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Speaker 1: I speak openly about in the book because it's a

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Speaker 1: huge part of of an athlete's career. And what what

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Speaker 1: happened to me was I mean, it was very difficult.

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Speaker 1: It's one of the toughest things that an athlete can

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Speaker 1: go through. Um, I've had shoulder surgery, I went through that.

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Speaker 1: I've been through my fair shares of ups and downs,

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Speaker 1: but this was a big hit. Hi, everyone, just me again.

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Speaker 1: I'm missing Brian too, but he will be back for

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Speaker 1: our next episode. It's hard to believe it is our

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Speaker 1: last show of two thousand and seventeen. I think a

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Speaker 1: lot of people are ready to say goodbye to this year.

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Speaker 1: I know I am. But one bright spot of my

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Speaker 1: year was getting to interview tennis player Maria Sharapova. We

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Speaker 1: take the Slide at the ninety Street Wye in New

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Speaker 1: York City. Maria is a five time Grand Slam winner,

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Speaker 1: and she's out with a new memoir called Unstoppable My

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Speaker 1: life so Far, so clearly she's got another book in

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Speaker 1: her with that title. She actually wrote her memoir during

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Speaker 1: the fifteen months she recently spent off the court. That's

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Speaker 1: how long she was suspended from tennis. I asked her

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Speaker 1: to explain how that happened, and we actually started by

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Speaker 1: talking about what it was like to come back. Meanwhile,

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Speaker 1: in August, I was in the crowd at Maria's first

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Speaker 1: US Open match since her suspension was lifted, and I

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Speaker 1: wanted to know what was that night like for her.

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Speaker 1: How did it feel when she walked into Arthur Ash

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Speaker 1: Stadium in Queen's to play for a sold out crowd.

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Speaker 1: I walked into a lot of unknown that night, and

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Speaker 1: it was very different to what I would usually feel

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Speaker 1: going into a first round match at a tournament. I

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Speaker 1: felt like there's a lot on the line and that

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Speaker 1: match from the moment that the draw came out and

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Speaker 1: I saw that I'd be facing as a wild card,

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Speaker 1: the number two player in the world. Once I knew

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Speaker 1: I'd be facing against her, not only was I playing

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Speaker 1: in the US Open after not competing there for a

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Speaker 1: few years, I was going to play against Simona Hallip

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Speaker 1: and just feeling Arthur Ash Stadium kind of seeing pun

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Speaker 1: played under like the roof environment, even though the roof

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Speaker 1: was opened, but the new structure of the court, it

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Speaker 1: just seemed like almost like a new tournament to me

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Speaker 1: because it had been so long. It was very exciting.

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Speaker 1: It was a long match. I was two hours and

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Speaker 1: forty four minutes. But who's counting? I am, but I

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Speaker 1: have to say it was I'm counting the day after

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Speaker 1: when I'm like, oh, I feel as part of my body.

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Speaker 1: I was supposed to finish that in two cents. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: and you must you must have been exhausted. But I

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Speaker 1: mean I know that after the match, and I was

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Speaker 1: very excited to be there that night, so especially knowing

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Speaker 1: I was going to interview you, So that was a

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Speaker 1: real added extra for me. But if you told the

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Speaker 1: crowd quote behind all these I always have a hard

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Speaker 1: time saying that word. I think it's were thank you

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Speaker 1: crystals and little black dresses. This earl has a lot

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Speaker 1: of grit and she's not going anywhere. Was this redemption

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Speaker 1: in many ways for you? It just felt like this

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Speaker 1: is where I belonged, and I knew that I wanted

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Speaker 1: to get back to that stage and it um remember

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Speaker 1: leaving the courts and it was probably was past midnight

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Speaker 1: at the time when I did the press conference after

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Speaker 1: and I got back to the hotel room and I

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Speaker 1: was I was in the room by one am. Had

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Speaker 1: to go through a little massage um sports, massage, a

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Speaker 1: few other things. So you end up going to bet

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Speaker 1: at like three am. But I just I didn't want

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Speaker 1: to sleep, like I didn't want that evening or that

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Speaker 1: feeling to end. I didn't want to start another day

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Speaker 1: because I feel like I had so many of those um,

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Speaker 1: you know, match memories to relive. Still, you made it

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Speaker 1: to the fourth round, you lost to Anastasia Sevastova vlat

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Speaker 1: M three sets. I know you're uber competitive, duh, understatement

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Speaker 1: of the century, but how upset were you with that

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Speaker 1: loss and and the fact that you weren't going to

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Speaker 1: go on. I certainly don't leave that court and say, oh,

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Speaker 1: I'm okay with this. Definitely not. And you always have

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Speaker 1: these expectations from yourself because you know what you're capable of,

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Speaker 1: you know what you've the tennis that you've produced there

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Speaker 1: over the years, and you know you can and you

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Speaker 1: know everyone's watching and you want to and so it

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Speaker 1: adds to that that extra pressure, which I love. But

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Speaker 1: I wasn't. I wasn't satisfied, and I shouldn't be like

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Speaker 1: that's I shouldn't be satisfied with a forethrown exit. And

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Speaker 1: I guess before a match you must envision what. I

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Speaker 1: don't know if you do this, but I would if

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Speaker 1: I were you, what it would be like if you want,

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Speaker 1: you know what that moment would feel like, because it

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Speaker 1: gives you something to aspire to, and so when it

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Speaker 1: doesn't happen, you really have to kind of do a

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Speaker 1: serious formulive visualization. Yeah, I definitely do that. I prefer

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Speaker 1: that to like setting certain goals for myself. I think

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Speaker 1: it's just it's not about a particular ending, like that's

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Speaker 1: not the way that I look at things. But I

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Speaker 1: certainly visualize what success feels like to me, and I

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Speaker 1: see it and I understand it and I feel it. Um.

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Speaker 1: I think that's really important. And what does it feel

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Speaker 1: like for you when you visualize? What do you say, though?

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Speaker 1: What do you see? Do you see? Uh? You know?

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Speaker 1: I mean, do you imagine something in your mind's eye? Yeah?

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Speaker 1: I think for me, happiness is really internal. It's not

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Speaker 1: something that is most of the time seen in photographs

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Speaker 1: are told in words. I think there's something much deeper.

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Speaker 1: It's not something that anyone will be able to say, oh, well,

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Speaker 1: now I saw that that she was happy, of course,

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Speaker 1: like the emotion of winning that match. That was amazing,

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Speaker 1: and that was happiness, and that brought so much to

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Speaker 1: I mean, I think you you can't act that out

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Speaker 1: like that. That's the way I really felt in that moment.

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Speaker 1: Let's let's talk about something that I know you've been

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Speaker 1: asked about a lot, and certainly by journalists as you've

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Speaker 1: been out promoting your book. Um, and it's it's really

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Speaker 1: what you start off with in your prologue, the first sentences.

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Speaker 1: At some point towards the end of the two thousand

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Speaker 1: sixteen Australian Open, a nurse asked me to pee in

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Speaker 1: a cup. That's a good thought. My first memoir would

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Speaker 1: start with the words p and the cup. But but but,

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Speaker 1: of course, of course that that leads to the whole

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Speaker 1: story of your suspension and why you were taking meldonium,

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Speaker 1: which has the trade name of Meldreny, on a daily

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Speaker 1: basis for for ten years. It was put on the

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Speaker 1: band's substance list in two thousand fift September, and when

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Speaker 1: that band went into effect in January, of course you

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Speaker 1: tested positive. You know, In preparing for this interview, I

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Speaker 1: spoke with Billy jan King, who really admires you deeply,

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Speaker 1: and she said, quote, you know, I'm still scratching my

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Speaker 1: head over this. I just don't understand how this could happen.

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Speaker 1: She described Maria as someone extremely exceedingly professional and exceedingly precise.

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Speaker 1: And I know you've talked about this, but Billy Jing

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Speaker 1: King still doesn't get it. So can you help her

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Speaker 1: and us out and explain explain how this happened? Um,

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Speaker 1: in so many ways, if I would, if it would

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Speaker 1: feel like I would be going backwards and starting from

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Speaker 1: from scratch. And I it's still a question that I

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Speaker 1: occasionally do ask myself, and I asked myself for a

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Speaker 1: long period of time after I received that notice. It

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Speaker 1: wasn't I didn't want to go back. I didn't want

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Speaker 1: to rewind. And I am I'm very much to talk

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Speaker 1: about it when I do, and but I am someone

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Speaker 1: that wants to learn for my mistakes. But in this situation, UM,

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Speaker 1: when you're taking something legally for numerous amount of years,

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Speaker 1: that is a common supplement in Russia, used by thousands

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Speaker 1: of people and including my grandmother, which is I mean,

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Speaker 1: I can laugh about it now. It wasn't funny at

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Speaker 1: the time, but it's just such an odd and very

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Speaker 1: odd thing that it all of a sudden becomes banned

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Speaker 1: and I'm not aware of it, and no one around me,

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Speaker 1: whether it's myself, my team, the organization's let me know.

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Speaker 1: I think what was really frustrating was it could have

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Speaker 1: been avoided so easily if I would have known. You know,

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Speaker 1: it does seem surprising though by all accounts, you have

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Speaker 1: this incredible team around you that are you know, people

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Speaker 1: focused on your success as a professional athlete, and it

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Speaker 1: does beg the question. I mean, did somebody literally drop

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Speaker 1: the ball on this and if so, a who was responsible?

