WEBVTT - The Sit-Down with Talia Gibson 0:00:02.320 --> 0:00:05.040 Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of The Sitdown. 0:00:05.200 --> 0:00:07.760 I'm Matt Troloka, writer for oz open dot Com and 0:00:07.800 --> 0:00:08.080 I am. 0:00:08.000 --> 0:00:09.440 Breeched you it from the AO Show. 0:00:10.000 --> 0:00:12.959 So Matt, you set down with Talia Gibson, tell me 0:00:13.000 --> 0:00:14.240 a little bit about why. 0:00:14.520 --> 0:00:17.400 Yeah, good timing actually, because just today she hit a 0:00:17.440 --> 0:00:20.120 career high ranking of world number one hundred and twenty eight. 0:00:20.600 --> 0:00:22.520 We chatted to her because she's been tearing up the 0:00:22.560 --> 0:00:25.319 Australian Pro Tour. She's won three titles and she's on 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:27.320 a fourteen match winning streak, so we wanted to kind 0:00:27.320 --> 0:00:29.760 of check in with her and see what was clicking 0:00:30.160 --> 0:00:32.360 as she makes a big push towards the end of 0:00:32.400 --> 0:00:34.960 the season ahead of the Australian Summer of Tennis. 0:00:34.960 --> 0:00:36.680 How exciting. Let's go. 0:00:40.200 --> 0:00:42.839 Talie at Gibson, thanks so much for joining us today 0:00:43.080 --> 0:00:44.040 on the sit Down. 0:00:44.320 --> 0:00:45.960 Thank you very much for having me. It's good to 0:00:46.000 --> 0:00:46.320 be here. 0:00:46.560 --> 0:00:48.400 Yeah, it's great to see you. Where in the world 0:00:48.400 --> 0:00:50.080 do we find you right now? And what are you doing? 0:00:50.520 --> 0:00:53.920 I'm currently is in Brisbane at the moment, just off 0:00:53.920 --> 0:00:57.200 the back of coming back from Cans and come back 0:00:57.240 --> 0:01:00.240 here to Brisbane to train for a couple weeks before 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:01.400 heading off to play for it for. 0:01:01.360 --> 0:01:02.040 The next tournament. 0:01:02.600 --> 0:01:04.720 Okay, awesome, Well, I kind of wanted to start the 0:01:04.760 --> 0:01:06.920 interview there a bit, and because you're kind of a 0:01:06.920 --> 0:01:09.000 bit of a woman of the moment in Australian tenets. 0:01:09.000 --> 0:01:11.759 You're on a fourteen match winning streak on the pro too. 0:01:11.840 --> 0:01:14.800 You've won three consecutive titles cans, as you mentioned, and 0:01:14.800 --> 0:01:17.560 there were two in perfect I believe what's clicking so 0:01:17.600 --> 0:01:19.200 well in your game that's allowed you to have such 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:19.720 good form. 0:01:20.600 --> 0:01:21.440 That's a good question. 0:01:22.760 --> 0:01:26.240 I mean, I'm not sure that I can really say, 0:01:26.319 --> 0:01:30.120 you know, there's something that's been clicking in particular, but 0:01:30.280 --> 0:01:33.360 I think just over the past you know, a few months, 0:01:33.360 --> 0:01:37.800 been working really hard on and off the court, and 0:01:37.880 --> 0:01:42.080 I think these last few weeks I've really been seeing 0:01:43.920 --> 0:01:46.319 a lot of that work sort of paying off, which 0:01:46.360 --> 0:01:50.000 is I think it's a really rewarding feeling. And I 0:01:50.080 --> 0:01:54.840 have to, you know, pay a huge thanks to my 0:01:54.920 --> 0:01:57.400 team and you know, everyone behind me who's supporting me, 0:01:57.440 --> 0:02:00.560 because I think, you know, without them, I certainly wouldn't 0:02:00.560 --> 0:02:03.040 be where I am and have had the success that 0:02:03.080 --> 0:02:04.279 I have in the past few weeks. 0:02:05.160 --> 0:02:07.000 Tennis is such an interesting. One thing that you've got 0:02:07.040 --> 0:02:09.079 so many options when it comes to your schedule. There's 0:02:09.080 --> 0:02:11.560 so many places you could be. There's always tournaments happening, 0:02:11.639 --> 0:02:14.320 So you've chosen to compete on the Aussie Pro Tour. 0:02:14.400 --> 0:02:17.520 What are you enjoying about this particular circuit of tournaments 0:02:17.520 --> 0:02:19.680 and why why is that your schedule? 