Speaker 1: Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of the sit Down.
Speaker 1: I'm Matt Trolope Arata, an editor for oz open dot com.
Speaker 2: And I'm Big Christie, managing editor for Australian Tennis magazine.
Speaker 2: And Matt, why are we sitting down this week with
Speaker 2: Barbara Schette.
Speaker 3: Well, we caught up with Barbara.
Speaker 1: She was just back home in Australia after spending a
Speaker 1: big stint in Europe. So she's both Austrian and Australian
Speaker 1: and has those two homes. So yeah, we caught her
Speaker 1: back at home where she lives in Musa and it
Speaker 1: was really a chance to kind of reflect on her
Speaker 1: amazing playing career. She emerged in a time that was
Speaker 1: a very nostalgic and iconic time in women's tennis in
Speaker 1: the late nineties and peaked in the top ten in
Speaker 1: nineteen ninety nine, which in this interview we talk about
Speaker 1: was full of so many amazing personalities as storylines that
Speaker 1: her career overlapped with that helped to find her.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and Barbara has seen tennis through many different lenses.
Speaker 2: She's been a professional player, she's had an incredible media career.
Speaker 2: She's been behind the scenes at tournaments, and mentored players,
Speaker 2: and she was expansive in all of those areas. Barbara Schett,
Speaker 2: thank you for joining us on the sit down. We
Speaker 2: like to start by asking our guests where in the
Speaker 2: world we find them. So where do we find you today?
Speaker 4: You find me in Australia in NUSA heads.
Speaker 1: At the moment, it looks absolutely stunny in your backdrop.
Speaker 1: Were you telling us there were whales?
Speaker 4: Oh yeah, it's pretty incredible.
Speaker 5: At the moment there's whales going past, and you know
Speaker 5: sometimes when they're happy, they jump up and down and
Speaker 5: it's pretty amazing to watch them, especially for me being Austrian.
Speaker 4: You know, it's so surreal.
Speaker 5: I mean, we have cows in Austria. We don't have
Speaker 5: whales in Austria.
Speaker 2: Yes, well, I think you've actually almost answered my next question.
Speaker 2: But you know, you do divide your time between Australia
Speaker 2: and I think you spend some time in Europe. Where
Speaker 2: do you prefer or do you have a favorite?
Speaker 4: That's a difficult question to answer.
Speaker 5: So my home is Australia and my other home is Austria.
Speaker 5: Where I live is Australia, and obviously it's my home
Speaker 5: as well because my family is here.
Speaker 4: My husband, Josh and Noah our son.
Speaker 5: But then you know, Austria will always be where my
Speaker 5: roots are, where I've grown up, where my family is,
Speaker 5: where my parents are, where my uncle and auntie is,
Speaker 5: and my brother and I always loved going home, so
Speaker 5: whenever I traveled to Europe, I feel like I'm going home.
Speaker 5: Whenever I travel from Europe to Australia, I feel like
Speaker 5: I'm going home as well.
Speaker 3: That's lovely.
Speaker 2: Yes, well, speaking of Austria, take us back, I guess
Speaker 2: to your start in tennis. I remember actually a quote
Speaker 2: from your playing days and you said, you know, there
Speaker 2: was always skiing in Austria, almost on skis as soon
Speaker 2: as you could walk.
Speaker 3: So how did you get into tennis?
Speaker 5: Well, of course skied when I was very young. You know,
Speaker 5: you pretty much have to hit the slopes at the
Speaker 5: age of three. My parents loved skiing, so I was
Speaker 5: went with them. But also it was a time when
Speaker 5: tennis became very popular when I was about three four
Speaker 5: years old, and my parents picked picked up tennis, so
Speaker 5: they started to learn it and they joined the club.
Speaker 5: And obviously the kids, my brother and I were always
Speaker 5: had to hang out at the tennis courts as well.
Speaker 4: So we started to play tennis as well.
Speaker 5: My parents have taught my brother who's seven years old,
Speaker 5: more tennis, and they taught me because I was just
Speaker 5: too little. I was pained in about on the court,
Speaker 5: running around being crazy. And those days, don't forget we
Speaker 5: had clay courts. There weren't any shoes, you know, clay
Speaker 5: coat shoes for little kids, and you were banned on
Speaker 5: the clay courts if you wouldn't wear any clay coad shoes.
Speaker 5: So I didn't get to play that much there. But
Speaker 5: the way I started was besides my parents, was actually
Speaker 5: hitting against the tennis wall, and that's where it started.
Speaker 4: And that tennis wall still.
Speaker 1: Exists, and so many of our guests say that a
Speaker 1: tennis wall is part of their origin story. It's really interesting.
Speaker 1: Lots of tennis walls.
Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, And it's not forgiving the tennis well, you know,
Speaker 5: you play against it. If you don't play against it
Speaker 5: in a nice way, it comes back badly.
Speaker 4: So you kind of, you know, start hitting the ball cleanly.
Speaker 5: And I remember when I was little, like gave myself tasked,
Speaker 5: you know, twenty times I have to hit the forehead
Speaker 5: nicely and the back end nicely.
Speaker 4: And that's yeah, and that's how I started. I just
Speaker 4: loved it. I spent hours and hours there.
Speaker 3: Amazing. Yeah.
Speaker 1: So at what age was it then when you realized, oh,
Speaker 1: actually maybe a professional career is possible, or that you
Speaker 1: were good enough to go to that level.
Speaker 5: So going back to the tennis wall, at the age
Speaker 5: of six, in the next door club, there was a
Speaker 5: coach from the federation, the Tirolean federations like the Queensland
Speaker 5: Tennis Federation, and she saw me hitting against the wall
Speaker 5: and she thought.