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Speaker 1: Because you contend that your agents and trainers missed the

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Speaker 1: various I t F notifications of this being added to

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Speaker 1: the band A substance list, And if in fact someone

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Speaker 1: did drop the ball, were there any repercussions for that?

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Speaker 1: And because I know you kept your entire team around,

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Speaker 1: I think the biggest um, the biggest problem was this

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Speaker 1: sense of complacency in a system that I had for

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Speaker 1: a long time. And I started that by saying from

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Speaker 1: my end as well, because as I said, from the

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Speaker 1: very beginning, as an athlete, you take responsibility. It's not

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Speaker 1: your coach, it's not it's not a manager, it's not

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Speaker 1: your your parents, it's your it's your career, it's your life,

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Speaker 1: it's your body. And yeah, I was also interested in

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Speaker 1: the fact that you didn't disclose this because I talked

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Speaker 1: to some other players. We worked very hard preparing for interview,

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Speaker 1: and one professional player said, you know their disclosure forms,

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Speaker 1: and he said, I'm so paranoid or I was so

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Speaker 1: paranoid when I played that I would even put violin

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Speaker 1: c on that on that list, And and so why

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Speaker 1: didn't you just write it down and claim a therapeutic exemption. Ye. So,

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Speaker 1: for for all the years that I was doing these forms,

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Speaker 1: I was writing down, as it's said in the instructions,

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Speaker 1: the medicines are supplements that you were supposed to write

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Speaker 1: down for the past seven days. So everything that I

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Speaker 1: was taking continuously every single day for the past seven days,

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Speaker 1: I would write down. And this was not something that

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Speaker 1: I took every single day. So I know one of

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Speaker 1: the benefits is increased exercise cardiovascular capacity. Now that you're

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Speaker 1: not taking it, did you notice any ill effects on

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Speaker 1: your performance, because it's at one point you said you

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Speaker 1: would look for a substitute, a replacement that wasn't on

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Speaker 1: the band list. Did you find that I constantly have

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Speaker 1: to get check ups. I constantly have to go to

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Speaker 1: the doctor. UM. I get regular e KG is a

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Speaker 1: lot more than than other people would UM. As you

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Speaker 1: can imagine, I'm very detail oriented. After this happened, and

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Speaker 1: and so did you find a replacement? UM, it's something

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Speaker 1: that I don't want to talk about. It's just not

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Speaker 1: something when we speak about doctors. I think it will

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Speaker 1: open up more conversation and more questions. And I think

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Speaker 1: from the very beginning, I think it's important, UM, you know,

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Speaker 1: to speak about what had happened openly and honestly, and

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Speaker 1: to move on from it. Let's let's talk about your

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Speaker 1: time away from tennis. That fifteen months down from the

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Speaker 1: original two year verdict allowed you to do some things

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Speaker 1: that you hadn't done before. I think you must have

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Speaker 1: had a really interesting experience. You took summer classes at

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Speaker 1: Harvard Business School, You interned for a few days at

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Speaker 1: the NBA. You followed around a commissioner, Adam Silver through

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Speaker 1: his daily activities. You wrote this book. Why did you

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Speaker 1: want to do some of those things? I think because

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Speaker 1: it was the first time really in my career where

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Speaker 1: I had time. It just gave me time. It gave

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Speaker 1: me the freedom to do what I wanted to do,

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Speaker 1: to grow as a person, um, and also to take

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Speaker 1: my mind off of what was going on. I went

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Speaker 1: to school for a few weeks and just to be

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Speaker 1: in an environment with people that I didn't really care

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Speaker 1: about my problems, had problems of their own, but we

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Speaker 1: all had a similar understanding of why we were there.

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Speaker 1: We wanted to learn um doing the internships. UM. You know,

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Speaker 1: as you said, dam Silver, I've always admired his work,

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Speaker 1: just his professionalism and leadership, and I think the NBA

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Speaker 1: has done, out of all sports, is just an incredible

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Speaker 1: showcase of putting athletes and teams and business together and

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Speaker 1: creating a great product. So I wanted to learn from him.

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Speaker 1: I went to Nike for a few days in Portland

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Speaker 1: to shadowed a few people, So it was a mix

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Speaker 1: of things, but more importantly, it gave me a chance

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Speaker 1: I care about, and that I wanted to be with

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Speaker 1: during that period of time. You still trained. When I

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Speaker 1: talked to Billy Jean, she said, I'd like to drop

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Speaker 1: Billy Jane King's name like Billy Jane and I, but

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Speaker 1: we're like that, well that we should she's incredible. She's yeah,

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Speaker 1: she's an amazing But she talked about how tough it

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Speaker 1: was to go back and and to play at the

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Speaker 1: US Open after not playing competitive tennis or you know

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Speaker 1: that kind of tennis for that period of time. It's hard. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: It's the one thing is you can never replicate a

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Speaker 1: competitive match. It's just not. You can do all the

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Speaker 1: training in the world, and I spend time doing yoga

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Speaker 1: and boxing and hiking and all the things I really

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Speaker 1: didn't have time for because my training was very different

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Speaker 1: from that. And all of a sudden, I find myself

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Speaker 1: in an indoor cycling class with music. I was like, oh,

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Speaker 1: this is this is new. I was like, wow, I

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Speaker 1: didn't know that the training could be like dancing and fun.

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Speaker 1: And then you go into class and it's like you

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Speaker 1: go from zero to like waking up, like coffee in hand.

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Speaker 1: A lot of women would walk in with their coffees

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Speaker 1: and then all of a sudden, their heart rates like

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Speaker 1: one sixty. I was like, wait, where's the warm up?

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Speaker 1: I was like, I'm like thinking, where they're going to

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Speaker 1: hurt themselves? Um, But it was very actually impressive. I

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Speaker 1: gained this whole new appreciation of this like work active

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Speaker 1: family balance that people have. I mean, I'm fortunate enough

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Speaker 1: to work out for a living, and while I was

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Speaker 1: doing these internships and studying, I knew that I had to,

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Speaker 1: like at least be in somewhat of a good shape.

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Speaker 1: But I would come back. Let's talk about your workout routine,

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Speaker 1: because you mentioned I mean, and I watched a documentary

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Speaker 1: about you that some friends of mine did, Lisa and

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Speaker 1: Nancy Lax and they're great, and uh, you know, it

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Speaker 1: showed you working out and I thought, God, how how

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Speaker 1: do you do that day in and day out? Take

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Speaker 1: us through sort of quickly your routine and what you

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Speaker 1: do and how you mix it up. It really depends

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Speaker 1: on whether I'm getting ready for a tournament, or if

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Speaker 1: I'm in the off season, or if I'm in a

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Speaker 1: time and place where I just need to maintain UM.

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Speaker 1: The off season is probably the toughest training block of

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Speaker 1: the year for me, and it just it's physical, it's grueling,

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Speaker 1: it's long hours I do. I spend probably three hours

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Speaker 1: in the gym and on the track. UM. But a

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Speaker 1: lot of the focus and what I've tried to focus

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Speaker 1: on is be very ton of specific because you can't replicate.

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Speaker 1: And I don't know what it's like in other sports,

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Speaker 1: but you really can't replicate tennis in any their environment.

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Speaker 1: So how many hours would you say you spend a day?

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Speaker 1: Like five to six? Oh God, that sounds awful. I

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Speaker 1: don't know, do you? I mean, do you ever? I

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Speaker 1: will say, though, it is a lot better. As I've

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Speaker 1: been doing this book during the last couple of days,

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Speaker 1: that's been like fifteen hour days. I've I was like,

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Speaker 1: I'd rather play tennis for twelve I'd rather made me

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Speaker 1: run side to side for twelve hours. Like, I don't know,

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Speaker 1: there's just something about talking endlessly that's very difficult, Like

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Speaker 1: I'd rather just be playing and focused and running and

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Speaker 1: physical because it's just what I know best. We finished

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Speaker 1: our first set, so we're going to take a quick break.

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Speaker 1: I'll be back with Maria Sharapova to talk more tennis

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Speaker 1: and even a little Vladimir Putin. Now back to my

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Speaker 1: conversation with Maria Scherifova. You know, I know that you

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Speaker 1: write in your book that you were really never into

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Speaker 1: making friends in the world of tennis, and in fact,

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Speaker 1: you called friendships among competitors tour friendships and a phony

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Speaker 1: show for the press. Do you ever feel as if

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Speaker 1: Maria you missed out or is that just not your

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Speaker 1: jam to kind of get to know people. I'm so

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Speaker 1: hip to get to know you know. I saw using

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Speaker 1: Instagram before we went on here. I was like, I'm

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Speaker 1: really impressed with your skills. You can't teach an old

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Speaker 1: doc Patrick. But I mean, do you feel in a

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Speaker 1: way that, Gosh, when you see someone like like Sloan

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Speaker 1: and Madison embracing and having that extraordinary bond, do you

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Speaker 1: feel like, gee, I wish I could have had that?