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:20.440 Oh? 0:02:20.480 --> 0:02:23.960 I think, you know, from early in the year, sort 0:02:23.960 --> 0:02:27.519 of a few months ago, we were probably planning. 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:29.000 To, you know, stick to the Aussie Swing. 0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:32.720 I think, you know, it's always so comforting to be 0:02:32.760 --> 0:02:35.440 able to play at home play and I think we're 0:02:35.480 --> 0:02:38.320 really lucky to have such a schedule that we do 0:02:38.400 --> 0:02:42.799 in Australia. So I think, you know, you know, spend 0:02:42.840 --> 0:02:45.760 all year traveling around the world, and I think it's 0:02:45.800 --> 0:02:47.960 just nice sometimes to be able to just come home 0:02:48.040 --> 0:02:49.959 and you know, play a couple of tournaments and lucky 0:02:50.000 --> 0:02:51.799 enough for me, I was able to play a couple 0:02:51.800 --> 0:02:54.799 of tournaments at home. But yeah, I think just being 0:02:54.800 --> 0:02:57.160 in the in the comfort of your own country, you know, 0:02:58.400 --> 0:02:59.160 it's really great. 0:02:59.400 --> 0:03:01.120 Yeah, for sure. And I guess with a bit of 0:03:01.120 --> 0:03:03.880 an eye towards like December, in January, when the international 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:06.600 circuit comes to Australia. It's good to have been preparing 0:03:06.639 --> 0:03:08.200 there when's Playford. 0:03:08.600 --> 0:03:12.720 So Playford is it'll be starting not next week but 0:03:12.800 --> 0:03:15.239 the week after for me, okay, so pretty much the 0:03:15.240 --> 0:03:17.919 start of the week that's when I'll be starting in Playford. 0:03:18.680 --> 0:03:20.080 So yeah, really looking forward to that. 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:23.919 I'm excited to see, you know, what I'm able to 0:03:24.560 --> 0:03:27.480 bring to the court that week and hopefully these couple 0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:30.119 of weeks here in Brisbane putting a lot of work 0:03:30.160 --> 0:03:32.480 in on the practice s cord and hopefully I'm able 0:03:32.520 --> 0:03:35.160 to see some results of that in Playford. 0:03:35.400 --> 0:03:37.440 And what does is Playford your last tournament for the 0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:39.520 year or do you have any more on your schedule? 0:03:39.560 --> 0:03:40.760 How does the rest of your year look? 0:03:41.360 --> 0:03:44.280 So Playford's not the last tournament that I'll be playing. 0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:48.000 I'll be planning on playing Playford at Sydney, so those 0:03:48.040 --> 0:03:50.800 two are back to back. Then I believe there's a 0:03:50.840 --> 0:03:53.800 week break and then there's going to be three tournaments 0:03:53.800 --> 0:03:57.680 in Queensland. There's going to be one in Brisbane at 0:03:57.680 --> 0:04:00.440 the Queensland Tennis Center, then there's going to be tournament 0:04:00.440 --> 0:04:02.000 in Cloundra, and then there's going to be one of 0:04:02.040 --> 0:04:02.520 the Gold Coast. 0:04:02.520 --> 0:04:04.360 So I'm planning on playing all those at the moment. 0:04:04.680 --> 0:04:07.880 Okay, wow, I guess preparing for this interview and kind 0:04:07.880 --> 0:04:11.280 of looking at what you've achieved lately on tour. There's 0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:14.000 quite a lot of impressive stats that you've got, and 0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:16.080 I just wondered if I was to read a couple too, 0:04:16.960 --> 0:04:18.960 I want to know which one you like. The sound 0:04:19.040 --> 0:04:22.360 of bears. So this year you've improved your ranking by 0:04:22.400 --> 0:04:25.320 more than one hundred places. In the last twelve months, 0:04:25.680 --> 0:04:28.560 you've won more than fifty matches on the IF circuit, 0:04:28.920 --> 0:04:32.120 and in the past three seasons you've reached fifteen it 0:04:32.440 --> 0:04:34.280 of singles finals and you've won more of them than 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:37.719 you've lost. So when you hear all of those great achievements, 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:41.479 what are you most proud of? I mean, it's or 0:04:41.520 --> 0:04:43.040 is it somebody else that I've forgotten? 