Speaker 4: Oh, this girl is pretty good.
Speaker 5: So she spoke to my mom and dad and said, oh,
Speaker 5: can Barbara come around at some stage and just hit
Speaker 5: a few balls. I want to have a closer look
Speaker 5: at her.
Speaker 4: And I did that.
Speaker 5: I became part of the Tyrolean Tennis Federation and I
Speaker 5: practiced twice a week for fifty minutes with them, and then.
Speaker 4: I just just became more and more and more.
Speaker 5: Obviously, when I was in Innsbruck back with my mom
Speaker 5: and dad and at the age of fourteen, I went
Speaker 5: to Vienna to the Institute of Sport, and that's where
Speaker 5: I was like, Okay, I actually would like to do
Speaker 5: this professionally. I won pretty much everything in Austria, my
Speaker 5: age group and my age group of bars. I've already
Speaker 5: played few junior tournaments internationally, which is much easier in
Speaker 5: Europe because you just drive, yeah, sitting in a car
Speaker 5: and you drive over the board and you play your
Speaker 5: your junior tournaments there. So at the age of fourteen,
Speaker 5: I was like, okay, I would like to give it
Speaker 5: a crack.
Speaker 1: Okay, that makes sense. And what did you have any
Speaker 1: like I know, obviously got into tennis for your family,
Speaker 1: but like, were there any players at the time that
Speaker 1: you were watching the inspired you or that you I
Speaker 1: don't know, homology game on or anything like that at
Speaker 1: that around that time.
Speaker 5: Yeah, there were obviously Internationally. I was always a big
Speaker 5: fan of beyond.
Speaker 4: Borg and Martina and Avtilo prisy adverts.
Speaker 5: I loved watching that. My parents always loved watching tennis,
Speaker 5: so we were glued in front of the TV watching tennis.
Speaker 5: And then in Austria there was Thomas Muster, there was
Speaker 5: Judied Wisner, who were about ten years older than me,
Speaker 5: and they were already playing on the tour. And obviously
Speaker 5: Thomas also became number one in the world. Student was
Speaker 5: top twenty or top fifteen in the world. So they
Speaker 5: were definitely idols of mine. I wouldn't say that I
Speaker 5: played like them, quite the opposite, but yeah, so I
Speaker 5: think it's really important to have role models when you
Speaker 5: grow up.
Speaker 1: Yes, and you mentioned age fourteen. We think that's when
Speaker 1: you made your debut on like your pro debut in kitchball.
Speaker 1: So yeah, well that's extremely well, thank you for that
Speaker 1: incredible background research. But that's that's extremely young. That doesn't
Speaker 1: happen very often these days. At a fourteen year old
Speaker 1: would play a pro match. What do you remember of that, Like,
Speaker 1: what was that experience?
Speaker 5: Like, First of all, there was no age rule those days,
Speaker 5: so you could just quit at the age.
Speaker 4: Of thirteen fourteen.
Speaker 5: That changed later on, but I got a wild cut
Speaker 5: into qualities there. Kidsboo Is had an hour away from
Speaker 5: Innsbruck and was a big women's event. Then it was
Speaker 5: I think a tier they called them tears those years.
Speaker 4: I think it was a tree or something like that.
Speaker 5: And I remember that day vividly because I was there
Speaker 5: with my coach and obviously very nervous playing my first
Speaker 5: match on the WTA Tour in Qualis and all eyes
Speaker 5: were on me as well, and actually something pretty major
Speaker 5: happened that the day before I.
Speaker 4: Played my first round match.
Speaker 5: There, I you know, I became a woman basically, you know,
Speaker 5: I had my first menstruation in Kidsburg and obviously it
Speaker 5: was just a big thing.
Speaker 4: You know. My mother was like, oh, you're a woman now.
Speaker 4: I was feeling.
Speaker 5: Hople I I was feeling sick, you know, my stomach
Speaker 5: was about to explode.
Speaker 4: And yeah.
Speaker 5: So the first match on a WTA, so it didn't
Speaker 5: go very well because all was worried about was that,
Speaker 5: you know, it was I was making a mess on
Speaker 5: the lord. So that was my first WTA match.
Speaker 4: Wow.
Speaker 1: I know, wow, not great timing for you.
Speaker 4: I'm sorry about that, but good. I'm sorry to be
Speaker 4: that open, but no, it has to be said.
Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, yes.
Speaker 2: You went on to obviously have an amazing career, top
Speaker 2: ten in singles and in doubles. How did those disciplines,
Speaker 2: I guess serve each other. You know, doubles help singles,
Speaker 2: and I guess singles helps doubles as well.
Speaker 4: Well.
Speaker 5: My big goal was to become top ten in the
Speaker 5: world because there was one other Austrian, Barba Paulos, who
Speaker 5: was ten in the world.
Speaker 4: I wanted to be better than her, so that was
Speaker 4: my main focus.
Speaker 5: So I loved playing singles because I loved that one,
Speaker 5: and on competition, all I wanted to do is just
Speaker 5: play matches. Obviously you have to train as well, but
Speaker 5: that was my big passion to just measure myself, you know,
Speaker 5: to someone else.
Speaker 4: And doubles was something I didn't put any emphasis on.
Speaker 5: I played it because I usually really liked my my
Speaker 5: doubles partners. We were friends and we turned out to
Speaker 5: be really successful, like with Pettishneeder for example. I played
Speaker 5: for many years with Sylvia Farina.
Speaker 4: Played and korney Kova. I played with Mary Peers.
