A reflection from June 2021
For me, I always like to have a favourite tennis player. Someone above all others I root for, feel exhilarated when they win and crushed when they lose. My first tennis crush was Steffi Graf. I can still remember how genuinely upset I was when she lost to Lori McNeil in round 1 of Wimbledon 1993. Justine Henin was my next favourite and the first I, as an adult, put up a picture on my wall. A rather beautiful photo of her stylish one handed backhand. Henin’s premature retirement in 2009 was like being dumped out of the blue! What…? Erm, I don’t get it… WHY!? I briefly dipped into being an Elena Dementieva fan which might have prepared me for the ups and downs to come for my devotion to my One True Tennis Love, the wonderful Petra Kvitova. I think it was her Wimbledon 2011 run that hooked me, and seeing that beautiful flowing game. Who could have known the roller coaster ride that was to come!