0:04:44.720 --> 0:04:46.880 Honestly, you know, it's funny to hear that, because it's 0:04:47.080 --> 0:04:49.119 not often that you sort of just take a moment 0:04:49.200 --> 0:04:51.200 to actually look back at what you have achieved. 0:04:51.880 --> 0:04:52.920 I think so so. 0:04:52.960 --> 0:04:55.719 Often you're looking forward to you know, what's next, what's 0:04:55.720 --> 0:04:59.119 the next tournament that I'm playing, And it's not often 0:04:59.160 --> 0:05:02.080 that you know, person, I really look back and take 0:05:02.120 --> 0:05:04.400 a look at some of those stats. So it's actually 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:08.039 thank you for saying that, because it's actually really interesting 0:05:08.080 --> 0:05:10.679 to hear. But yeah, I think, you know, just honestly 0:05:10.839 --> 0:05:14.600 really proud of the progress that I've made, you know, 0:05:14.680 --> 0:05:17.839 like you said, the progress that I've made through the rankings, 0:05:17.880 --> 0:05:21.960 you know, the amount of finals that I've made in 0:05:22.000 --> 0:05:25.000 the last year. I think it's yeah, like I said before, 0:05:25.120 --> 0:05:28.440 so it's a really rewarding feeling. And you know, setting 0:05:28.480 --> 0:05:31.040 myself goals all the time of what I want to achieve. 0:05:31.040 --> 0:05:33.560 When I think looking back now, I can, you know, 0:05:33.760 --> 0:05:35.640 tick off a lot of goals that you know, I 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:40.720 wanted to achieve. So I think it's yeah, it's really exciting, 0:05:40.800 --> 0:05:44.279 and I'm super happy with how this year's gone. You know, 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:48.360 I've had so many really exciting experiences. 0:05:48.400 --> 0:05:48.599 You know. 0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:51.520 Now I can say that I've played all of the 0:05:51.520 --> 0:05:53.760 Grand Slams, which has been you know, a dream of 0:05:53.760 --> 0:05:56.800 mine since I was young, and now to have been 0:05:56.839 --> 0:05:58.839 able to do that is just really really awesome. 0:05:58.960 --> 0:05:59.720 Couldn't be happier. 0:06:00.240 --> 0:06:02.839 I was going to ask you about that. Actually, those 0:06:02.839 --> 0:06:05.560 stats I guess we were talking about is predominantly it 0:06:05.600 --> 0:06:07.359 relates to the I TA circuit. But yeah, you have 0:06:07.480 --> 0:06:10.560 had that higher level success in at Wimbledon and the 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:12.800 US Open. You got within a round of the main draw, 0:06:12.880 --> 0:06:14.640 you want to rounds of qualifying, and I wondered what 0:06:14.680 --> 0:06:18.520 that particular experience was like, playing on side like in 0:06:18.560 --> 0:06:20.960 that kind of Grand Slam environment and doing as well 0:06:20.960 --> 0:06:23.200 as you did. What did that do for your tennis? 0:06:23.680 --> 0:06:29.760 Yeah, that was that was definitely something that I really 0:06:29.880 --> 0:06:31.560 learned a lot from. 0:06:31.640 --> 0:06:33.120 I think, you know, up. 0:06:33.080 --> 0:06:37.000 Until this year, I'd competed at the AO a couple 0:06:37.040 --> 0:06:41.440 of times, but once you move to the Grand Slams 0:06:41.480 --> 0:06:43.640 out of Australia, I think, you know, it can be 0:06:43.720 --> 0:06:45.640 quite different because you know, at Australia, at your home 0:06:45.960 --> 0:06:49.400 Grand Slam, you have you know, so many people there, 0:06:49.800 --> 0:06:53.520 you know, supporting the Australian so and then moving on 0:06:53.560 --> 0:06:55.920 to the different Grand Slams it was really exciting to see, 0:06:55.960 --> 0:06:58.320 you know, what that environment, you know, how. 0:06:58.200 --> 0:06:59.200 It differs and everything. 