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Speaker 1: In some ways, yeah, I respect that it's not the

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Speaker 1: way that I grew up because I I came to

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Speaker 1: America as an immigrant, and I spent the first many

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Speaker 1: years being you know, someone at the academy that was

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Speaker 1: much younger than everyone else, that was really on a

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Speaker 1: different mission than everyone else. Um that weren't as competitive,

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Speaker 1: that weren't as driven as I was, had different goals

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Speaker 1: and visions for their lives and um, and I was

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Speaker 1: always someone that was beating girls and boys that were

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Speaker 1: older than I was, so in a way, they didn't

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Speaker 1: like me for that, and I felt that I felt

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Speaker 1: that energy and um and I wanted to to beat

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Speaker 1: them even more, and so I think, do you lose

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Speaker 1: your edge a little when you do? Do you ever

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Speaker 1: feel like you lose your edge if you get too

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Speaker 1: close to your competitors. Yeah, I do, I really do,

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Speaker 1: And I think I speak a lot about that in

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Speaker 1: in the book. You know, I didn't have any siblings.

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Speaker 1: It was just me, and I wasn't around my parents

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Speaker 1: very often the first few years in America, so it

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Speaker 1: was really me and the tennis racket and the ball

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Speaker 1: and the coaches that were around me trying to make

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Speaker 1: me a better tennis player. So it was an absolute

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Speaker 1: lonely time and I had to I had to deal

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Speaker 1: with that, and I had to, like, I really did

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Speaker 1: feel isolated from from the rest. You know, a lot

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Speaker 1: of attention has been given to some of the stuff

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Speaker 1: that you wrote about Serena um who's been out of

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Speaker 1: tennis herself for a few months. She just had a

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Speaker 1: baby girl named Alexis So mozl mozzle Serena. I hear

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Speaker 1: Eric the ninety street Wise say, mozle um. So your

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Speaker 1: record against her is two wins and nineteen losses. But

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Speaker 1: you beat her in the Wimbledon finals in July of

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Speaker 1: two thousand four. Of course, as you remember, you were

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Speaker 1: just seventeen years old at the time, was your first

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Speaker 1: Grand Slam. And in the book you write about hearing

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Speaker 1: quote guttural sobs when you came to the locker room

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Speaker 1: after the awards ceremony. Serena Williams was bawling and she

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Speaker 1: didn't see you, but you write that she knew you

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Speaker 1: were there, and you continue, I'm going to read an excerpt.

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Speaker 1: I think Serena hated me for being the skinny kid

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Speaker 1: who beat her against all odds at Wimbledon. I think

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Speaker 1: she hate me for taking something that she believed belonged

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Speaker 1: to her. I think she hated me for seeing her

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Speaker 1: at her lowest moment. But mostly I think she hated

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Speaker 1: me for seeing her cry. She's never forgiven me for it.

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Speaker 1: End quote. Now, not long after the tournament, you also

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Speaker 1: write someone told you they heard Serena say quote, I

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Speaker 1: will never lose to that little bitch again. So just

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Speaker 1: very much true. Yeah, so, so I guess she got her.

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Speaker 1: So but why why do you think it was important

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Speaker 1: for you to include that in your book, Because I

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Speaker 1: know you've come under some criticism and the things that

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Speaker 1: you've written about her well, I think it was important

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Speaker 1: to share my experiences playing against her. And I've read

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Speaker 1: a lot of memoirs written by athletes, and there are

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Speaker 1: many instances where they don't speak about their rivals, and

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Speaker 1: they don't speak about the matchups. And I think it

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Speaker 1: would have been very odd if I did not include

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Speaker 1: Serena in my book, because I mean, that is who

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Speaker 1: I faced in my first Grand Slam final. And it

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Speaker 1: didn't even begin there as I as I started before.

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Speaker 1: It began as a thirteen year old girl practicing at

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Speaker 1: the Nick Bolitary Academy and really witnessing her presence with

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Speaker 1: her sister and her father, practicing in front of hundreds

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Speaker 1: of kids that were looking at her um watching her

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Speaker 1: every move, seeing her focus in her drive, and what

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Speaker 1: she was able to to do on the tennis court.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I was watching like the next twenty five

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Speaker 1: years of my life, like just in front of my eyes.

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Speaker 1: Later to find out that just in a few years

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Speaker 1: and four years, almost as if someone took me and

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Speaker 1: put me in the in my television screen and said,

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Speaker 1: there you are, You're going to be facing Serena Williams

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Speaker 1: and it's the Wimbledon final. And I didn't belong in

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Speaker 1: that situation. I wasn't nearly ready to compete against her

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Speaker 1: at that stage. It was it was really a miracle

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Speaker 1: that I found myself playing against her then. And so

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Speaker 1: when describing Serena Um and describing her physicality and how

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Speaker 1: intimidating Um she was across the net, this is coming

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Speaker 1: from someone that is seventeen years old, that was not

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Speaker 1: as tall as I am today, that was far from

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Speaker 1: being strong or experienced or ready to be in that position,

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Speaker 1: and yet finding a way to win, and also noticing

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Speaker 1: how I was the one that had nothing to lose

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Speaker 1: in that match, and noticing that she had all the

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Speaker 1: pressure to win that match where actually should be the

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Speaker 1: other way around. I mean, she's already accomplished. She's a

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Speaker 1: two time defending champion at Wimbledon that year. She's done it,

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Speaker 1: she's been there. I'm the one that has to prove myself,

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Speaker 1: and yet I find myself in a position where I

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Speaker 1: feel that there was a lot more on the line

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Speaker 1: for her. So it was important to share that in

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Speaker 1: the In the moment that I speak about in the

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Speaker 1: locker room, I mean that's it's an intimate moment that

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Speaker 1: we share it's an individual sport. Towards the end of

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Speaker 1: a tournament, I mean we're all sharing a locker room together.

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Speaker 1: I mean you could be facing an opponent and have

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Speaker 1: a locker room that's right next to each other. You're

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Speaker 1: getting ready, you're changed. In an hour, you're supposed to

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Speaker 1: go out and compete against each other and beat each other.

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Speaker 1: And then it's the moment after we feel the energy

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Speaker 1: between each other, like we feel that it's such a

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Speaker 1: quiet moment that it's just us, and yet there are

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Speaker 1: thousands of people waiting for arrival on the court. It's

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Speaker 1: so personal though, it's so private. Do you think if

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Speaker 1: if Serena had written a memoir and I think she

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Speaker 1: has well, or if she had talked about that, or

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Speaker 1: if she had said that she heard you cry, Um,

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Speaker 1: do you think you would have felt, gee, that's a

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Speaker 1: little intrusive, or do you think you would have understood

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Speaker 1: her sharing that. I think if I wanted to write

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Speaker 1: a memoir, and when I sat down to write this book, um,

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Speaker 1: and as I said, I've read many memoirs of athletes.

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Speaker 1: It was important for me to be open and honest

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Speaker 1: about the way that I felt and the way that

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Speaker 1: I mean I certainly felt the momentum shift in her attitude,

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Speaker 1: the way that she carried herself playing against me following

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Speaker 1: that final, there's no no doubt about very different. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I mean I definitely, I absolutely feel like she she

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Speaker 1: plays like there's a chip on her shoulder. Yeah, I mean,

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Speaker 1: the way that she's able to raise her level, the

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Speaker 1: confidence with which she portrays and plays. And I mean

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Speaker 1: it's not me. I don't want to single myself out.

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Speaker 1: You see that continuously. I mean, she's won the number

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Speaker 1: of Grand Slams, she's one in a league of her own, um.

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Speaker 1: But ultimately, yeah, there's definitely a level that's um that's

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Speaker 1: much higher. So thirteen years later, would you say you

430
00:23:51,800 --> 00:24:01,840
Speaker 1: like Serena Williams. I respect Serena. Okay, let's let's talk

431
00:24:01,880 --> 00:24:05,040
Speaker 1: about and how can I say that I like someone

432
00:24:05,080 --> 00:24:10,159
Speaker 1: that's being me nineteen times? I mean that would be

433
00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:17,800
Speaker 1: so silly. Okay, No, don't you agree? I don't know.

434
00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:20,080
Speaker 1: I guess that would be hard. I mean, I'm super

435
00:24:20,119 --> 00:24:23,080
Speaker 1: competitive too, so it's hard for me to like people

436
00:24:23,119 --> 00:24:26,680
Speaker 1: like I'm competitive with. On the other hand, I think

437
00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:29,960
Speaker 1: like to me, respect is a very important word because

438
00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:35,520
Speaker 1: I as an athlete I've been able to meet very famous,

439
00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:40,199
Speaker 1: accomplished individuals in different fields, and the understanding that I

440
00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:44,159
Speaker 1: have with with athletes is very different. It's on a

441
00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:47,479
Speaker 1: very different level because you really from a physical from

442
00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:51,080
Speaker 1: an emotional point of view, you really understand what it takes.

443
00:24:51,840 --> 00:24:55,119
Speaker 1: And that's why I use the word respect when I

444
00:24:55,119 --> 00:24:58,040
Speaker 1: speak about Serena, because I know, I know how much

445
00:24:58,080 --> 00:25:00,920
Speaker 1: it takes. I know how much she had to work

446
00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:05,439
Speaker 1: in her upbringing without coming from any money, with having

447
00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:10,720
Speaker 1: a tough childhood and making it going against adversity and

448
00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:13,080
Speaker 1: being in a position of where she is now. I think,

449
00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:15,399
Speaker 1: I mean, it would be very wrong for me to

450
00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:17,680
Speaker 1: sit here and say that I have no respect for her.