Speaker 5: We did a few semifinals at Grand Slams and I
Speaker 5: never really practiced doubles, but I always felt really happy
Speaker 5: and relaxed on the court, and I'm sure it helped
Speaker 5: me my single game as well, because I did a
Speaker 5: lot of returning, a.
Speaker 4: Lot of serving, not so much volling maybe, but.
Speaker 5: Every now and then I would scare people and came
Speaker 5: to the net.
Speaker 4: But yeah, doubles was just fun.
Speaker 5: It was fun, and I played a bit of mixed
Speaker 5: as well, which was fun.
Speaker 4: But the emphasis was.
Speaker 2: Always yeah, of course you mentioned, you know, some of
Speaker 2: your doubles partners. I think you also played with Martina
Speaker 2: Hingis at one stage. It was such a fun era,
Speaker 2: you know, it was kind of you know, lots of
Speaker 2: fun personalities and kind of a glamorous era as well.
Speaker 3: What was it like to be a part of all
Speaker 3: of that.
Speaker 4: Oh, it was amazing.
Speaker 5: I mean, you know, when I was top ten, I
Speaker 5: think Martina was number one in the world, Martina Hingis
Speaker 5: and Lindsay Devenport, the Wink Up, Mary Pierce, Jennifer Capriati,
Speaker 5: and with a lot of those girls, I had really
Speaker 5: close friendships. Uncapable for example, even Majoli. We traveled with
Speaker 5: very small teams then, so I basically just traveled with
Speaker 5: my coach and maybe sometimes a fitness coach because it
Speaker 5: was just too expensive, you know, and nobody did it really,
Speaker 5: So we had a lot of time to hang out
Speaker 5: and we would go for dinners, we would go to movies.
Speaker 5: We would be there for each other when somebody had
Speaker 5: personal problems or something like that. So it was a
Speaker 5: great era, I have to say it was. The tennis
Speaker 5: was very good. I thought there was a high level.
Speaker 5: I mean you mentioned that I played with Martina Hingis.
Speaker 5: I remember we won the tournament in Hamburg, and I
Speaker 5: didn't have to do anything. I just served and returned.
Speaker 5: She did everything else. She was just there all the time.
Speaker 5: And I'm like, this is this is easy, this is
Speaker 5: pretty crazy. But we had a We had great friendships
Speaker 5: at that time, and these friendships are still present even
Speaker 5: my earliest birthday yesterday, I get.
Speaker 4: Fall, for example, and.
Speaker 5: I celebrated my big birthday this year and they came
Speaker 5: and along and Eva and lots of other friends. So
Speaker 5: I think we shared such a precious time on the tour,
Speaker 5: which will keep us always connected.
Speaker 3: Yeah that sounds really lovely.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that does sound really lovely. Yeah, it was an
Speaker 1: incredibly deep era that you said, Like when you listed
Speaker 1: those players in the top ten, who was the most
Speaker 1: difficult for you to face, because looking back at your career,
Speaker 1: you faced pretty much everyone at the top around that time,
Speaker 1: and yeah, they're they're icons of the game, some of
Speaker 1: the people you mentioned, Yeah, who what was it like
Speaker 1: to face?
Speaker 4: Yeah, it was toughest. I didn't love playing against the
Speaker 4: heart hitters.
Speaker 5: So for example, somebody like Lindsa Devcord was very hard
Speaker 5: for me to play against because she served well and
Speaker 5: she played every book you sentimeters in front of the baseline,
Speaker 5: so I always felt like I was on the pressure. Obviously,
Speaker 5: the Williams sisters. Later on, Stephie Graff was very hard
Speaker 5: for me to play against as well.
Speaker 4: Because she was a big role model too.
Speaker 5: I preferred to play against Martina hing Is because she
Speaker 5: didn't play she did, she didn't hit the ball very hard,
Speaker 5: and that was for me.
Speaker 4: I felt like I had a bit.
Speaker 5: More time, you know, to be creative, and so so
Speaker 5: I enjoyed playing against her. I didn't mind playing against
Speaker 5: Kim Kleistos or is Justina Ena for example, or a
Speaker 5: Rancha Sanchez Vicario, but the hard hitters, they were my
Speaker 5: biggest problem.
Speaker 1: Yeah, no, that makes sense. Ninety nine was the year
Speaker 1: that was such a fantastic year in tenna, specifically because
Speaker 1: of so many things that it was such a so
Speaker 1: many massive stories happened then. So yeah, Martina was number one,
Speaker 1: That's when Serena won her first Grand Slam, It's when
Speaker 1: Stephie retired. There were lots of things that all happened
Speaker 1: around then, and it's the year that you had your
Speaker 1: best season. You were top ten. I think you finished
Speaker 1: the year maybe number eight or seven. That year so
Speaker 1: what was it like, what was clicking for you in
Speaker 1: ninety nine, And this is particular special that had happened
Speaker 1: in that year where so many players were at the
Speaker 1: top with you.
Speaker 4: I was just really consistent.
Speaker 5: I'd never had that one big result, you know, where
Speaker 5: I went into a final of a Grand Slam. To
Speaker 5: be honest, I always also never really believed in it,
Speaker 5: which was now in hindsight, was a mistake. My big
Speaker 5: goal was always to crack the top ten, and once
Speaker 5: I did that, I was like, I'm happy, you know
Speaker 5: with this. And when I was seven in the world,
Speaker 5: I thought, try to get to number six maybe, And
Speaker 5: I never got to number six.
Speaker 4: So it was a great era.
Speaker 5: I mean, you know, it was a time where people
Speaker 5: knew all.