0:07:00.480 --> 0:07:04.040 And then I think, you know, really trying to learn 0:07:04.080 --> 0:07:06.760 from you know, everything that you experience. You know in 0:07:06.800 --> 0:07:08.760 the matches, you know what it feels like to be, 0:07:10.280 --> 0:07:13.920 you know, in those sorts of places. So there was 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:17.640 definitely a lot of things that I learned and will 0:07:17.640 --> 0:07:20.960 definitely take into next year and hopefully bring out, you know, 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:21.920 better performances. 0:07:22.440 --> 0:07:24.680 You may have mentioned of goals before, and it sounds 0:07:24.680 --> 0:07:26.720 like you're quite goal oriented and that it's been rewarding 0:07:26.800 --> 0:07:29.000 hitting those steps you've made for yourself. Do you share 0:07:29.120 --> 0:07:30.600 the goals or do you kind of keep them close 0:07:30.640 --> 0:07:33.080 to your chest in private and then you talk about 0:07:33.120 --> 0:07:34.239 them like after the fact. 0:07:35.160 --> 0:07:38.280 I think it's definitely something that I share. I think, 0:07:38.760 --> 0:07:41.800 you know, everyone has probably their own little goals that 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:44.760 you know, they might keep to themselves, but I think, 0:07:44.800 --> 0:07:47.200 you know, my goals are they're not only my goals, 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:49.960 but they're you know, my team's goals. You know everyone 0:07:49.960 --> 0:07:52.280 around me who's supporting me, you know, those are the 0:07:52.320 --> 0:07:55.480 things that you know, they know what I want to achieve, 0:07:56.360 --> 0:07:58.880 and I think it's really important for me to be 0:07:59.080 --> 0:08:01.880 communicating those goal so that we can do everything that 0:08:01.920 --> 0:08:03.560 we can to try and reach them. 0:08:03.800 --> 0:08:05.080 So what do you want to achieve? 0:08:07.880 --> 0:08:10.840 I really want to achieve, you know, being the best 0:08:10.840 --> 0:08:13.240 that I can be. I would say that I don't 0:08:13.240 --> 0:08:16.040 really like to put you know, Anne more on that 0:08:16.200 --> 0:08:19.840 or anything, but I think, you know, just trying to 0:08:19.880 --> 0:08:22.560 be the best person that I can be and you know, 0:08:22.720 --> 0:08:25.240 be the best player that I can be, is you 0:08:25.280 --> 0:08:26.240 know the end goal for me. 0:08:26.720 --> 0:08:29.760 Nice, that's good. Not everyone that's listening to this chat 0:08:29.840 --> 0:08:32.080 might have actually ever seen you play. How would you 0:08:32.120 --> 0:08:34.839 describe your playing style and your and your approach to tennis. 0:08:35.480 --> 0:08:37.720 I would say that I have a very aggressive game, 0:08:38.520 --> 0:08:41.560 and I think everyone would agree with that. I think 0:08:41.600 --> 0:08:44.840 it's pretty obvious, you know, how I play. But yeah, 0:08:44.840 --> 0:08:49.080 I know that's something that I'm continually working on, trying 0:08:49.080 --> 0:08:52.640 to add, you know, more dimensions to my game. I've 0:08:52.640 --> 0:08:56.839 always been quite an aggressive player, you know, from the baseline, 0:08:56.880 --> 0:08:59.480 but yeah, and the last few is really trying to 0:08:59.640 --> 0:09:02.400 improve on that and you know, add aspects that are 0:09:02.440 --> 0:09:05.400 really going to compliment compliment that down the track. 0:09:05.679 --> 0:09:08.319 Nice And did you always have that style when you started? 0:09:10.200 --> 0:09:13.840 Since I can remember, Yeah, I can't remember playing any different, 0:09:14.200 --> 0:09:18.120 but yeah, it's always been my game, Silence, It's just yeah, 0:09:18.120 --> 0:09:19.040 how I grew up playing? 