451
00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:19,679
Speaker 1: I know what it's like, I know what it's like

452
00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:21,840
Speaker 1: to be in a position of her power, to be

453
00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:24,760
Speaker 1: as successful, to be known around the world, and all

454
00:25:24,800 --> 00:25:27,960
Speaker 1: the intangibles that come with being a professional athletes. So

455
00:25:28,880 --> 00:25:32,040
Speaker 1: from that point of view, there's a tremendous amount of respect.

456
00:25:32,359 --> 00:25:36,080
Speaker 1: But that that doesn't make headlines. So I'm curious. I mean,

457
00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:39,159
Speaker 1: it's funny when you watch players sort of shake hands

458
00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:41,719
Speaker 1: and you wonder what's really going through their heads. And

459
00:25:41,840 --> 00:25:45,960
Speaker 1: because you are pretty myopic, and focused on your tennis

460
00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:49,800
Speaker 1: and haven't built a lot of friendships among other players.

461
00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:52,640
Speaker 1: Have you ever had an occasion to chat with her

462
00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:56,280
Speaker 1: about anything. We've talked about a few different things and

463
00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:01,239
Speaker 1: very random subjects, kind of depend on which time of

464
00:26:01,240 --> 00:26:03,639
Speaker 1: our career it was. And I mean there was a

465
00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:05,600
Speaker 1: point in time where she where I was out with

466
00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:08,120
Speaker 1: injury for a long time she was playing, and then

467
00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:11,159
Speaker 1: she was out following. So there's a big chunk of

468
00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:13,320
Speaker 1: time where we didn't face against each other and we

469
00:26:13,359 --> 00:26:15,879
Speaker 1: didn't see each other a lot of the time, but

470
00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:18,720
Speaker 1: we would, I mean, we would have friendly conversations in

471
00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:21,639
Speaker 1: the locker room saying hello. And I mean there's we

472
00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:24,000
Speaker 1: don't pass by each other very often, and we I

473
00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:26,639
Speaker 1: mean we usually we practice, we play our match, we

474
00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,159
Speaker 1: get our stuff. It's not like there's a you know,

475
00:26:29,320 --> 00:26:33,879
Speaker 1: community party in there where you you hang out. I

476
00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:36,680
Speaker 1: mean you only spending ten fifteen minutes at a time

477
00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:40,200
Speaker 1: in a locker room. So it was cordial, I mean absolutely,

478
00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:44,000
Speaker 1: but not no, No, there's never a time where we

479
00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:47,040
Speaker 1: we don't say hello to each other. Let's let's go

480
00:26:47,080 --> 00:26:48,960
Speaker 1: back and talk about your game a little bit more.

481
00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:50,919
Speaker 1: I know in the book you talk about your greatest

482
00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:55,160
Speaker 1: skill being probably my will I will not quit, and

483
00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:58,000
Speaker 1: and and you hate losing, And you also say you're

484
00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:01,199
Speaker 1: defining characteristic is that you're a ead. You've had this

485
00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:05,840
Speaker 1: incredible career. You have won five Slams, including two French Opens,

486
00:27:06,160 --> 00:27:10,320
Speaker 1: along with one Wimbledon, US Open Australian title, and you've

487
00:27:10,320 --> 00:27:13,040
Speaker 1: won thirty five w t A titles and four I

488
00:27:13,119 --> 00:27:16,280
Speaker 1: t F titles. John McEnroe called you one of the

489
00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:19,800
Speaker 1: best the sport has ever seen, which is high praise

490
00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:23,600
Speaker 1: coming from him. So where are your biggest strengths and weaknesses?

491
00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:29,400
Speaker 1: What's so funny that's just that coming from him? What

492
00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:31,480
Speaker 1: do you like? Do you like John? I do I

493
00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:34,560
Speaker 1: think he's yeah? I mean yeah, I do know I

494
00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:38,080
Speaker 1: very much. You like him even more now that you're

495
00:27:38,119 --> 00:27:40,879
Speaker 1: reminded of that, But well, I do very much. What

496
00:27:40,920 --> 00:27:43,400
Speaker 1: would you say are your greatest strengths and weaknesses out

497
00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:48,159
Speaker 1: on the court? Um, I think my strengths are the

498
00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:50,960
Speaker 1: things that are not measured and then that are not numbered.

499
00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:53,960
Speaker 1: And I always joke with my coach about this. UM

500
00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:57,480
Speaker 1: always tell him like, if you take me to the gym,

501
00:27:57,520 --> 00:27:59,040
Speaker 1: if you take all the players in the draw and

502
00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:00,760
Speaker 1: take us to the gym and make us run on

503
00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:03,800
Speaker 1: the treadmill, or do like a competition with squats, or

504
00:28:04,080 --> 00:28:07,679
Speaker 1: give us waits. I can guarantee you I would be

505
00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:10,520
Speaker 1: on the bottom of each less like I did not

506
00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:13,920
Speaker 1: grow up being the fastest or the strongest um or

507
00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:16,680
Speaker 1: the quickest mover around the court. But there are other

508
00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:20,440
Speaker 1: intangibles that made me the player that I became. And

509
00:28:20,800 --> 00:28:23,679
Speaker 1: I think it was an understanding of those weaknesses and

510
00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:26,480
Speaker 1: knowing what I had to do and that I could

511
00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:29,720
Speaker 1: improve them, that if I worked harder, that if I

512
00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:32,720
Speaker 1: set my mind on those weaknesses, that I could get better.

513
00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:35,280
Speaker 1: I knew that there were players that could have been

514
00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:37,680
Speaker 1: more talented than me, that could have been faster than me,

515
00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:41,400
Speaker 1: that if that outnumbered me. But all that that that

516
00:28:41,520 --> 00:28:43,920
Speaker 1: sometimes doesn't matter. You go out into the match and

517
00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:46,080
Speaker 1: you don't need to be better than all the hundred

518
00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:48,320
Speaker 1: and twenty players in the draw. It's only a matter

519
00:28:48,320 --> 00:28:50,720
Speaker 1: of who's who you're playing against across the net that

520
00:28:50,760 --> 00:28:52,880
Speaker 1: you have to be better than them. And so I

521
00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:55,640
Speaker 1: think that's when I speak about will Um and the

522
00:28:55,720 --> 00:28:59,000
Speaker 1: mindset that I that I had, I think that's what

523
00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:01,960
Speaker 1: separated me from a lot of the players. Is that

524
00:29:02,240 --> 00:29:04,880
Speaker 1: I realized that it was okay not to be the

525
00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:07,959
Speaker 1: best at all those other things. When you talk about weaknesses,

526
00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:10,920
Speaker 1: like is there something specific that you try to compensate

527
00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:14,080
Speaker 1: for that you've had to really work on to improve

528
00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:17,040
Speaker 1: through the years, I mean by moving forward, you know,

529
00:29:17,080 --> 00:29:19,440
Speaker 1: getting myself to the net, finishing the point off at

530
00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:21,960
Speaker 1: the net. Being at the net was not something that

531
00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:24,840
Speaker 1: I practiced and my coaches didn't really include in the

532
00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:27,080
Speaker 1: drills that I was doing for some of the reasons.

533
00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:28,880
Speaker 1: I worked on other parts of my game, but never

534
00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:31,880
Speaker 1: really coming forward to the net. And so that's something

535
00:29:31,880 --> 00:29:35,080
Speaker 1: that I actually later in my career, like adding variety

536
00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:38,479
Speaker 1: drop shots and lobs um and things like that is

537
00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:41,400
Speaker 1: something that I feel like I've begun to work on

538
00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:44,680
Speaker 1: sort of in my mid twenties. I guess let's talk

539
00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:49,360
Speaker 1: about your grunting, which is really it's it's it's less

540
00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:52,800
Speaker 1: grunting and more singing. I think I think that kind

541
00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:56,800
Speaker 1: of go is them, right? Is that what you do?

542
00:29:56,880 --> 00:30:06,880
Speaker 1: Though it's not what is that about? You're making it

543
00:30:06,920 --> 00:30:10,440
Speaker 1: sound a lot better than it is, don't you think,

544
00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:12,600
Speaker 1: I mean, didn't I say? It is kind of a

545
00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:16,200
Speaker 1: little single thing, right, You do it. How do you think,

546
00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:19,880
Speaker 1: you say, I, I don't even want to try. I

547
00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:21,640
Speaker 1: think you did such a great job. You made me

548
00:30:21,680 --> 00:30:25,200
Speaker 1: look really good doing that, So you all right, no,

549
00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:29,120
Speaker 1: I UM. It's such an interesting thing that when you

550
00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:31,440
Speaker 1: do something, and you start from a very young age,

551
00:30:31,440 --> 00:30:34,280
Speaker 1: and that you continue doing that, you don't think twice about,

552
00:30:34,720 --> 00:30:36,560
Speaker 1: but then you go into a press conference and then

553
00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:38,760
Speaker 1: you get asked about it. A majority of the time,

554
00:30:38,840 --> 00:30:41,320
Speaker 1: especially when I first came on tour, it's not a

555
00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:43,800
Speaker 1: question that I get asked a lot about now, but

556
00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:48,840
Speaker 1: so thank thank you for bringing it up. A majority

557
00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:50,400
Speaker 1: of the time. It's when you go to England and

558
00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:54,080
Speaker 1: they somehow get out these measuring sticks how loud you are,

559
00:30:54,120 --> 00:30:57,640
Speaker 1: and I was like, how do you like compare me

560
00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:03,040
Speaker 1: to an airplane? Like how could I take you? Seriously?

