Right on: Australian Samantha Stosur fired a record 208 km/h serve in her match Friday; off-court, she turned that powerful arm to signing autographs.
Women tennis professionals travel the world making their living. It may appear a glamorous life — sport, travel, money — but it’s still a job with its own routine. For most players, it’s a week in, week out schedule of flying to destinations to vie fiercely for the handsome paycheck that awaits the winner.
In 2009, the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour introduced a revised schedule intended to give players more rest time to recuperate mentally and physically between tournaments.
The Commonwealth Bank Tournament of Champions, this year scheduled as the final event of the year, has long been one of the favorite destinations for players. Here they have the opportunity to participate in off-court activities, from spa treatments to cooking classes, in the gorgeous setting of the Nusa Dua tourism area. It’s still stressful work, but with some play thrown in to keep them happy. They enjoy it while they can, for tomorrow they must do battle again on court.
— Text by Bruce Emond, photos by Ricky Yudhistira
