Ana Ivanovic Opens Up
The former world No. 1 revealed painful details about strict regimes, fear of the crowd, and shocking coaching splits that marked her career in Slaven Bilic's podcast.
The former world No. 1 revealed painful details about strict regimes, fear of the crowd, and shocking coaching splits that marked her career in Slaven Bilic's podcast.
Ana Ivanovic, former world No. 1 and Roland Garros champion, appeared on Slaven Bilic's podcast "(Un)success of Champions" and spoke about the difficult moments that accompanied her rise to the top. In a candid conversation, she revealed how strict coaching regimes, including a ban on dinners with family, shaped her career, and how coach Sven Groeneveld left her twice without explanation.
Although she always seemed confident on court, Ana admitted to struggling with severe stage fright. "I had a fear of the crowd and people. I took risks in my game; I wasn't someone who played it safe. My problem was that there were so many people," Ivanovic said in the podcast.
She also recalled one of the most painful losses of her career, against Kim Clijsters. She had won the first set, led 5-1 in the second, and had three consecutive match points (40-0), but ultimately lost the match. "I don't know, I really don't know. She played really well those few points and all that; tennis is a very strange sport," she said, adding that a single point can completely change the course of a match.
One of the most emotional topics was her collaboration with renowned coach Sven Groeneveld, who worked within the "Adidas" program. Ana revealed that Groeneveld left her at two crucial moments in her career, in 2009 and 2011, without any explanation.
"I clicked well with Sven, I wanted to hire him, but two days before the Australian Open he told me he didn't want to and left me alone, I was without a coach. Once then, once two years earlier when he just left, without explanation," Ivanovic recounted. When Bilic asked if she might have been difficult to work with, she replied with a smile: "I don't know, maybe I was difficult to work with. I remember it was hard for me to take."
Her Roland Garros victory in 2008 brought her worldwide fame, but also extremely strict rules imposed by Groeneveld. "When I won it, my coach told me, 'Ana, every day before a match, you can't have dinner with your family; it takes too much energy. You can have dinner at 7 PM with your brother and fitness coach, then go to your room,'" she recalled.
She was only allowed to eat at a restaurant near the hotel, in the room she shared with her brother Milos, and had to be in bed by 9 PM. Although this discipline brought results, Ana admitted that the sacrifices became a burden. "For me, sacrificing everything was equal to success. Even when I wanted to relax, go shopping, or spend a day at the beach, I thought it would come back to haunt me," she said.
Ana also revealed that she always preferred individual sports because she likes to take responsibility herself. Although she loved volleyball and basketball as a young girl, she never trained them, and in tennis, she didn't enjoy playing doubles. "If I make a mistake, I feel guilty because we lost the point because of me. That's why individual sport is for me, so I can answer for both the good and the bad," she explained.
Finally, she shared a funny detail from training with a laugh: "Coaches and hitting partners would call me out when we're rallying; they make a mistake, and I apologize to them."