561
00:31:03,120 --> 00:31:06,959
Speaker 1: You're a journalist. I mean that's when you just have

562
00:31:07,040 --> 00:31:09,880
Speaker 1: to shake your head. But but but it has become

563
00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:12,880
Speaker 1: pretty controversial. I know that. In two thousand nine, Martin

564
00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:17,960
Speaker 1: and Avagelova said grunting has reached an unacceptable level. It's cheating,

565
00:31:18,040 --> 00:31:20,800
Speaker 1: pure and simple. And I thought it was interesting that

566
00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:23,960
Speaker 1: I saw a piece at the nick Military camp that

567
00:31:24,040 --> 00:31:28,560
Speaker 1: they're starting to teach kids breathing techniques to avoid grunting.

568
00:31:29,040 --> 00:31:31,000
Speaker 1: So do you think we're going to see a decrease

569
00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:33,760
Speaker 1: in the future. And and I know you think people

570
00:31:33,800 --> 00:31:36,040
Speaker 1: shouldn't make a big, big deal, but you know, every

571
00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:39,120
Speaker 1: when I retire, I mean, I hope they don't implement

572
00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:42,040
Speaker 1: that rule while I play, you know, But but I

573
00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:45,040
Speaker 1: think for some people they do find it. Other players

574
00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:48,680
Speaker 1: find it aggravating. I think a lot of players are

575
00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:51,200
Speaker 1: are used to by now when I play against them,

576
00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:53,360
Speaker 1: because I've been I feel like I've been around for

577
00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:56,640
Speaker 1: many years and they know what to expect. But I

578
00:31:56,680 --> 00:31:58,640
Speaker 1: don't know if it's going to change, not by some

579
00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:01,360
Speaker 1: of the matches that I've I've seen recently, I don't

580
00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:04,280
Speaker 1: I don't know if it's going away anytime soon. We've

581
00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:06,280
Speaker 1: got a lot of good questions from the audience, a

582
00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:09,200
Speaker 1: lot of big tennis fans here. What a shock. But

583
00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:11,840
Speaker 1: before I want to ask you a couple of questions

584
00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:15,360
Speaker 1: about your dad, because he brought you here from Russia

585
00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:17,480
Speaker 1: when you were just six years old. I think Martin

586
00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:21,160
Speaker 1: and average Alova discovered you in some ways are said, anyway,

587
00:32:21,360 --> 00:32:23,760
Speaker 1: just this, this little girl is good. You need to

588
00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:26,520
Speaker 1: get her to America, like five years old, I attended

589
00:32:26,680 --> 00:32:29,800
Speaker 1: a tennis clinic and my father took me to Moscow.

590
00:32:29,880 --> 00:32:32,080
Speaker 1: We took a flight to Moscow from Sochi, where we

591
00:32:32,080 --> 00:32:34,280
Speaker 1: were living, and and she spotted me there are a

592
00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:37,280
Speaker 1: couple of hundred kids out there. And looking back at

593
00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:40,719
Speaker 1: that moment, I don't understand, or I can't understand. I

594
00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:42,680
Speaker 1: haven't actually asked her this question, but it's like, what

595
00:32:42,800 --> 00:32:44,520
Speaker 1: do you see in a five year old? At five

596
00:32:44,600 --> 00:32:47,040
Speaker 1: years old? I mean, they're the rackets usually bigger than

597
00:32:47,080 --> 00:32:49,480
Speaker 1: they are, like the balls are, you know, all over

598
00:32:49,520 --> 00:32:52,200
Speaker 1: the place. And and she told my father that I

599
00:32:52,280 --> 00:32:54,600
Speaker 1: had an opportunity to be a great tennis player. And

600
00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:58,360
Speaker 1: so thank how that changed the trajectory of your life

601
00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:01,440
Speaker 1: because I took her series sleep. They really did. And

602
00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:03,240
Speaker 1: one of the things I say in the book and

603
00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:07,520
Speaker 1: is we came across these people in our lives that

604
00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:11,760
Speaker 1: literally shaped our path. And they were complete strangers to us,

605
00:33:11,800 --> 00:33:15,160
Speaker 1: like we we knew maybe knew of them, such as Martina,

606
00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:17,640
Speaker 1: or we didn't know them at all. And you know,

607
00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:19,560
Speaker 1: when you're young, they say you have to stay away

608
00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:24,760
Speaker 1: from strangers, But it's the strangers that really shaped our beginnings.

609
00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:27,560
Speaker 1: And that led me to where I went. Your dad, UM,

610
00:33:27,720 --> 00:33:30,840
Speaker 1: was your coach for a long time and manager, and

611
00:33:30,880 --> 00:33:33,840
Speaker 1: of course your father, UM. What tell me about those

612
00:33:33,880 --> 00:33:36,760
Speaker 1: early years with your dad and your mom stayed behind

613
00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:41,760
Speaker 1: in Russia? UM initially? So what was that like for you?

614
00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:44,840
Speaker 1: And how did that? It must have really forged an

615
00:33:44,840 --> 00:33:48,600
Speaker 1: extraordinary relationship between the two of you. It really was.

616
00:33:48,680 --> 00:33:51,840
Speaker 1: It was a special bond and I've come to appreciate

617
00:33:51,880 --> 00:33:55,680
Speaker 1: it and understand it as I've gotten a little bit older. UM,

618
00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:59,800
Speaker 1: more so because you hear a lot about an athlete,

619
00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:02,880
Speaker 1: the relationship between an athlete and their parents, and how

620
00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:05,080
Speaker 1: you know, when you get older, you want to distance

621
00:34:05,120 --> 00:34:08,200
Speaker 1: yourself because there's so much dedication and so much influence

622
00:34:08,239 --> 00:34:10,799
Speaker 1: coming from the parents. And as I look back at

623
00:34:10,840 --> 00:34:13,520
Speaker 1: my experience with my father, especially those first two years

624
00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:18,680
Speaker 1: in America, I the decisions that he made were were

625
00:34:18,719 --> 00:34:22,000
Speaker 1: to make my dream come true. And he didn't know

626
00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:24,200
Speaker 1: much about tennis, but he guided me in all these

627
00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:26,920
Speaker 1: different directions that led me to where I am. And

628
00:34:27,400 --> 00:34:30,600
Speaker 1: I don't know. I think I sometimes asked why he

629
00:34:30,680 --> 00:34:32,920
Speaker 1: had They had a normal life and back home, and

630
00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:34,719
Speaker 1: they could have you know, they didn't have a lot

631
00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:37,880
Speaker 1: of money. He came to America with seven dollars. He

632
00:34:37,920 --> 00:34:41,920
Speaker 1: almost had to not believe in this crazy story and

633
00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:44,200
Speaker 1: not believe in this crazy dream. He just has to

634
00:34:44,280 --> 00:34:45,960
Speaker 1: go with it. It's almost like he had to be

635
00:34:46,040 --> 00:34:50,279
Speaker 1: a little bit stupid in order to live this dream. Um.

636
00:34:50,400 --> 00:34:52,439
Speaker 1: I think he should write a book of his own.

637
00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:55,800
Speaker 1: I mean I I no one would read it, probably,

638
00:34:55,840 --> 00:35:00,879
Speaker 1: but poor dad. I would say that still, and he's

639
00:35:00,920 --> 00:35:03,879
Speaker 1: still part of your team very much, yeah, very much. So.

640
00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:07,160
Speaker 1: After I won my third Grand Slam, I think there's

641
00:35:07,239 --> 00:35:09,680
Speaker 1: just there's a part of me that was like, I

642
00:35:09,719 --> 00:35:11,839
Speaker 1: want to feel what it would be like to do

643
00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:13,759
Speaker 1: this on my own. You know, I've had my father

644
00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:17,160
Speaker 1: along this this whole ride, and I don't know, I

645
00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:19,400
Speaker 1: thought it was important to have a coach, to not

646
00:35:19,440 --> 00:35:21,920
Speaker 1: have my dad around, even though he's still calls my

647
00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:24,080
Speaker 1: coach every single day. I mean, my coach's phone bill

648
00:35:24,160 --> 00:35:29,560
Speaker 1: is like, I'm like, send me the check. But he's Um,

649
00:35:29,560 --> 00:35:32,839
Speaker 1: he's still very much involved. So I'm going to do

650
00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:35,400
Speaker 1: some audience questions and kind of intersperse them with a

651
00:35:35,440 --> 00:35:38,560
Speaker 1: few more that I've come up with. But one person

652
00:35:38,640 --> 00:35:40,880
Speaker 1: wants to know between the point when you look away

653
00:35:40,920 --> 00:35:43,560
Speaker 1: from the player and say something to yourself, what do

654
00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:47,839
Speaker 1: you say, oh, when I look at myself, So like,

655
00:35:47,960 --> 00:35:50,280
Speaker 1: let's say you're you know you you? You play a point?

656
00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:53,320
Speaker 1: And probably I think because I have this little routine

657
00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:55,840
Speaker 1: where I go back and like I look like a robot.