Speaker 4: The players with their first name.
Speaker 5: You know, there was Martina, that was Mary, there was Jennifer,
Speaker 5: Venus Serena, and that was pretty cool, I thought. And
Speaker 5: they were trailblazers as well in a way, you know,
Speaker 5: in that generation, and I think there were exciting players
Speaker 5: with big personalities as well, lots of different personalities.
Speaker 4: I remember when Stephie retired at.
Speaker 5: The Masters in New York at Madison Square Garden, we
Speaker 5: had a big goodbye ceremony and I had goosebumps there to.
Speaker 4: Be there, you know, and with her farewell, and it was.
Speaker 4: There were a lot of very magical moments.
Speaker 1: Yeah, even the Masters being at Madison Square Garden, Like
Speaker 1: what an iconic venue that was. That was amazing too,
Speaker 1: also in New York. That leads us into our next question.
Speaker 1: You had your best Grand Slam result at the US Open.
Speaker 1: I'm not sure if that comes back to you now.
Speaker 1: The US Open is just a few weeks away, but
Speaker 1: we were looking at the scores you won by to
Speaker 1: reach the quarterfinals. You only dropped nine games to reach
Speaker 1: the quarters. You were like bageling everyone. What was that
Speaker 1: where you were playing maybe your your best tennis you
Speaker 1: ended up playing losing to Venus in the quarters.
Speaker 4: Yeah. I was so confident at that time.
Speaker 5: I just knew when I went on the court, I
Speaker 5: was going to win that match.
Speaker 4: I'm not going to lose that And I.
Speaker 5: Felt very fit physically, I felt mentally very strong, and
Speaker 5: I knew my tennis was there. So unfortunately, my grandmother
Speaker 5: passed away the day before my match against Venus, and
Speaker 5: that shook me around a lot, because you know, I
Speaker 5: was very upset that a very close relationship with her.
Speaker 5: My parents are very upset. To see your parents very
Speaker 5: upset was upsetting me.
Speaker 4: So I wasn't on the.
Speaker 5: Court against Venus really, which was a shame because I
Speaker 5: think if I would have been there one hundred percent mentally,
Speaker 5: maybe the score would have been differently, maybe than my
Speaker 5: career would have turned another way as well, you know.
Speaker 5: But you know, I'm still very happy with that result,
Speaker 5: and I think of it many times, especially when the
Speaker 5: US Open comes around, and yeah, to lose against Venus,
Speaker 5: I think she won. Did she win that title then?
Speaker 5: Or did Serena win that?
Speaker 1: Serena won that one. That was the arena one, her
Speaker 1: first slave, So that was It was a huge tournament
Speaker 1: in Tennessee history anyway because of what was happening.
Speaker 4: But yeah, it was the beginning of the end for
Speaker 4: everyone else.
Speaker 2: Well you say that, but you did get one back
Speaker 2: on Venus at Roland Garross. I think it was in
Speaker 2: two thousand and one, So that's, you know, one of
Speaker 2: your amazing wins.
Speaker 3: What matches stand out for you?
Speaker 5: That one definitely, because I remember had a horrible run before.
Speaker 5: I've lost four or five times first round. My self
Speaker 5: confidence was very low and then I draw Venus Williams,
Speaker 5: number second, number two seed at the French Open, and
Speaker 5: I was thinking, oh my god, I better pack my
Speaker 5: bags right away and you know, be ready to go
Speaker 5: home again.
Speaker 4: But then there was a point where I didn't care anymore.
Speaker 5: I just said, okay, Bobsy, get out there and just
Speaker 5: enjoy it. You know, what's the worst thing that can happen.
Speaker 5: You can just lose, and then I've played my best tennis,
Speaker 5: you know. And Venus was missing a lot on her
Speaker 5: forehand and I just kept on playing to her forehand
Speaker 5: and forehand. And we played the match on Susan Longland,
Speaker 5: which is the second biggest courts, and it was packed
Speaker 5: and the people started chanting for me, and it was
Speaker 5: one of the biggest upsets. And I really enjoyed it
Speaker 5: and I love it. And if you would ask me
Speaker 5: who I've played against in the second and a third
Speaker 5: and I would have no clue. I just remember that
Speaker 5: I lost against Justina, and now I think.
Speaker 1: But see even then, like, yes, you beat Venus, you
Speaker 1: lose to Justine another icon. It was just such an
Speaker 1: incredible field at that time.
Speaker 2: It certainly was you always had, I guess, kind of
Speaker 2: a special connection to the Australian Open. You played your
Speaker 2: first Grands I'm in qualifying here and you also, I
Speaker 2: had your last tournament here at the Austraine Open, and
Speaker 2: you know, you obviously made the US Open quarters, but
Speaker 2: had such great consistency here in Melbourne.
Speaker 3: What brought out your best tennis?
Speaker 5: I always loved playing the Australian Open. It was always
Speaker 5: my favorite Grand Slam, even before I had this connection,
Speaker 5: you know, with Australia with Josh obviously, but everybody was
Speaker 5: always so happy. And then getting out of Europe winter time,
Speaker 5: you know, it snowing, it's cold, it was just lovely,
Speaker 5: and I mean it's for a reason that it's called
Speaker 5: the Happy Slam for many years, and and.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I just loved the atmosphere.
Speaker 5: And I always had a lot of support at the
Speaker 5: Australian Open, and that made me play better there.
Speaker 4: So I was very consistent. I played a lot of
Speaker 4: times fourth.
Speaker 5: Round and yeah, and kind of I think I kind
Speaker 5: of started my Grand Slam tournaments there and I played
Speaker 5: juniors there as well and made the finals the same year.
