over and over again. The newest addition to my music library was the album The Car by the Arctic Monkeys and that was published 3 years ago. It’s fair to say, things needed to change. So, I started listening to the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time as voted for by the Rolling Stone magazine. I’m currently at number 484: Ladys Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’.

Things that make me unhappy:

I’m not going to lie. Some of the albums were a tough hang. Black Flag’s Damaged while great in energy became a difficult listen after a few songs. Punk hardcore is apparently not my favourite kind of music genre. Hey, the good thing with punk is that the songs last 2 minutes at most. Speaking of punk, one of my favourite music jokes goes like this:

What is the difference between punk and jazz?

Jazz musicians play a thousand chords in front of 3 people, punk musicians play 3 chords in front of thousands of people.

Oh well.

punk jazz musicians will play thousands of chords in front of thousands of people

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As mentioned above, the next few newsletters might be appearing in your inboxes more irregularly as I’m in the midst of attempting to write a novel. Until then, I remain faithfully and…

Yours truly, Andrea