0:09:19.080 --> 0:09:21.360 Really? And how did you get into the game, and 0:09:21.400 --> 0:09:23.440 like where did you first discover it? And then obviously 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:25.040 you loved it enough to keep pursuing it. 0:09:25.280 --> 0:09:27.800 Yeah. Absolutely, Well, I started playing tennis when I was 0:09:27.800 --> 0:09:31.480 five years old. My family does have a little bit 0:09:31.480 --> 0:09:34.920 of background in tennis. Both my parents did play a 0:09:34.920 --> 0:09:37.480 little bit of tennis, sort of just socially, and so 0:09:38.480 --> 0:09:41.880 they thought that, you know, tennis was going to be 0:09:42.240 --> 0:09:45.360 a good sport to sort of get me into. You know, 0:09:45.480 --> 0:09:50.480 it has a great social aspect, and yeah, from as 0:09:50.480 --> 0:09:52.440 soon as I started playing, I just really enjoyed it, 0:09:52.480 --> 0:09:53.719 and yeah, it just took off from there. 0:09:54.400 --> 0:09:54.800 Nice. 0:09:55.080 --> 0:09:57.800 It's interesting talking to a lot of players. It's kind 0:09:57.800 --> 0:09:59.120 of a bit of a mixed bag as to like 0:09:59.120 --> 0:10:01.280 how many of them will like massive tennis fans when 0:10:01.280 --> 0:10:03.560 they were growing up and continue to watch it even 0:10:03.640 --> 0:10:05.160 like in their career, or some of them are like, 0:10:05.320 --> 0:10:07.160 I actually don't watch that much tennis, Like I didn't 0:10:07.200 --> 0:10:08.800 have idols growing up and I need to get away 0:10:08.800 --> 0:10:11.360 from it. Like did you have inspirations? Where do you 0:10:11.400 --> 0:10:12.640 sit on that spectrum? 0:10:13.200 --> 0:10:16.000 I think just honestly having a love for the game. 0:10:16.080 --> 0:10:19.320 Really, you know, I wouldn't say there was anyone in 0:10:19.440 --> 0:10:24.920 particular who really was the person who you know, inspired 0:10:24.960 --> 0:10:28.559 me or anything, but yeah, just watching the variety of 0:10:29.040 --> 0:10:31.559 players on tour and you know what they bring to 0:10:31.600 --> 0:10:34.680 the game, and you know, I think tennis is such 0:10:34.720 --> 0:10:37.560 an amazing sport. You know, where I'm from there was 0:10:37.760 --> 0:10:41.200 a massive tennis community, so it was just always something 0:10:41.240 --> 0:10:42.960 that you know, I love to watch and I love 0:10:43.040 --> 0:10:44.640 to play and was always really involved with. 0:10:45.120 --> 0:10:46.800 Was it the Australian Open or were you one of 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:49.240 the people that also sat up like I remember my 0:10:49.360 --> 0:10:52.000 tennis experience I've got, you know, sitting up at two 0:10:52.120 --> 0:10:54.120 or three in the morning watching the franchive in Wimbledon. 0:10:54.160 --> 0:10:55.520 Were you one of those people too. 0:10:57.000 --> 0:10:59.600 I think definitely to an extent, Yeah, I always love 0:10:59.640 --> 0:11:03.560 watching the Grand Slams on TV. That was always, you know, 0:11:03.800 --> 0:11:05.760 a great time of the year when when one of 0:11:05.760 --> 0:11:09.440 those came around. So yeah, I definitely grew up watching 0:11:09.520 --> 0:11:12.600 you know a lot of those a lot of those 0:11:12.640 --> 0:11:17.280 matches on television, and I think, yeah, I mean, watching tennis, 0:11:17.520 --> 0:11:19.360 there's so much to learn, So I think that was 0:11:19.760 --> 0:11:25.120 definitely something that I really loved about about watching those 0:11:25.160 --> 0:11:26.040 Grand Slam matches. 0:11:26.240 --> 0:11:28.480 A bit of homework as well as entertainment, which is good. 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:29.280 Yes, definitely. 