Speaker 5: I think I played qualis as far as I remember,
Speaker 5: and I had my first heat stroke in Australia. That
Speaker 5: was not in Melbourne, that was in Brisbane. I remember
Speaker 5: that too, But I've always had great memories, you know,
Speaker 5: playing in Australia and the heat was one thing, but
Speaker 5: i just remember that everybody was always so friendly, which
Speaker 5: sometimes in Europe that's not the case.
Speaker 1: How did you We'd love to know how did you
Speaker 1: meet Josh? Like, did you Was it a playing mixed doubles,
Speaker 1: because you made the mixed doubles final at the Australian
Speaker 1: Open in two thousand and one, which is a really
Speaker 1: cool moment. Yeah, what what was the meeting story?
Speaker 5: Well, we actually have been friends for a long time,
Speaker 5: even before we started to play mixed doubles. Knew each
Speaker 5: other because through my friend Uncle Huber, she played a
Speaker 5: little bit of mixed doubles with Josh and so weeks
Speaker 5: to have dinner sometimes together. I was very good friends
Speaker 5: with uncle and that's how we got to know each other.
Speaker 5: And then we would start sharing houses, for example in Wimbledon,
Speaker 5: and not until the end of our career pretty much.
Speaker 5: Josh has retired in two thousand and four. I retired
Speaker 5: in two thousand and five. It kind of clicked and
Speaker 5: we fell in love with each other. So we've been
Speaker 5: friends for five six years, played mixed doubles together, and
Speaker 5: we always were in relationships, you know. But then towards
Speaker 5: the end of our careers, we were like, oh, what
Speaker 5: does that mean? We were not going to see each
Speaker 5: other anymore.
Speaker 4: That's impossible. So that's when we were like, okay, okay.
Speaker 1: So I think in my head it was when I
Speaker 1: looked back, I was like, oh, I assumed you were
Speaker 1: together during the mixed doubles run, but that was a
Speaker 1: couple of years before that.
Speaker 5: So yeah.
Speaker 1: So but there must have been a really good, like
Speaker 1: tennis chemistry on the court as well. I mean, if
Speaker 1: you combined to make a Grand Slam final.
Speaker 4: Yeah, totally.
Speaker 5: When Josh was top ten and doubles as well for
Speaker 5: many years, and we just had fun playing mixed doubles
Speaker 5: and his girlfriend was there, my boyfriend was there, So
Speaker 5: we were far.
Speaker 4: Away from being a couple.
Speaker 5: If somebody would have told me, you're going to marry
Speaker 5: that guy one day and have a child. So we
Speaker 5: made the finals, which was unbelievable, and we did beat
Speaker 5: Renee Stuffs and yes, that was our biggest run.
Speaker 4: That's a sensational win.
Speaker 3: It is huge.
Speaker 5: It is a sensational win. And then I remember before
Speaker 5: the finals we actually practiced a few double strategies and
Speaker 5: tactics and then we lost, so we shouldn't have done.
Speaker 3: But what a great story. Incredible.
Speaker 1: So you alluded to retiring in two thousand and five.
Speaker 1: How much have you followed tennis since then? And who
Speaker 1: do you enjoy watching now in this era?
Speaker 5: Well, yeah, I retired in two thousand and five and
Speaker 5: then pretty much started working for TV because I wanted
Speaker 5: to be connected in tennis somehow. And since then I've been,
Speaker 5: you know, traveling to all the Grand Slams pretty.
Speaker 4: Much and a few other events as well.
Speaker 5: And obviously I have big passion and love for the sport,
Speaker 5: especially in our family with Josh. You know, we talk
Speaker 5: about the results every morning, what happened in Cincinnati and
Speaker 5: Montreal or wherever.
Speaker 4: And I love it.
Speaker 5: I love the way tennis has developed, you know, how
Speaker 5: much faster it is, how much physical it is. I
Speaker 5: love new faces pomping up. And obviously the rivalry between
Speaker 5: Alpha and Sinna is amazing because we've had a feder
Speaker 5: or another Djokovic for so many years, and I always thought, oh,
Speaker 5: it's never gonna happen. You know that there will be
Speaker 5: such a rivalry and somebody can play.
Speaker 4: Faster and more powerful and be more athletic, but they go.
Speaker 5: You've got Alcross and Sinner and Sasha Zariff as well
Speaker 5: now and then on the women's side, you know it's
Speaker 5: so open as well, with Aavalleenka obviously Cookoo golf, and
Speaker 5: then so many other players who could win Grand slams.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 5: We've seen it with with Noskova in Wimbledon, and I
Speaker 5: find it very exciting tennis. You know, you never know
Speaker 5: what happens. It's unpredictable, and yeah, and I will keep
Speaker 5: doing what I'm doing for hopefully many more years. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Well, what was that transition like when you retired? Was
Speaker 1: that like because you know, for some place it's not easy.
Speaker 1: They might feel a bit lost. I've done tennis my
Speaker 1: whole life. I don't know what to do. But it
Speaker 1: sounds like you kind of had a bit of a
Speaker 1: plan or you kind of wanted to stay connected with
Speaker 1: the sports. So was the transition into the media an
Speaker 1: easy one for you?
Speaker 5: Well, I have to say the last year played on
Speaker 5: the tour, I already thought about what do I want
Speaker 5: to do afterwards.
Speaker 4: Which direction can I had what interests me?