658
00:35:56,000 --> 00:35:57,840
Speaker 1: I go back, I like look at my strings and

659
00:35:57,880 --> 00:36:00,360
Speaker 1: I fiddle with them and then I go back to

660
00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:04,719
Speaker 1: go back to serve. So well, it depends on the map.

661
00:36:04,760 --> 00:36:06,759
Speaker 1: I mean, it depends on the situation of the match.

662
00:36:06,800 --> 00:36:09,200
Speaker 1: And the reason I developed that sort of habit is

663
00:36:09,200 --> 00:36:11,920
Speaker 1: because I would like, my attention span was short, so

664
00:36:11,960 --> 00:36:14,319
Speaker 1: I'd be looking around and I wouldn't have focused, and

665
00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:16,440
Speaker 1: so from a young age, I was like, Okay, I

666
00:36:16,480 --> 00:36:18,439
Speaker 1: need to focus on something. So it ended up being

667
00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:21,239
Speaker 1: my strings, and I just started this little walk back

668
00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:24,399
Speaker 1: and developed into a routine. So, but would you say

669
00:36:24,440 --> 00:36:27,399
Speaker 1: something like I can't believe I did that. I'm an

670
00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:30,600
Speaker 1: idiot or there or I use worse words than that.

671
00:36:32,960 --> 00:36:36,279
Speaker 1: You're very kind if you could, okay, if you could

672
00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:38,359
Speaker 1: go back in time, what advice would you give your

673
00:36:38,400 --> 00:36:41,879
Speaker 1: seventeen year old self right after your first Grand Slam win.

674
00:36:43,040 --> 00:36:46,920
Speaker 1: It's never going to be perfect, and that that victory

675
00:36:47,120 --> 00:36:50,120
Speaker 1: it seemed like everything was perfect. Um, it seemed like

676
00:36:50,160 --> 00:36:54,800
Speaker 1: a fairy tale, but none of it is. There's certainly

677
00:36:56,200 --> 00:36:58,880
Speaker 1: it's a journey. A lot of people saw my victory

678
00:36:58,960 --> 00:37:02,760
Speaker 1: and said it was an overnight success. But that takes

679
00:37:02,800 --> 00:37:06,719
Speaker 1: hours and days and weeks and years to develop, and

680
00:37:06,719 --> 00:37:08,880
Speaker 1: and it takes just as long to get your next

681
00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:10,880
Speaker 1: one and the next one, whether that's a grand Slam,

682
00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:14,040
Speaker 1: whether it's another ambition that you have, so you know,

683
00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:17,319
Speaker 1: it's it's not always rainbows and butterflies, is what I'll

684
00:37:17,320 --> 00:37:20,120
Speaker 1: tell myself. Well, that was a nice, profound answer. So

685
00:37:20,160 --> 00:37:22,440
Speaker 1: I want to ask you a shallow question to follow up.

686
00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:25,400
Speaker 1: Let's talk about your love life for a second. Thank you.

687
00:37:26,680 --> 00:37:31,799
Speaker 1: I like how we took that interesting shortcut. What sort

688
00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:34,879
Speaker 1: of man are you attracted to? This just turned into

689
00:37:34,880 --> 00:37:38,760
Speaker 1: a Cosmo questionnaire? But I know you dated a number

690
00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:44,440
Speaker 1: of professional athletes like Rigor Dimitro. Is that I'm pronouncing

691
00:37:44,440 --> 00:37:49,800
Speaker 1: these names? Okay, Sasha buich Uh NBA player for the

692
00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:52,120
Speaker 1: l A Lakers and a few other teams, Andy Roddick

693
00:37:52,160 --> 00:37:55,239
Speaker 1: apparently Charlie Ever saw the son of Dick Ever saw

694
00:37:55,400 --> 00:37:59,360
Speaker 1: who I know from NBC Sports, Adam, Should we just

695
00:37:59,400 --> 00:38:02,160
Speaker 1: go through the whole listening. Well, I was going to

696
00:38:02,280 --> 00:38:05,160
Speaker 1: ask you who I who? I think? Can we stop?

697
00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:15,640
Speaker 1: Who was the biggest jerk? I don't deserve this credit. No,

698
00:38:15,800 --> 00:38:24,200
Speaker 1: that's not true. So I was gonna ask me all amazing, um,

699
00:38:24,239 --> 00:38:28,239
Speaker 1: so why I'm not with them? I feel a little

700
00:38:28,320 --> 00:38:31,359
Speaker 1: cheesy asking this. But are are you seeing anyone now?

701
00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:34,839
Speaker 1: And that's a question from my husband, by the way,

702
00:38:34,840 --> 00:38:41,719
Speaker 1: which makes me a little worried. But no, I am

703
00:38:41,800 --> 00:38:46,120
Speaker 1: not seeing anyone, um consistently. But you're dating, having fun?

704
00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:52,080
Speaker 1: You have time to date? I did, yeah, okay, and

705
00:38:52,120 --> 00:38:56,440
Speaker 1: then I packed my bags in April, was like see you. Yeah,

706
00:38:56,880 --> 00:38:59,880
Speaker 1: that didn't go well. He also wanted to know if

707
00:38:59,880 --> 00:39:05,000
Speaker 1: you date Jewish men I have Okay, okay, good, that's good.

708
00:39:05,440 --> 00:39:10,239
Speaker 1: Well it is someone available to someone. Well he does

709
00:39:10,320 --> 00:39:14,239
Speaker 1: know some people, but we can talk about that. Okay,

710
00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:17,000
Speaker 1: we might as well continue on that. It sounds like

711
00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:20,760
Speaker 1: your husband wants to set me up. Yeah, well maybe,

712
00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:23,040
Speaker 1: I hope. I hope. That's why he's so curious. I

713
00:39:23,080 --> 00:39:27,640
Speaker 1: knew we were like alright, so I was trying to

714
00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:30,600
Speaker 1: sell a few books and now I'm gonna have a boyfriend.

715
00:39:32,040 --> 00:39:35,880
Speaker 1: You're not so bad? Um, So let me before I

716
00:39:35,880 --> 00:39:37,960
Speaker 1: get to a couple of more audience questions. I know

717
00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:40,759
Speaker 1: that you also wrote that you learned early on after

718
00:39:40,960 --> 00:39:44,040
Speaker 1: signing on with Nike at age eleven, that tennis is

719
00:39:44,080 --> 00:39:46,320
Speaker 1: a business as much as a sport, and I wanted

720
00:39:46,360 --> 00:39:49,040
Speaker 1: to share this because I thought this was interesting. Until

721
00:39:49,160 --> 00:39:52,000
Speaker 1: last year, you were the highest paid female athlete for

722
00:39:52,120 --> 00:39:55,360
Speaker 1: more than a decade straight, breaking in two hundred and

723
00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:59,239
Speaker 1: eighty five million dollars in commercial endorsements. See now you're

724
00:39:59,239 --> 00:40:03,400
Speaker 1: going to get a lot the days you've got me.

725
00:40:03,880 --> 00:40:07,560
Speaker 1: Suddenly you just got even more popular. But I feel

726
00:40:07,560 --> 00:40:10,680
Speaker 1: like calling my financial manager right now and saying, where

727
00:40:10,760 --> 00:40:14,640
Speaker 1: is that money? Where is this money that everyone is

728
00:40:14,680 --> 00:40:18,240
Speaker 1: reporting on? Clearly, you know you're you're interested in business,

729
00:40:18,280 --> 00:40:21,560
Speaker 1: and you're also very entrepreneurial. You you started a premium

730
00:40:21,640 --> 00:40:25,120
Speaker 1: candy line called Sugar Pova in two thousand twelve. So

731
00:40:25,800 --> 00:40:29,600
Speaker 1: what direction do you see yourself going after tennis when

732
00:40:29,600 --> 00:40:32,400
Speaker 1: you're when you're through with your tennis career. Business is

733
00:40:32,440 --> 00:40:35,560
Speaker 1: definitely something that I enjoy learning about, but more so

734
00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:39,359
Speaker 1: about being UM, being a part of things that I'm

735
00:40:39,400 --> 00:40:44,040
Speaker 1: passionate about and from a business perspective, UM, while starting

736
00:40:44,040 --> 00:40:46,839
Speaker 1: my own business. And you know, I didn't know much

737
00:40:46,840 --> 00:40:49,279
Speaker 1: about the food industry, didn't know much about sweets. But

738
00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:51,880
Speaker 1: I hired people around me to really to help me

739
00:40:51,960 --> 00:40:55,160
Speaker 1: understand to grow my business. I mean, although I was

740
00:40:55,200 --> 00:40:57,600
Speaker 1: the one that was paying the checks, I wanted to

741
00:40:57,640 --> 00:41:00,600
Speaker 1: gain information from them. And so know, there's there are

742
00:41:00,680 --> 00:41:04,400
Speaker 1: elements of of learning and growth. And as I said, um,

743
00:41:04,440 --> 00:41:06,799
Speaker 1: I'm still only thirty years old, and although I've been

744
00:41:06,840 --> 00:41:09,280
Speaker 1: successful because I've done what I've done on the court,

745
00:41:09,640 --> 00:41:12,000
Speaker 1: there's still a lot of potential for growth for me.

