Behind the racket

From the outside, life as a professional tennis player seems like a dream – glamorous travel, packed stadiums, and the thrill of competition. 

 

But behind the highlight reels and trophies lies a relentless grind that few truly understand. 

 

What about the parts we don’t see? The grueling travel schedules, the mental toll, the sacrifices made for a shot at greatness?

At the Credit One Charleston Open, we asked WTA players one question: “What’s one thing about being a pro tennis player that most people don’t realize, and how does it impact your life?”

 

Their answers pull back the curtain on life beyond the court—where the real challenge isn’t just winning matches, but surviving the grind of the tour.

 

Belinda Bencic

“Tough question to start with! I mean, people obviously see the parts of tennis on TV, but I think it’s definitely harder to be a professional tennis player than what is shown. Of course, during the matches, you can see the emotions and how people are fighting very hard, but I think it’s more of the practice and commitment every day that you have to do and the work, sweat, and tears.

 

“Everything you do behind the scenes, people don’t see so much of. Maybe they think everything is very glamorous on the outside, that we travel to other cities and everything, but we don’t really see much from the places we go to, so that’s probably another myth. I would definitely love to see more (when traveling), but sometimes we’re just outside the whole day, and then we go back to the hotel and do that for a week and then go to the airport and go to the next tournament.”

 

Daria Kasatkina

“I think for most people it’s the magic of how we appear from one tournament to another. You know, one day they’re watching us on TV, and we’re playing in Dubai; the next week we’re suddenly in Indian Wells; and the next week we somehow magically appear in Miami. So they don’t understand that we actually need to travel, and there are everyday problems, too, that people don’t see or don’t fully understand, like how tough it actually is to travel from one tournament to another, especially when it’s overseas in different countries.

 

“We also struggle with things like being sick, being tired or overwhelmed, or if our baggage didn’t arrive, and we have to somehow manage to practice without running shoes. These kinds of things always stay behind the scenes but affect us quite dramatically, because we’re also playing every week and it’s difficult. This is also kind of what I’m showing on the (YouTube) vlogs so that people understand us a little bit more, to show that we in fact had to take a flight with stops and sometimes delays or cancellations, and we still have to somehow make it to the tournament one day before the start of it.”

 

Emma Navarro

“I guess more people recognizing me, especially in Charleston. It’s a little bit unnatural having a bunch of people know who you are, and you don’t know who they are. That line can get a little bit blurry. People think they know you more than they do. So that’s just been something I’ve had to kind of get used to, but I’ve learned to just embrace that part of it. I’m really lucky to have people that are very grounding for me around me. They make me feel like just a regular Emma, so that’s really nice to have.” 

 

Jessica Pegula 

“I would say how long the days are. Long days at tournaments over and over again can be time-consuming, so you really don’t get that much time to explore a city or go do things that you want to do. I think sometimes people think that we’re traveling, and it’s fun, and all this stuff, which it is, but there are times where you don’t even really go out to the city because you didn’t have time. You have practice and commitments, or timing didn’t work out, and then you’re tired. There are so many factors that can come in, so I would definitely say the long days.

 

“I remember when my sister first started coming to tournaments with me. She’d be exhausted. And she wasn’t even doing anything. She’d be like, ‘I need to go take a nap; I need to get out of here; there’s too many people, we’ve been at the courts for like seven hours….’ Plus, maybe there’s a rain delay, and I don’t know when I’m going to play. I would say all of those things within a really long day are something people probably don’t realize how hard it is to do every week.”

 

Danielle Collins

“You know, we’re very privileged to be able to do what we do for a living, and we get to have some really cool experiences, but the tournaments can be hard and challenging. This is a performance-oriented job with a lot of physical and mental demands. Some of the tournaments you’re not always looking forward to. I think that’s normal in any job…. I can understand some of the younger players that want to play every day, you know, the energy behind that, but I think once you get to a certain age, you’re kind of like, ‘Whew!’ It’s nice to have a day off now and then between these matches.

 

“You have weeks you look forward to; you have weeks that you don’t, but I think across the board, this is a week that people really look forward to. I wish there was a way that we could have this tournament for like two or three months, but I just try to cherish it as much as I can.

 

(Another thing is) that being able to bring your dog to a tournament is very special. Not all of the events allow you to bring your pets with you, and having (my dog Quincy) in Miami and Charleston has just given me a sense of normalcy. I’m able to relax at the end of the day and have a purpose away from tennis because, you know, Quincy is my baby. So just being able to go home to him at the end of the day and do the things that he wants to do – go to parks, go and play – it really makes a more relaxing environment for me. It can be really hard for me emotionally being away from him.

 

“I also have seven chickens as well, and I’m very attached to them. I’m definitely starting my little farm, so there will be more and more animals. I feel like once you get chickens, it’s over. Then you want the donkey, then you want the goats, and then you want horses. So I’m trying to control myself a little bit and not keep getting more and more pets because it just becomes harder and harder to be on the road when it’s like that.” 

 

Amanda Anisimova

“I feel like most people probably would expect that we’re not home often. We’re traveling all the time, and we miss out on a lot of things in our personal life. But at the same time, we choose this profession, so it’s kind of expected. But it does get pretty tough. I think being on the road a lot and not seeing your family or friends is something people don’t understand and how hard it may be, but we make it work and try and balance it out.”

 

Qinwen Zheng

“We travel a lot more than what you think. Usually when preparing for a tournament, we need to go sometimes a week before or a few days before, so it’s like we’re always on the road. Plus, the tennis season is so long, so you don’t get much time to take a good break or good rest.”

 

Madison Keys

“It’s important to keep your body healthy. I think as you get older, you know yourself a little bit better, you mature, and in a lot of ways, tennis gets easier as you get older because you just kind of know what to expect, and you know how to handle things better.

 

“I think a lot of us have been able to find teams that have really helped us keep our bodies healthier for longer….It’s always a matter of, ‘Can I keep my body healthy? Can I stay quick? Can I still play six, seven matches in a row? Can I keep the pace on the ball that a lot of these younger players have?’ So I feel like a lot of us being able to keep our bodies healthy and continuing to stay quick and recover has been the biggest thing. And as you get older, you’re really just trying to navigate having all of the years on your body.”