A decade ago Jeff founded the Clown Conservatory the only comprehensive professional clown training program in the United States. He is now the Bay Area Casting Partner for Cirque du Soleil, the Artistic Director of the Medical Clown Project and a coach with the global consulting firm Stand & Deliver.
A graduate of the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, Jeff has performed with Cirque du Soleil, The Pickle Circus, Vaudeville Nouveau and Make*A*Circus. In 2007, Jeff spent the year touring the U.S. as the lead character in Cirque du Soleil’s “Corteo.” In 2009, he reprised his role in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, Japan. He will continue to perform with the company from time to time.
SZ: Jeff you performed as the lead clown in Cirque du Soleil’s “Corteo” how much leeway was provided for creative spontaneity in this role?
JR: I was replacing the man who originated the role and had hoped to make some changes in the routines and add some of my circus skills. Given the complexity of “Corteo” and the fact that most CdS shows run for decades, there is not much room for big changes. That said, I had a lot of leeway with the language, improvising and re-writing sections of my part. Daniele Finzi-Pasca, the director, designed the show for flexibility, asking the performers to bring their own personalities and relationships to the stage every night. This gave the show, and continues to give the show, a freshness that is rare in a long-running production.
SZ: Did your performance transform a lot over the duration of time you played this character? Physically or mentally? Can you offer an example of the transformation you experienced over time?
JR: Yes. For one, I performed the role in English (with little bits of French, Italian and Russian) for 385 shows and then did it mainly in Japanese for another 115 performances. When doing 8 – 10 shows/wk, it is a struggle to be an artist every day and not slip into being a hack (someone who does what they do without intention, without heart.) Every show, I would try to focus on a particular scene or change my approach to a certain moment that had become stale. Luckily for me, “Corteo” is so complex technically that there are often little glitches, glitches that forced me to improvise and kept me from ‘dialing it in’. For example, it was the last show of a 10 show week, 10 minutes before the final bow. I was on the bike, suspended in the wings ready to make my computer controlled flight across the stage – a beautiful picture for the audience that was not much of a strain for me. I was dreaming of my day off. My cue came and went but the bike didn’t move. My mind flew into overdrive, reworking my lines, thinking about ways to get down, etc. Finally, the computer kicked in and I flew across the stage, improvising madly. The glitch saved that scene and kept me honest.
SZ: You’ve been a performance clown for over thirty-five years. What types of physical/mental training is useful in becoming a performance clown outside of performance training? Are there other disciplines you study or studied that have influenced your performance skills?
JR: It takes about 6 hours of practice a day for quite a few years to become a professional juggler. I started when I was 14 and that discipline has helped me immensely as a performer. Acrobatics is more social and the training, while more painful, is not as monotonous. It is, however, dangerous and scary. For an acrobat, the acting concepts of ‘risk’, ‘a life or death situation’ and ‘trusting your partner’ are visceral. If an actor loses focus, the scene dies; if an acrobat loses focus, their partner might die. In the ‘80’s, two partners and I had a company called ‘Vaudeville Nouveau’. We ran the business together. I learned how to write grants, do budgets, set up a not-for-profit, negotiate contracts, etc. These skills are invaluable for a free-lance performer. Finally, my experience as a teacher, which started out of necessity (I had to pay the rent and teaching is often a ‘fill-in’ gig for a performer) has grown to be one of my favorite things to do. When I am performing, I try to follow the advice I give to my students. This can be very hard – I was never a good student and I find I’m no better when I am the teacher.
SZ: While performing a show with a consistent story line show after show for over a year what are engaging elements of performance that feed a performers energy and help keep up the level of excitement for the actors?
JR: A ballerina came up to me after a workshop and said, “I could never do a show over and over like you do.” For her, the joy of being an artist was the variety and challenge of learning and performing 5 – 8 ballets/year. I understand her completely – variety has been a hallmark of my career. So the challenge of a long running show becomes a new artistic horizon. As I mentioned before, technical glitches are gold for a clown (when the sound board crashed and I got to talk with 2800 people without a mic and without competing with the band, I was in heaven.) Cast changes, different audiences, ideas from the director, etc. also kept me awake and alive on stage. Finally, I tried to interact with at least a few audience members before every show, to warm up my heart and ground me in the reality that this show, while old for me, is new for them.
SZ: You are currently a coach and director of the consulting firm “Stand & Deliver.” What are some of the challenges of working with business leaders in developing performance skills?