0:11:30.360 --> 0:11:32.680 I wanted to talk to you about your coach, Cody George, 0:11:32.800 --> 0:11:35.840 because in tennis, in proteatus, it's actually comparatively rare to 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:38.480 have a female coach, particularly on the men's side, but 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:40.040 on the women's side too. Yeah, they're not they're not 0:11:40.480 --> 0:11:43.000 super common. What's it like working with her and what 0:11:43.080 --> 0:11:43.960 she brought to your game? 0:11:44.320 --> 0:11:46.680 Yeah, it's really awesome to be working with Cody. 0:11:47.240 --> 0:11:50.080 I've known her for quite a few years now, met 0:11:50.120 --> 0:11:53.840 her a few years ago when she was working with 0:11:53.920 --> 0:11:58.840 TA and Yeah, it was really exciting to find out 0:11:58.840 --> 0:12:00.600 that I was going to be able to with her. 0:12:01.480 --> 0:12:06.520 She's such an amazing coach. You know, she's put so much, 0:12:07.000 --> 0:12:10.840 so much time into working with me, you know, traveling 0:12:10.840 --> 0:12:13.199 with me pretty much. I don't think she could have 0:12:13.480 --> 0:12:16.120 traveled with me really anymore, you know, in the last 0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:18.199 couple of years since I started working with her. 0:12:18.960 --> 0:12:20.680 So just super super grateful for that. 0:12:21.840 --> 0:12:23.880 And you know, I've learned so many things from her, 0:12:23.960 --> 0:12:27.560 and I really look forward to, you know, continuing to 0:12:27.600 --> 0:12:29.280 work with her, you know, as long as possible. 0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:32.120 Well, she speaks really glowingly of you as well. One 0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:34.920 of our colleagues, Lee Rodgers, spoke to her at the 0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:37.760 Billie Jean Kin Cup tie in April in Brisbane, and 0:12:37.800 --> 0:12:40.240 she said in that article that Talia has made a 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:43.360 conscious effort to step up her physicality, intensity and intent 0:12:43.600 --> 0:12:45.840 and in doing so it has made lots of improvements. 0:12:46.000 --> 0:12:48.480 So I wondered that I found that really interesting. What 0:12:48.559 --> 0:12:51.760 prompted this conscious effort from you? And why why were 0:12:51.760 --> 0:12:52.720 those things you'll focus? 0:12:53.280 --> 0:12:56.280 Yeah, I think it definitely was a big part of 0:12:56.320 --> 0:12:59.000 that was from Cody. Okay, there's you know, been a 0:12:59.000 --> 0:13:00.600 lot of a lot of lessons that I've had to 0:13:00.679 --> 0:13:06.320 learn in those things, and she was definitely the biggest 0:13:06.400 --> 0:13:10.800 voice that was driving me to improve all of those things. 0:13:11.240 --> 0:13:13.320 We've obviously talked a lot about you as a tennis 0:13:13.360 --> 0:13:16.079 player and your relationship with the game and what you've 0:13:16.080 --> 0:13:18.400 been achieving. What would you like people to know about 0:13:18.440 --> 0:13:20.320 you more as a person off the court. 0:13:21.240 --> 0:13:25.520 That's a good question. I would say that I'm a 0:13:25.559 --> 0:13:27.760 pretty pretty easy go home person to be honest. 0:13:28.160 --> 0:13:30.600 You know, I love spending time with family and friends, 0:13:31.040 --> 0:13:31.760 love going. 0:13:31.520 --> 0:13:33.839 To the beach, you know. 0:13:34.040 --> 0:13:37.400 I yeah, nothing really out of the ordinary. I'd say 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:42.240 that people don't really know about me, but yeah, you know, 0:13:42.320 --> 0:13:45.920 I just when I can. I think that's that's my 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:48.800 biggest love is here just spending times with friends of 0:13:48.840 --> 0:13:50.760 holily because you know, sometimes on tour, you know, it 0:13:50.800 --> 0:13:53.400 can be a little bit lonely. At times you're not 0:13:53.440 --> 0:13:56.360 always with them. So yeah, when I get those chances, 0:13:56.600 --> 0:13:57.520 I definitely take them. 0:13:58.080 --> 0:14:00.199 How do Yeah, now that you're kind of transitioning to 0:14:00.679 --> 0:14:03.199 a pro career and you're spending more time traveling overseas, 0:14:03.240 --> 0:14:05.640 how are you kind of cap you only lots of 0:14:05.640 --> 0:14:07.320 plays talk about that. So what are your kind of 0:14:07.320 --> 0:14:09.800 strategies and things that you do to help you help 0:14:09.840 --> 0:14:11.520 you on those big chunks of time on the road. 0:14:12.640 --> 0:14:17.120 I think one of the things is keeping like in 0:14:17.200 --> 0:14:20.600 contact with everybody, you know, like all the time. I 0:14:20.640 --> 0:14:23.880 think it can be sometimes, you know, a little bit 0:14:23.960 --> 0:14:27.280 overwhelming with you know, how busy the schedule can be. 0:14:27.480 --> 0:14:31.320 But when I have the downtime, really trying to keep 0:14:31.320 --> 0:14:34.840 connecting with everyone who isn't there with me. But also 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:37.560 I think sometimes it's nice to have a bit of downtime, 0:14:37.640 --> 0:14:40.280 you know, to yourself. You spend a lot of time 0:14:40.560 --> 0:14:43.880 at the courts around a lot of people sometimes, so 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:47.240 I know, for myself, I like to sort of just 0:14:47.320 --> 0:14:48.800 have some quiet time sometimes. 0:14:49.200 --> 0:14:51.280 Oh yeah, I totally understand that I would do that too. 0:14:52.160 --> 0:14:54.440 I be like, yeah, I've been interactive people enough. I 0:14:54.480 --> 0:14:56.960 need I need my own time. Oh and when when 0:14:57.000 --> 0:14:59.800 you're in Australia, so you're obviously training in Brisbane at 0:14:59.800 --> 0:15:01.360 the moment, but you're from Perth. Are you based in 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:02.080 Brisbane or Perth. 0:15:02.600 --> 0:15:03.520 I'm based in Brisbane. 0:15:03.600 --> 0:15:06.880 Yeah, I've been training at the National Tennis Academy in 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:09.040 Brisbane for the last couple of years, which has been 0:15:09.080 --> 0:15:09.680 really awesome. 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:13.000 But yes, I am from Perth. That is my home, 0:15:13.040 --> 0:15:15.080 but Brisbane is my home away from my home. 0:15:16.000 --> 0:15:18.360 So have you liked Brisbane, like getting there and getting 0:15:18.360 --> 0:15:19.040 to know an new city. 0:15:19.480 --> 0:15:20.760 Yeah, it's been souper awesome. 0:15:20.800 --> 0:15:23.160 I think, you know, the environment that Tennis Australia has 0:15:23.200 --> 0:15:26.600 created in Brisbane is really really awesome. There's so many 0:15:26.640 --> 0:15:32.520 people working to create a really supportive environment. I think that, 0:15:32.760 --> 0:15:35.080 you know, it's I always have such such a great 0:15:35.120 --> 0:15:35.680 time when I'm. 0:15:35.600 --> 0:15:38.120 In Brisbane awesome. Yeah, it's a great city. I enjoy 0:15:38.200 --> 0:15:41.320 visiting there too. Yeah, I've just got a couple more talia. 0:15:41.400 --> 0:15:44.120 I've noticed in the Live rankings you're back inside the 0:15:44.160 --> 0:15:45.800 top one p thirty, so I'm not sure how official 0:15:45.800 --> 0:15:47.440 that it has been. I know your career high rankings 0:15:47.440 --> 0:15:50.040 one twenty nine, but being in that area of the 0:15:50.120 --> 0:15:52.640 rankings kind of puts you not that far away from 0:15:52.880 --> 0:15:56.560 direct entry into the Australian Open, And so is that 0:15:56.640 --> 0:15:59.520 a goal thinking ahead to the upcoming Aussie summer, you know, 0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:01.320 and entry deadline being December. 0:16:02.080 --> 0:16:07.640 Yes, I think direct entry into a Grand Slam is 0:16:08.200 --> 0:16:09.720 probably one of my biggest goals. 0:16:10.440 --> 0:16:12.120 I think it's definitely a milestone. 