Speaker 5: So while I was playing on tour in two thousand
Speaker 5: and five, I've already done a little bit of commentary
Speaker 5: for Eurosport, for example, because they the commentators used to
Speaker 5: be on site most of the time because I think
Speaker 5: they had the rights of the WTA Tour, and I
Speaker 5: really enjoyed that. I thought it was great. And then
Speaker 5: one other part was I wanted to give back a
Speaker 5: little bit to you know, be a mentor for a player,
Speaker 5: which I was then for Barbora Stritz for many years,
Speaker 5: which was great.
Speaker 4: And then another one was just working at a tournament.
Speaker 5: See what does it take to actually put up a tournament,
Speaker 5: because as a play you just go there, you think
Speaker 5: everything is there, you just think about yourself.
Speaker 4: But I wanted to be behind the scenes, and yeah,
Speaker 4: and that all worked out. You know.
Speaker 5: I've started to be the ambassador of the tournament in Inns,
Speaker 5: which is a WTA five hundred, which I've been the
Speaker 5: ambassador for twenty two years now. Then with Eurosport, I
Speaker 5: started at the French Open in two thousand and five
Speaker 5: and that's been going on for twenty two years now.
Speaker 5: And yeah, and I was a person who needed to
Speaker 5: have a bit of a plan. I didn't want to wait,
Speaker 5: you know for people to call me and say, oh,
Speaker 5: what do you want to do, because I thought that
Speaker 5: might not happen.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 5: So yeah, so it worked out to be really really great.
Speaker 5: I never thought that my second career was going to
Speaker 5: be longer than my tennis career, and yeah, and I
Speaker 5: really love what I do. And I work for different
Speaker 5: networks as well, which is fun.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 5: I do a lot of a lot of broadcasting in
Speaker 5: German and then in English as well, also for Tennis Australia,
Speaker 5: which is a lot of fun.
Speaker 4: And so it's.
Speaker 5: Never the same, it's always different, which I enjoy. So
Speaker 5: it's kind of a little bit still live the life
Speaker 5: as a player a little bit, just not playing well.
Speaker 2: You have kind of seen tennis through so many different
Speaker 2: lenses as a player, as a mental, in media and
Speaker 2: behind the scenes at tournaments. Is there anything that's kind
Speaker 2: of surprised you the most in all of those experiences.
Speaker 5: No, I mean it's great the way tennis developed, you know,
Speaker 5: in terms of price money equal price money at the
Speaker 5: Grand Slams. You know, that was very important to me
Speaker 5: because I didn't experience that there was still a big
Speaker 5: difference then just the way tennis developed, you know how,
Speaker 5: I've mentioned it before, the athleticism of the players. Everybody's
Speaker 5: traveling with four or five team members. It's a to
Speaker 5: a certain degree, a lot more professional. Not that we
Speaker 5: weren't professional. We were, but that's just a lot more
Speaker 5: money in and surprising. I am surprised how long roughno Does'
Speaker 5: career has lasted. For example, I've never thought he was
Speaker 5: going to have such a long career. I never thought
Speaker 5: that anybody could win twenty three, twenty four tycles. So yeah,
Speaker 5: I think, and I'm looking forward to seeing in which
Speaker 5: way tennis develops, you know, in the next ten to
Speaker 5: twenty years as well, in terms of rackets and strings
Speaker 5: maybe and players and rules as well.
Speaker 1: Yeah that's true, because the rules haven't actually changed a ton,
Speaker 1: but you know, maybe there's been a bit more of
Speaker 1: an openness to that.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: And in your media career, you've had lots of interviews.
Speaker 2: What have been some of the most memorable ones.
Speaker 5: I mean, there's players you prefer to interview compared to others.
Speaker 5: People who talk are much nicer to talk to than
Speaker 5: people who give you the.
Speaker 4: The yes and.
Speaker 5: I mean I've had some great times and interviews with
Speaker 5: Roger so easy.
Speaker 4: You just give him one word. It just talks.
Speaker 5: The dream and yeah dream, and he's so open and
Speaker 5: makes you feel so comfortable. I really enjoy interviewing Novak
Speaker 5: Djokovic because you can actually joke around with him as well,
Speaker 5: but you have to know your facts and he's always
Speaker 5: been very good with me, I have to say.
Speaker 4: And on the women's side, with Serena, you never know
Speaker 4: what you've got.
Speaker 5: Sometimes she could be in a great mood, sometimes not
Speaker 5: so much, but Arena Savalenka, for example, it's fantastic. Helena's
Speaker 5: vit Alina Kokokov. I always try to make the interviews light,
Speaker 5: you know, talk about tennis, but then also bring their
Speaker 5: personality out and you know, have a bit of fun.
Speaker 5: I think that's what people want to see. That's what
Speaker 5: players would like to as well, not just talk about
Speaker 5: their forehands and backends. And that's a big advantage obviously
Speaker 5: when you played the sport and they know that you've
Speaker 5: played the sport, you kind of can be a little
Speaker 5: bit more pushy in certain ways.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I always admire on court interviews when
Speaker 2: you know, sometimes it obviously can be a little bit tough.
Speaker 2: How do you deal with those situations when it's I
Speaker 2: guess more challenging to get some responses, Oh you.
Speaker 4: Just dick deeper.
Speaker 5: After so many years doing that, I have my own
Speaker 5: techniques to get a little bit more out of them,
Speaker 5: you know, and or just keep on asking questions. But
Speaker 5: I think the most important thing, and for me has
Speaker 5: always been the first question has to be super positive
Speaker 5: because if it's not, then they shut down and and
Speaker 5: you have to have a feel of the situation as well.
Speaker 4: Can you push a little bit more or do you
Speaker 4: have to pull back? And yeah, I love.