746
00:41:12,080 --> 00:41:14,800
Speaker 1: Like I really believe that you can be a better

747
00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:17,400
Speaker 1: you know, a better business person, you can be a

748
00:41:17,440 --> 00:41:20,160
Speaker 1: better leader in all those things. It seems like you're

749
00:41:20,200 --> 00:41:23,760
Speaker 1: interested in fashion. You're definitely very active on social media.

750
00:41:23,920 --> 00:41:26,799
Speaker 1: You have a lot of Instagram followers. I follow you,

751
00:41:26,880 --> 00:41:31,000
Speaker 1: and Um, given sort of the and your interest in

752
00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:33,880
Speaker 1: and in business, it sounds to me you might have

753
00:41:33,960 --> 00:41:37,160
Speaker 1: the makings of a of a quote unquote lifestyle brand.

754
00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:40,920
Speaker 1: You know, somebody who talks about a lot of different

755
00:41:40,920 --> 00:41:45,359
Speaker 1: things and wellness and fashion, etcetera. We've seen sort of

756
00:41:45,560 --> 00:41:49,320
Speaker 1: people emerge in that space. Is that something that interests you.

757
00:41:49,880 --> 00:41:52,440
Speaker 1: I've always had a difficult connection with the word brand

758
00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:54,680
Speaker 1: because it's a very I don't know what you feel

759
00:41:54,719 --> 00:41:58,040
Speaker 1: about the word brand, but it feels very like corporate

760
00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:01,759
Speaker 1: and robotic and not very human to me, and it's

761
00:42:01,880 --> 00:42:05,840
Speaker 1: very much the opposite of what I would want to portray.

762
00:42:05,960 --> 00:42:08,359
Speaker 1: And I mean, I think a lot of you know,

763
00:42:08,480 --> 00:42:12,600
Speaker 1: branding and marketing and those those tool words. Um, they

764
00:42:12,640 --> 00:42:16,320
Speaker 1: stem from decisions, like decisions on where you see yourself

765
00:42:16,360 --> 00:42:18,840
Speaker 1: what you want to do. Fortunately, I've been in a

766
00:42:18,880 --> 00:42:21,239
Speaker 1: position where I can make those decisions of who I

767
00:42:21,239 --> 00:42:25,840
Speaker 1: want to associate myself with, but that doesn't necessarily create

768
00:42:25,920 --> 00:42:28,319
Speaker 1: my name into a brand. It's not the way that

769
00:42:28,360 --> 00:42:30,360
Speaker 1: I see it. I know it's the way that it's portrayed,

770
00:42:30,440 --> 00:42:32,920
Speaker 1: but the word itself is I don't know. I don't

771
00:42:32,960 --> 00:42:36,880
Speaker 1: feel great about it. Okay, Um, for here's another audience

772
00:42:36,960 --> 00:42:39,080
Speaker 1: question for US young tennis players. Do you have a

773
00:42:39,080 --> 00:42:41,600
Speaker 1: message for us that you wish you knew when you

774
00:42:41,640 --> 00:42:46,800
Speaker 1: were a kid? Besides don't do it? Really, you wouldn't

775
00:42:46,800 --> 00:42:50,880
Speaker 1: tell that, No, I'm kidding. No. Sometimes I occasionally I

776
00:42:50,880 --> 00:42:52,600
Speaker 1: feel like that I get off the court and I've

777
00:42:52,800 --> 00:42:55,200
Speaker 1: lost a tough match and it's just it's brutal, and

778
00:42:55,239 --> 00:42:56,719
Speaker 1: that's what I think, But then I get up the

779
00:42:56,760 --> 00:42:58,319
Speaker 1: next day and I get back on the court, and

780
00:42:58,320 --> 00:43:00,320
Speaker 1: I'm like, I want to continue doing this and I

781
00:43:00,400 --> 00:43:04,160
Speaker 1: want to be great. But I think there comes in

782
00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:07,919
Speaker 1: a point in our lives or we really have to

783
00:43:07,960 --> 00:43:11,080
Speaker 1: dedicate ourselves if we're being if we want to get

784
00:43:11,120 --> 00:43:13,680
Speaker 1: to that next level, and we want to dedicate ourselves

785
00:43:13,680 --> 00:43:15,680
Speaker 1: to that one thing that we do. The one thing

786
00:43:15,719 --> 00:43:18,239
Speaker 1: I noticed when I came to the United States were

787
00:43:19,360 --> 00:43:22,560
Speaker 1: the amazing ability to have opportunities, which really helped me.

788
00:43:23,120 --> 00:43:25,760
Speaker 1: But it's also a little bit of a distraction because

789
00:43:25,800 --> 00:43:29,719
Speaker 1: you have you have a chance to be okay at

790
00:43:29,760 --> 00:43:32,160
Speaker 1: one thing, to be good at something, to be social

791
00:43:32,200 --> 00:43:35,399
Speaker 1: and another thing. And ultimately, if you have a real

792
00:43:35,480 --> 00:43:37,880
Speaker 1: goal of where you want to go in one particular area,

793
00:43:37,920 --> 00:43:41,359
Speaker 1: whether it's a sport or finance or another job and opportunity,

794
00:43:41,760 --> 00:43:43,719
Speaker 1: ultimately you've got to make a decision on what it

795
00:43:43,800 --> 00:43:45,520
Speaker 1: is that you love and what it is you want

796
00:43:45,520 --> 00:43:50,040
Speaker 1: to grow with, because it requires ridiculous It takes, It

797
00:43:50,400 --> 00:43:53,879
Speaker 1: takes commitment and and it and real and real repetition

798
00:43:54,480 --> 00:43:57,719
Speaker 1: no matter what it is, so you better love it.

799
00:43:58,280 --> 00:44:00,680
Speaker 1: I think it starts with finding something that you love

800
00:44:01,120 --> 00:44:03,759
Speaker 1: and maybe Look, we all grow out of it as well,

801
00:44:03,800 --> 00:44:06,279
Speaker 1: Like we we have a passion for it, and and

802
00:44:06,360 --> 00:44:08,959
Speaker 1: there's something that happens within the process and we lose

803
00:44:09,080 --> 00:44:11,959
Speaker 1: that that touch, and we lose that feel and love

804
00:44:12,120 --> 00:44:14,680
Speaker 1: or what we were doing. But you still love tennis.

805
00:44:14,680 --> 00:44:17,560
Speaker 1: I interviewed Andrea Agassi when he wrote his book, and

806
00:44:17,600 --> 00:44:19,919
Speaker 1: I know you read it after you broke yours were

807
00:44:19,920 --> 00:44:22,120
Speaker 1: you were afraid that I didn't want I I did

808
00:44:22,239 --> 00:44:26,720
Speaker 1: want other memoirs to influence my I guess my writing

809
00:44:26,960 --> 00:44:31,120
Speaker 1: or my ideas or the way that I wanted, um

810
00:44:31,239 --> 00:44:33,440
Speaker 1: my thoughts to be on paper. But he told me

811
00:44:33,520 --> 00:44:37,000
Speaker 1: that he hated tennis. That um, you know that he

812
00:44:37,080 --> 00:44:39,719
Speaker 1: was playing it from such an early age that he

813
00:44:39,800 --> 00:44:43,160
Speaker 1: started to hate it. But you never hated it. I

814
00:44:43,239 --> 00:44:45,480
Speaker 1: never hated the game of tennis. I think they're definitely

815
00:44:45,600 --> 00:44:47,879
Speaker 1: there are moments where there are a lot of things

816
00:44:47,880 --> 00:44:50,399
Speaker 1: that come with tennis that I don't necessarily like. Hate

817
00:44:50,480 --> 00:44:55,000
Speaker 1: is a very strong word. And um, the tennis aspect,

818
00:44:55,080 --> 00:45:00,160
Speaker 1: like the feeling of being good and feeling like you

819
00:45:00,160 --> 00:45:02,359
Speaker 1: can be better. I don't know. I've always said this,

820
00:45:02,400 --> 00:45:04,440
Speaker 1: and like as a woman is just a very nice

821
00:45:04,480 --> 00:45:09,200
Speaker 1: feeling and um, and I love that. Well, we're almost

822
00:45:09,239 --> 00:45:10,960
Speaker 1: out of time, but we have We're going to do

823
00:45:11,000 --> 00:45:14,480
Speaker 1: a quick lightning round because I thought it would be fun. Um,

824
00:45:14,520 --> 00:45:17,600
Speaker 1: So I'm gonna scar Yeah, I know. So I'm just

825
00:45:17,640 --> 00:45:19,759
Speaker 1: going to name some people and you can just tell

826
00:45:19,800 --> 00:45:24,560
Speaker 1: me what it instantly comes to your head. Okay, this

827
00:45:24,760 --> 00:45:30,880
Speaker 1: is skin Billy, Jen King, oh legend Martina Navratalova inspirational

828
00:45:30,920 --> 00:45:35,120
Speaker 1: to me. Venus Williams, a pioneer for our sport, for

829
00:45:35,160 --> 00:45:40,239
Speaker 1: the fight for equality. Roger Federer, oh legend um, just

830
00:45:40,320 --> 00:45:45,600
Speaker 1: spool of class, elegance, rough and nadal um, grit, grit

831
00:45:45,600 --> 00:45:50,279
Speaker 1: and desire and never stops fighting. My husband didn't think

832
00:45:50,280 --> 00:45:52,000
Speaker 1: I should ask this, but you were going to say.

