Another year has come and gone, another year has dropped its hammer on our head. I’m being particularly dramatic on this third day of the new year because I found 3 strays of grey hair this morning and it feels like the demise is near. What has become of the once lively Andrea? What has become of that chestnut hair? Nothing but a symbol of decay.
It’s a weird time that time between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. When we have too much time to think about ourselves and all the goals we haven’t accomplished. To tennis players it’s the time to kiss their parents goodbye before mounting a plane headed for Australia. The last polishes have been made, the technique changed, the footwork improved. Or so they hope. For there is always that one moment upon arrival Down Under when you have to ask yourself whether you have flunked your pre-season. Coming from Europe or the US the time difference is too great and the Australian sun too harsh. You only ever know you’ve arrived when you find a little spot of skin that got sun burned because you forgot to properly cream protect it.
I took my time away from tennis trying my utmost to not watch any just to get sucked back into it mere days later. And boy, it’s fun to be back! While I sit to write these words, I’m surrounded by colleagues solving crossword puzzles, the TV light almost as harsh as the Australian sun, the powder creasing in my ever so firmer wrinkles, and we are all waiting. For the next match, the next drama, the next big story. How about Billy Harris, the man with the name of a James Bond villain, who only a few years ago traveled the world in a van, trying to save money and to make a splash in tennis’ upper echelon? Now that’s a story.
I walk the rounds of Sydney’s Olympic Center and am amazed by how these athletes were able to improve their game in an off-season so short we quickly changed its name to pre-season. There is no off-season in tennis anymore.
I see Iga Swiatek’s abbreviated forehand swing. The quick rotation of the shoulders, the take-back short and sweet. I marvel at Karolina Muchova’s return position. An eye so sharp she hasn’t hit a single return behind the baseline on Jasmine Paolini’s second serve. Speaking of court position and Jasmine Paolini. That little ball of fire and energy has improved her groundstrokes’ average court position from a meter behind the baseline in 2023 to right on it in 2024 and 2025. She’s controlling that baseline like Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
These are only the most obvious ones and the year is as little as 3 days old. The Australian Open haven’t even started yet. There will be plenty to talk about. I’m about to slide into your email folders like Iga Swiatek slides on hardcourt. What a time to be alive!
Long story short: It’s good to be back.
Things that make me happy:
Seeing the sun after months of Germany’s and New York’s grey skies. Grey grey grey. As grey as my hair will be in no time. Everything changes when you see light. I eat healthier. I drink water instead of wine. When I get dressed I don’t run the risk of accidentally impersonating an alleged murderer. See below a picture of the first photo the NYPD published looking for Luigi Mangione and me on the day when the photo was published. It’s those damn winter clothes.
Things that make me unhappy:
The beauty of a podcast is that you can (hopefully) talk freely and articulate thoughts in long-form. The audience hears the tone of voice and whether things have been said dismissively or maybe even jokingly. There are websites out there who have now made it their thing to quote experts in tennis podcasts not only out of context but devoid of any discussion that was had prior to the quote. Their goal is to cause controversy and generate traffic, of course, but to what avail? For the three people who have read your thing, you have lost the locker room. And one thing you never want to do is lose the locker room.
Long time no see, old sport! May the season ahead be a wonderful one and may we accompany it in style. I know I will. So long!
Yours truly, Andrea
A few gray strands are only foreshadowing the full-on beauty that may be to come. I mean, have you seen Maria Cicak?
Superb 👏👏 the clickbait on X is too much, something to leave in 2025! You are brill on the podcast so keep speaking your truth my friend ✨