0:16:12.160 --> 0:16:15.520 But I think at the moment, you know, having just 0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:19.400 played all of the Grand Slams this year and having 0:16:19.400 --> 0:16:21.840 gotten into them off of my own ranking, I think 0:16:21.880 --> 0:16:24.360 that was already a huge step forward for me and 0:16:24.840 --> 0:16:27.960 something that was really exciting. So I think moving forward, 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:31.280 you know, it can be hard to break that top 0:16:31.320 --> 0:16:33.720 one hundred, But for the moment, I think, you know, 0:16:34.200 --> 0:16:37.040 really focusing on my game and really trying to progress 0:16:37.080 --> 0:16:39.880 as much as possible, and I think the results can come, 0:16:39.960 --> 0:16:42.560 and you know, I think the result the rankings. 0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:45.760 Is obviously a result of that. So yeah, I would 0:16:45.760 --> 0:16:46.960 say that it's. 0:16:46.800 --> 0:16:49.000 Exciting to see where I am in the rankings right now, 0:16:49.040 --> 0:16:54.000 but that's probably not something that I'm really really focusing on. 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:56.520 I think sometimes it can get a little bit distracting, 0:16:56.600 --> 0:16:59.240 but at the end of the day, yeah, you know, 0:16:59.600 --> 0:17:02.800 something like that would be so amazing to achieve, is. 0:17:02.760 --> 0:17:05.760 It helpful at all that quite a few young assie 0:17:05.760 --> 0:17:08.800 girls around you are doing similar. So we've just seen 0:17:08.880 --> 0:17:10.800 a Decky break into the top one hundred. You've got 0:17:10.840 --> 0:17:14.160 my joint just ahead of you, Dashes just outside. Kim 0:17:14.160 --> 0:17:17.360 Berrel's not is similar ranking to you. You're there, everyone's 0:17:17.440 --> 0:17:19.080 kind of inching closest. So when you're in a group 0:17:19.119 --> 0:17:21.560 of five or six, do you take inspiration from that 0:17:21.680 --> 0:17:23.800 or kind of does that help pull you all along? 0:17:24.440 --> 0:17:25.000 Absolutely? 0:17:25.160 --> 0:17:27.760 I think it's really uplifting, you know, when you see 0:17:28.119 --> 0:17:32.280 so many of your friends and fellow Aussie's doing so well. Yeah, 0:17:32.720 --> 0:17:35.600 I think a lot of us really take a lot 0:17:35.600 --> 0:17:38.080 of encouragement from that. And I think we're all super 0:17:38.080 --> 0:17:40.360 super supportive of each other as well, which I think 0:17:40.400 --> 0:17:41.879 plays a huge part in that. 0:17:42.400 --> 0:17:44.760 And I've got one last one for you, slightly abstract, 0:17:44.760 --> 0:17:47.159 but say we were doing this podcast interview at the 0:17:47.200 --> 0:17:50.160 same time next year, we're talking twelve months away, and 0:17:50.320 --> 0:17:53.520 I asked you what would make a successful twenty twenty five? 0:17:54.320 --> 0:17:55.080 What might you say? 0:17:56.200 --> 0:18:00.159 I think probably the first thing I'd say is to 0:18:00.359 --> 0:18:05.800 qualify in the Grand Slam would be a massive achievement 0:18:05.840 --> 0:18:08.960 and something that you know, I was quite close to 0:18:09.000 --> 0:18:12.800 doing in Wimbledon and the US Open, So I think, yeah, 0:18:12.960 --> 0:18:16.240 definitely that and then also yeah, I mean top hundred 0:18:16.400 --> 0:18:19.560 is is you know, such a top goal for me, 0:18:19.720 --> 0:18:22.639 So something like that also, But you know, at the 0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:25.040 end of the day, if it's this time next year 0:18:25.080 --> 0:18:29.479 and I look back and I've grown so much as 0:18:29.480 --> 0:18:33.120 a person but also progressed develop. 0:18:32.840 --> 0:18:34.920 My game, you know a huge amount as well, I'm 0:18:34.960 --> 0:18:36.280 going to be so happy with that. 0:18:36.680 --> 0:18:39.280 Yeah, and then obviously the rest can take care of itself. 0:18:39.760 --> 0:18:42.960