833
00:45:52,000 --> 00:45:58,200
Speaker 1: Your husband is getting a lot of your getting a

834
00:45:58,200 --> 00:46:00,560
Speaker 1: lot of shout out. I don't know, like this is

835
00:46:00,600 --> 00:46:05,560
Speaker 1: getting awkward. He's here. No, he didn't think I should

836
00:46:05,560 --> 00:46:09,040
Speaker 1: ask this, but I'm curious. I'm fascinated the dolls ritual.

837
00:46:09,680 --> 00:46:15,160
Speaker 1: I mean what I wanted you to tell me what

838
00:46:15,280 --> 00:46:19,680
Speaker 1: it is. You know what it is. It's he's pulling

839
00:46:19,840 --> 00:46:27,760
Speaker 1: and touching and the hair and the when you see

840
00:46:27,800 --> 00:46:30,399
Speaker 1: I mean, do a lot of players have these sort

841
00:46:30,440 --> 00:46:34,520
Speaker 1: of thing that's like a superstition. Yes, have you ever

842
00:46:34,600 --> 00:46:38,839
Speaker 1: asked him about it? Definitely not. Okay, if I'm going

843
00:46:38,920 --> 00:46:41,480
Speaker 1: to have a conversation with Rafael Nadal, I don't think

844
00:46:41,520 --> 00:46:43,680
Speaker 1: I'm going to ask him why he does that with

845
00:46:43,719 --> 00:46:50,200
Speaker 1: his shorts. Okay, jim Jimmy Connors, would you? I might,

846
00:46:50,360 --> 00:46:53,359
Speaker 1: Actually it wouldn't. It would not be my first thing

847
00:46:53,480 --> 00:46:57,040
Speaker 1: out of the gate, But I cannot be it. Okay,

848
00:46:57,160 --> 00:46:59,480
Speaker 1: I mean, how long have a conversation are you expecting

849
00:46:59,480 --> 00:47:01,560
Speaker 1: to have I'm talking to him. I'm going to talk

850
00:47:01,560 --> 00:47:04,839
Speaker 1: to him for a good long time. Yeah, okay, So

851
00:47:05,120 --> 00:47:11,799
Speaker 1: Jimmy Connors, oh, for a short period of time. And

852
00:47:11,840 --> 00:47:15,239
Speaker 1: it didn't work. It didn't work out. Um. He was

853
00:47:15,280 --> 00:47:18,360
Speaker 1: an interesting character and someone that I admired. No, I

854
00:47:18,440 --> 00:47:21,600
Speaker 1: really don't laugh, because I mean in a very genuine

855
00:47:21,600 --> 00:47:28,320
Speaker 1: it's so sincere. Um. He I love listening to him speak,

856
00:47:28,480 --> 00:47:31,879
Speaker 1: and I still do, I think. Um. I was mesmerized

857
00:47:31,920 --> 00:47:33,920
Speaker 1: by his presence, like I didn't want to miss a ball.

858
00:47:34,200 --> 00:47:38,560
Speaker 1: I love listening to every word he said. Um, so inspirational.

859
00:47:38,880 --> 00:47:42,719
Speaker 1: When he became my my only coach was when I

860
00:47:42,800 --> 00:47:45,680
Speaker 1: realized that it just wasn't a good fit. But from

861
00:47:45,680 --> 00:47:48,600
Speaker 1: the things that he said, just based on his experience. UM,

862
00:47:48,600 --> 00:47:55,920
Speaker 1: to me, that was valuable. John McEnroe, crazy Donald Trump?

863
00:47:58,480 --> 00:48:01,280
Speaker 1: But did you who did you say Donald the President?

864
00:48:01,280 --> 00:48:12,399
Speaker 1: I didn't hear you. Okay, real quick, waite, Who's next? Putin? Yes?

865
00:48:13,560 --> 00:48:19,279
Speaker 1: I knew. Yeah, I just threw myself into that situation,

866
00:48:19,360 --> 00:48:24,000
Speaker 1: didn't I. UM, do I need to answer? You brought

867
00:48:24,040 --> 00:48:27,000
Speaker 1: it up? I know I did. Um. What do I

868
00:48:27,080 --> 00:48:29,239
Speaker 1: think of him? Um? I see him? I think as

869
00:48:29,280 --> 00:48:32,719
Speaker 1: everyone else, as as a character almost from a distance

870
00:48:32,840 --> 00:48:35,680
Speaker 1: that um those born in Russian and spent the first

871
00:48:35,680 --> 00:48:38,480
Speaker 1: few years of my life there. I feel like everything

872
00:48:38,560 --> 00:48:42,120
Speaker 1: I know about the country, about its history, is very

873
00:48:42,200 --> 00:48:44,279
Speaker 1: much from Afar, and so I think I see it

874
00:48:44,760 --> 00:48:47,600
Speaker 1: also as an audience, you know, as this character that

875
00:48:47,760 --> 00:48:51,080
Speaker 1: is being portrayed by by everyone else without knowing much.

876
00:48:51,880 --> 00:48:56,440
Speaker 1: And last name Maria Sharapova, M. I mean your husband

877
00:48:56,440 --> 00:49:01,319
Speaker 1: told me to say unstoppable. Um, Like, as we did

878
00:49:01,360 --> 00:49:04,960
Speaker 1: a little little sixty second interview for for her Instagram

879
00:49:05,000 --> 00:49:06,880
Speaker 1: and and then one of that was one of the

880
00:49:06,920 --> 00:49:10,000
Speaker 1: last questions, and he's like, you didn't say unstoppable. Okay,

881
00:49:10,040 --> 00:49:16,320
Speaker 1: I'll say it next time. So well, Maria Sharapova, it

882
00:49:16,400 --> 00:49:24,600
Speaker 1: was so fun to talk to you. That's it for

883
00:49:24,680 --> 00:49:30,360
Speaker 1: us in two thousand and seventeen, May old acquaintance be

884
00:49:31,160 --> 00:49:40,000
Speaker 1: forgot and ever brought to mind something like that. Thanks

885
00:49:40,000 --> 00:49:42,880
Speaker 1: so much to the team behind this podcast, Gianna Palmer,

886
00:49:42,960 --> 00:49:46,520
Speaker 1: our producer, Gared O'Connell, our audio engineer, Nora Richie, our

887
00:49:46,600 --> 00:49:50,800
Speaker 1: production assistant, Alison Bresnik, who captains our social media ship,

888
00:49:51,280 --> 00:49:54,799
Speaker 1: Well done, captain, and Emily been A contributes to the

889
00:49:54,840 --> 00:49:58,160
Speaker 1: pod from her steam post at Katie Kirk Media. Also

890
00:49:58,280 --> 00:50:01,680
Speaker 1: Betamas for all her help in making sure that I

891
00:50:01,719 --> 00:50:04,880
Speaker 1: get to the studio on time. Brian and I are

892
00:50:04,920 --> 00:50:07,960
Speaker 1: the show's executive producers. Mark Phillips wrote our theme music.

893
00:50:08,000 --> 00:50:11,040
Speaker 1: But last, but not least, thank you very much to

894
00:50:11,120 --> 00:50:14,360
Speaker 1: my friends, and they are my friends at the Street

895
00:50:14,400 --> 00:50:17,799
Speaker 1: Why Carrying. My daughter went to preschool there, and the

896
00:50:18,000 --> 00:50:21,040
Speaker 1: y is a great New York institution. But thank you

897
00:50:21,080 --> 00:50:24,680
Speaker 1: all for hosting and recording this conversation. Please feel free

898
00:50:24,680 --> 00:50:27,360
Speaker 1: to email us with your guest ideas. Brian and I

899
00:50:27,400 --> 00:50:29,840
Speaker 1: would love to hear from you, and so would Gianna

900
00:50:29,840 --> 00:50:32,880
Speaker 1: and Jarrett and the rest of the aforementioned crew. You

901
00:50:32,920 --> 00:50:36,400
Speaker 1: can ask questions, you can give us feedback at Comments

902
00:50:36,520 --> 00:50:39,600
Speaker 1: at current podcast dot com, or please leave us a

903
00:50:39,680 --> 00:50:42,959
Speaker 1: voicemail at nine to nine, two to four, four six

904
00:50:43,000 --> 00:50:46,120
Speaker 1: three seven. You can find Brian on Twitter at Goldsmith

905
00:50:46,120 --> 00:50:48,920
Speaker 1: b and if you search Katie Kuric. I am everywhere

906
00:50:48,920 --> 00:50:52,400
Speaker 1: on social media people, So I'm very excited for what

907
00:50:52,480 --> 00:50:54,480
Speaker 1: the new year has in store for our podcast. We

908
00:50:54,520 --> 00:50:57,239
Speaker 1: have a lot of great guests and even some surprises

909
00:50:57,239 --> 00:51:00,200
Speaker 1: in store for you. We've been working very hard find

910
00:51:00,239 --> 00:51:02,640
Speaker 1: the scenes to make sure we kick off two thousand

911
00:51:02,719 --> 00:51:07,160
Speaker 1: eighteen in style. Until then, Happy new everybody, and we'll

912
00:51:07,160 --> 00:51:07,920
Speaker 1: see you next year.