British Tennis Forum - Celebrating 20 Years!

tennissweetspot.substack.com/p/kids-these-days

Really interesting, and quite detailed, interview with Hannah, and others juniors (Lili Tagger, etc)

(if have the time, the interview below (in English) with Elsa Jaquemot about being a #1 junior and moving to adults - and how unwelcoming the other players are - is also quite revealing)

Klugmans coach, Ben Haran, helped her to deal with what is already high pressure on the Junior Tour by stating one thing only: Its just training. My coach and I are basically saying, this is juniors, and all these matches are for practice. So, go out there and practice what we've been working on. But also work on finding a way to win even when its not pretty. Klugman was lucky to go and train for a few days at the Rafa Nadal Academy and to sneak a chat with Rafael Nadal. He told me, once you have the level, things will come, so trust the hard work and the process.

I always thought women's tennis was so far away from juniors, but honestly, it's not. It's close. There are little things, obviously, like the pace of the ball is a bit higher and they take the opportunities better, but honestly, it's pretty close. So that's why I'm sticking in juniors, still getting my match count up. Also, because, obviously, with my age, I'm not allowed to play enough tournaments. So, you know, getting that match count is key. And also being around this environment as well.

I asked her if she thought itd be that hard or maybe that easy when she started playing as a child, and she had a very mature answer. When I was younger, I never really saw it as, like, I'm going to be a professional. I always saw it as a sport I play for fun. But no, I didn't think it would be this hard. It is really hard. But that's the fun of it. You know, the ups and downs. You know, the ups are so high, but the lows are low. And there's probably more lows than highs. What makes it so hard, in her opinion? You're playing week in, week out. It's tournament after tournament. And also, just getting yourself up after losing: It's tough. And dealing with the pressures, the nerves as well. You're in stressful situations or in front of a big crowd, and its tough. Also, you dont want to lose.