Speaker 5: Interviews on the on court interviews because they're so happy
Speaker 5: usually and so emotional in a positive way, so you
Speaker 5: get pretty much everything.
Speaker 4: Out of them. I don't like to do interviews with
Speaker 4: people who have lost. That's a tough one.
Speaker 1: That's they're not fun.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: No, you obviously follow ye as you said, you follow
Speaker 1: the sport really closely now and yeah, the sport has evolved.
Speaker 1: But I wonder if there's anyone that reminds you of
Speaker 1: you when you play, or if there's a player that
Speaker 1: has kind of like the closest when you're watching now
Speaker 1: they're like the closest to you in style or that
Speaker 1: you have a connection with that way when you watch them.
Speaker 5: That's a very good question, and I actually have never
Speaker 5: thought about it closely because tennis is so much faster
Speaker 5: now quicker. I would compare myself maybe a little bit
Speaker 5: with Carolina Mukhova because she has that variety.
Speaker 4: She had the power. I was powerful as well twenty
Speaker 4: five years ago.
Speaker 5: Now it would be considered slow. But I always had
Speaker 5: that little bit of a finesse on the court. But
Speaker 5: she's then on the other side, she's a little bit
Speaker 5: too quiet.
Speaker 4: I was fiery on the board. Now I showed emotions.
Speaker 1: And yeah, she's extremely measured. There's not a lot of
Speaker 1: emotion that comes out. It all kind of seems to
Speaker 1: come out through her tennis, like, yeah.
Speaker 5: I'm more like an arena Sablenka maybe.
Speaker 3: Emotionally great combo.
Speaker 1: We have to ask you about your thoughts on Lily Tager,
Speaker 1: who obviously is the Austrian teenager. She just won her
Speaker 1: first title in Prague. She's in the top fifteen now
Speaker 1: and a very distinct player with the one handed backhand,
Speaker 1: and everyone also loves that she's coached by Francesca Skiovoni,
Speaker 1: which is a really cool combination. Have you met her
Speaker 1: and watched much of her?
Speaker 4: Oh? Yes, of course.
Speaker 5: I mean Austria, we don't have too many players, so
Speaker 5: we're all very excited with her results and her progress.
Speaker 5: The first time I met her was about three four
Speaker 5: years ago, and obviously she's from the same area in Austria.
Speaker 5: She's from a part of Tyrol, which makes us very
Speaker 5: connected as well, and I followed her in juniors and
Speaker 5: I followed her very closely the last couple of years,
Speaker 5: and I love so she went to Italy to train
Speaker 5: with Francesca for many years ago. I think she left
Speaker 5: Austria when she was twelve or thirteen and is practicing
Speaker 5: there and is doing obviously really well. And in Austria
Speaker 5: and myself as well, I was very worried about the
Speaker 5: back end, the single handed back, and I'll never teach
Speaker 5: anyone a single handed back, especially on the women's tour.
Speaker 5: But I am very convinced about her back and watching
Speaker 5: her many times now. It's not a weakness. She plays
Speaker 5: a lot of slices. She doesn't have a lot of
Speaker 5: problems with the speed as well of her opponents, and
Speaker 5: I think especially that slice. If she could use it
Speaker 5: the right way, a lot of girls will have problems
Speaker 5: with it because not too many girls play slices anymore.
Speaker 5: I love the way how grown up is, how much
Speaker 5: sure she is, even a couple of years ago. She's
Speaker 5: very reflective on her game and what she does on
Speaker 5: the court, so she thinks about things herself, not just
Speaker 5: the coach.
Speaker 4: And I love that.
Speaker 5: She's got a great team around her which will help her.
Speaker 5: Her agent is the agent of Janick Sinna, for example,
Speaker 5: as well, so she's got a fantastic team around her
Speaker 5: and obviously has access to information other players wouldn't get
Speaker 5: at that age. Yes, and I believe that she will
Speaker 5: be top ten and I think that she can win
Speaker 5: a Grand Slam for sure.
Speaker 1: Interesting comment you made about the one handed back end.
Speaker 1: Why wouldn't you normally recommend that?
Speaker 5: Well, because of the power and the speed, you know,
Speaker 5: and then also they're returning when up there, you know,
Speaker 5: when the girls kick it out white you have problems.
Speaker 5: I mean Roger Federer had problems with his back and
Speaker 5: the times you know, against players who were hitting the
Speaker 5: ball hard, and especially on clay, when you have it
Speaker 5: up there with that and there's a woman, you don't
Speaker 5: have that much strength as well as a as a man,
Speaker 5: so it's even harder. But I have to say, I'm
Speaker 5: I'm very surprised how well she hits her back end,
Speaker 5: and I don't think it's going to be a problem
Speaker 5: in the future.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I guess she's tall. That's another thing. I
Speaker 1: think she's six foot one or something like that, so
Speaker 1: she high bounce. Probably that counters that maybe, But yeah,
Speaker 1: she's hitting she she hit it pretty well in Prague
Speaker 1: when she won the title, and.
Speaker 3: It's great to watch as well.
Speaker 2: Yeah, So, Barb, how often do you enjoy playing tennis now?
Speaker 4: Well, the last time I have played was in Wimbledon.
Speaker 5: I was invited to play the Legends event there, so
Speaker 5: I played in the invitational doubles alongside Thomas Johanssen, which
Speaker 5: was a lot of fun. I'm still recovering from those
Speaker 5: three matches. Takes longer these days, but yeah, I play
Speaker 5: occasionally with Josh and but I mean, I do a
Speaker 5: lot of other.
Speaker 4: Sports and I'd just like to be active and healthy.
