What makes a Hall of Famer? What is that unique something that led to their historic success? Was it innate? Or did they need to cultivate a winning mindset?Ten...
Season 3 of the TennisWorthy Podcast is here, just in time for the Australian swing and welcomes a new host in ITHF President and ESPN commentator Patrick McEnroe. Patrick and Chris Bowers bring two stories from Hall of Famers Hana Mandlíková and Pete Sampras. In reliving two key moments from their careers, Mandlíková and Sampras focus on their mental resilience and tenacity in overcoming challenges. Mandlíková, once seen as a natural rival to Martina Navratilova, became a Czech national hero, winning major titles like the Australian Open and Roland Garros. However, she struggled to break through the dominance of Navratilova and Chris Evert in the mid-80s. After improving her fitness and mentality, Mandlíková triumphed at the 1985 US Open, defeating both Evert and Navratilova, with the unexpected help of a Tina Turner anthem.Sampras, on the other hand, learned a crucial lesson about perseverance after his loss to Stefan Edberg in the 1992 US Open final. This experience drove him to dedicate himself fully to the sport, which eventually led to his success, including his 1996 US Open victory. He shares how he battled both illness and subpar play to outlast Alex Corretja in four hours and nine minutes in the quarterfinal.Stay tuned later in January as Patrick brings listeners more stories from the Australian Open. The TennisWorthy Podcast is presented by the International Tennis Hall of Fame. For more information and full episode transcriptions, visit tennisfame.com/podcast.
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17:50
The Psychology of Tennis
The TennisWorthy Podcast revisits Season 2 to close the year, featuring some of our favorite topics and legends.Today we're focusing on the psychology of tennis, which is not solely about psychology, but about dealing with pressure, keeping emotions at the right level, and generally looking after a player's mental health, which is becoming a more high-profile topic given the ultra-competitive nature of the current professional tennis world. The idea of players using psychologists has really only come in over the past 30 to 40 years. Five Hall of Famers, including Jim Courier, Conchita Martinez, Margaret Court, Patrick Rafter and Esther Vergeer, share their methods for mental fortitude and how they adapted to pressure on court.For more information on the TennisWorthy Podcast and full episode transcriptions, visit tennisfame.com/podcast.
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18:38
Pivotal History Makers
The TennisWorthy Podcast revisits Season 2, featuring some of our favorite topics and legends. In this episode, we hear about making a different kind of history from Hall of Famers Ken Rosewall, Cliff Drysdale, Rosie Casals, Judy Tegart-Dalton and Ann Jones.Three of the interviews in Season 2 featured five history makers from that pivotal time in the history of tennis, the sport going open in 1968, effectively the professionals and amateurs coming together in the same competitions. And the five voices you're going to hear now were all involved in that dramatic period between 1968 and '73 when tennis took the steps that enabled it to become the global professional discipline and spectacle it is today.For more information on the TennisWorthy Podcast and full episode transcriptions, visit tennisfame.com/podcast.
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24:51
Living a Balanced Life
The TennisWorthy Podcast revisits Season 2 to close the year, featuring some of our favorite topics and legends.Today we're going to take some excerpts from the interviews we launched this year on the theme of a balanced life. Hear from Hall of Famers Gabriela Sabatini, Jim Courier and Kim Clijsters on how they set priorities during their careers.How often do we hear that it's vital that young players give everything to their tennis career if they want to get to the top? You have to give almost everything, but we are talking about human beings. We all need a bit of release from our main focus in life and tennis players are no exception.For more information on the TennisWorthy podcast and full episode transcriptions, visit tennisfame.com/podcast.
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13:50
Developing as Junior Players
The TennisWorthy Podcast revisits Season 2 to close the year, featuring some of our favorite topics and legends.Today, host Chris Bowers focuses on the development of champions as junior players. In most of our interviews with champions, we've asked the question, what were you doing as a junior that made you win matches against fellow juniors, who must have had roughly the same forehands and backhands? The answers were varied, and sometimes surprising. Learn what it was that set them apart, featuring Ken Rosewall, Tommy Haas, Jim Courier, Conchita Martinez, Pam Shriver and Michael Stich in their own words.For more information on the TennisWorthy podcast and full episode transcriptions, visit tennisfame.com/podcast.
What makes a Hall of Famer? What is that unique something that led to their historic success? Was it innate? Or did they need to cultivate a winning mindset?TennisWorthy, a podcast presented by the International Tennis Hall of Fame and hosted by Patrick McEnroe, seeks to answer these questions and uncover what it takes to become the greatest of champions. These wide-reaching conversations go beyond on-court results, and reveal the mindset of the sport’s legends. Hear from Hall of Famers and legends of the sport on what it takes to set yourself apart.