Speaker 5: It's very easy when I'm up here's with the weather
Speaker 5: and everything. So yeah, our family is very sporty, but
Speaker 5: maybe the emphasis is not so much on playing tennis
Speaker 5: anymore because it's also very frustrating. You know, you're slower,
Speaker 5: you can't hit the ball as hard anymore.
Speaker 4: So it's like those days are over.
Speaker 3: And your son Noah, any tennis interests.
Speaker 5: Then no, not really. He is a loving to play
Speaker 5: rugby league. Yes, so he's a footy player. Josh Over
Speaker 5: wanted to play rugby league, but he was never allowed
Speaker 5: to play from his parents, so that's why he played tennis.
Speaker 4: The good thing is that's how we.
Speaker 5: Met play rugby. We would have never met, so that's
Speaker 5: a good thing. But our son can't play tennis. He's
Speaker 5: actually a decent tennis player, but he wants to have
Speaker 5: a crack at rugby league and training practicing representing the school.
Speaker 5: The team here on the Sunshine Coast is part of
Speaker 5: the Falcons program. So so yeah, we'll see how he
Speaker 5: will get. But he's he's in very good nick and
Speaker 5: he's very focused as well. And I got into rugby
Speaker 5: league as well. Now watching a lot of games.
Speaker 4: I really enjoy watching it. The Brisbane Broncos I would
Speaker 4: say something different. Now I'm around the corner and what
Speaker 4: divorce me?
Speaker 3: You wouldn't want that.
Speaker 4: We don't want that to happen.
Speaker 5: They're not doing overly well this year, by the way.
Speaker 1: No, we'd love to know as well. Because tennis has
Speaker 1: been such a part of your life for a long
Speaker 1: time in so many ways. What's the most valuable lesson
Speaker 1: it's taught you?
Speaker 4: I think being disciplined.
Speaker 5: You know, there's so many lessons tennis has taught me
Speaker 5: in a good way as well. You know, you travel
Speaker 5: a lot, you get to know a lot of different cultures.
Speaker 4: You're very open to the world and.
Speaker 5: To culture, to different people, which I only realized afterwards
Speaker 5: in my way of thinking and meeting other people who
Speaker 5: haven't experienced that.
Speaker 4: Reliable. I'm very reliable.
Speaker 5: I'm very determined still in certain ways, I still set goal. Okay,
Speaker 5: so that's what I've always done as a player. I
Speaker 5: have short term and long term goals. Yeah, being disciplined.
Speaker 4: You know, when.
Speaker 5: I set my mind to something, I do it.
Speaker 4: There's no way out.
Speaker 5: So lots of little little, lots of little things. I
Speaker 5: assess people weekly, like when like an opponent on the court,
Speaker 5: you know, well, you have to know where the strengths
Speaker 5: and weaknesses, how they mentally, So even when I meet
Speaker 5: people now, I like an.
Speaker 4: Like an X ray. You know, it's like there is
Speaker 4: is that that?
Speaker 3: What's the saying about? Is it crazy?
Speaker 5: Yeah?
Speaker 3: Everything you need to know about life you can learn
Speaker 3: in tennis.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah, So we've hand that fascinating because we had Craig
Speaker 1: on here a couple of weeks ago before he when
Speaker 1: he wrapped up at TA and yeah, that's a philosophy
Speaker 1: of his. Yeah, so we're always very yeah, and.
Speaker 4: He's totally right.
Speaker 5: I mean, you know, you have to push your boundaries
Speaker 5: as well in tennis physically and mentally. You get to
Speaker 5: know yourself a lot better in tricky situations on the court.
Speaker 4: How do you handle them? What do you do? And
Speaker 4: I've learned a lot there because as I said, that was.
Speaker 5: Always very outgoing and emotional on the court, and that've
Speaker 5: worked a lot on that.
Speaker 4: With sports psychologists.
Speaker 5: So and those things I've learned then, I still use
Speaker 5: them now. So there's definitely a lot of things you
Speaker 5: learn as a tennis player or a professional athlete for.
Speaker 4: Your life afterwards or for you a normal life.
Speaker 2: I would say, yeah, well, it has been amazing to
Speaker 2: hear about how tennis has shaped your life. Really from
Speaker 2: the moment you first picked up a racket until now
Speaker 2: when you're still so heavily involved. So thank you for
Speaker 2: sharing so much of your journey with us. It's been wonderful.
Speaker 4: Thank you so much. Guys, it was a pleasure to
Speaker 4: talk to you.
Speaker 3: Yeah, this is great.
Speaker 1: Thanks Barbara, Well, Matt.
Speaker 2: I loved hearing Barbara's perspective on tennis during her time
Speaker 2: as a professional player and how she views the game today.
Speaker 2: And yeah, it was great to hear how she excited
Speaker 2: she is about another Austrian player, young Austrian Lily Tagger.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I loved hearing her talk about Tagger and just
Speaker 1: the stars of the game in general today, like the
Speaker 1: way she talked about the Sinner and El Karaz rivalry
Speaker 1: and how amazingly the sport has evolved, and the level
Speaker 1: of tennis and the athleticism and the teams and how
Speaker 1: I guess, yeah, being connected with that in the media
Speaker 1: space herself, an interviewing those players. She watches it closely.
Speaker 2: And we'll be back again next week with another episode
Speaker 2: of the sit Down. Please remember to subscribe so you
Speaker 2: never miss an episode in your feed, and we'd love
Speaker 2: you to leave us a rating and review.
Speaker 3: See you next week.
Speaker 5: Matt.
Speaker 3: See the ENVIVD