JR:: Now that I’ve become somewhat familiar with corporate culture, I find that my corporate ‘students’ are facing the same challenges and working on many of the same skills as my professional clown students – How to be fully yourself in front of a bunch of people? How to use all of one’s tools –voice, body, mind and heart – to engage other people and influence them? The moment when I can see a student’s block, name the challenge and watch them become fuller and more dynamic in front of their colleagues’ eyes is as rich a moment in a boardroom as it is in a ring.
SZ: Aside from presenting interesting and relevant material, what is a presentation skill that most people find immediately effective towards capturing the attention of their audience?
JR: Using their bodies to support their material rather than distracting from it; talking with audiences rather than at them; varying the pitch, volume and tempo of their voices to shape the meaning of their words and keep an audience from tuning out.
SZ: What are some of the life perks that have come along with the distinction of being a high level performance clown?
JR: Working with fascinating, skilled, wildly creative people on a regular basis; meeting people who were fans when they were kids become kids again when they see me; visiting interesting places around the world (although I often complain more about the plane trip than crow about the sights); watching my students succeed and surpass me in their skills and careers (now that I am officially an elder of the tribe, my cutthroat ambition has mellowed to mild jealousy mixed with pride.)
SZ: You and your wife psychologist Sherry Sherman recently launched the Medical Clown Project. Can you describe what the organization provides?
JR: Through the therapeutic art of play and humor, medical clowns help patients and their families reduce fear and anxiety while increasing their strength and motivation to cope with illness. The medical clown connects with patients in a way that is markedly different from the rest of their experience in the hospital.
Clowns use expressive therapy modalities such as magic, music, circus and puppetry as part of the healing process with patients, families and medical teams. They provide services in many settings including patient rooms, intensive care, emergency departments as well as in hallways, waiting rooms and elevators.
SZ: Your career embraces a global range of experience. Do you have a favorite quote or story that has guided you on your professional path? Many little stories – I collect and remember them.
JR: My mentor, Jael Weisman, has dropped many pearls over the years, including “If the first half goes well, pretend you really blew it so that you don’t get complacent in Act 2.” A couple of others: Auditioning for a big shot director; he liked me and asked to see more. I got excited and started showing him everything I had – juggling, acrobatics, music… Finally, he said “Stop. I like you now, don’t change that.” I got the part and the show eventually went to Broadway. Whenever I want to throw the kitchen sink at a scene, I remember that one. Another director once said, when I was complaining about something or other, “I agree, it is terrible. The worst thing you can do to an actor is give him a job.” That shut me up and broke off a big hunk of my actor’s cynical armor.
Jeff thank you for your taking time out of your very busy schedule to chat about life as
a performing artist.
Jeff wrote and is performing in the play, “The Road to Hades.” Performances continue at John Hinkel Park in Berkeley through Sept. 11th.
*Featured guests are not current nor former clients of Susan Zaro
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Rennae Stubbs - A passion for playing - Part 4
Rennae Stubbs just short of her 40th birthday is enjoying a career of semi-retirement from professional tennis. Stubbs the longest serving member of the Australian Federation Cup team has made her professional tennis mark as a doubles specialist. Over her twenty year career on the tour she has chalked up sixty tournament wins, including six grand slam doubles titles. Stubbs made history this year by becoming only the fourth player in World Team Tennis history to be on five Championship teams. Stubbs participated as the co-captain on the Washington Kastles. The team was the first in WTT’s 36 year history to have an undefeated season. Rennae’s tennis career is not over but as she winds down she’s been shifting into a new role as a t.v. commentator.
This is the final installment of an interview with Rennae held during the WTA Mercury Insurance tournament at La Costa Resort and Spa.
SZ: What do you think is helpful for young players and parents to know and be aware of when they are making the decision to commit to a professional life in tennis?
RS: I don’t want to pigeon-hole tennis. I think sports in general, I’ll go as far as to say that I think tennis is the most difficult sport. The reason I say that is not because I did it, but because tennis is the truly the only global sport.
SZ: Golf?
RS: If you are an LGPA player you are essentially playing in the States. The LGPA is now going a little bit more to Asia. There is the Evian and British Open, but I don’t court 5-6 weeks in another country or on another continent as a world wide sport. I say this because one of my closest friends is Karrie Webb and she does not travel anything like the players on the WTA. We have Europe, the States, Asia, I feel tennis is the most global sport in the world.
I think it’s difficult for a kid to be really good at because they have to be away all the time and a long way from home. It’s expensive to fly to Europe and back, stay in hotels, while taking mom or dad with you.
SZ: Is it tougher now or just different?
RS: Just different because you are getting paid more now but things are more expensive. It’s all relative. The most important thing is that your kid has to enjoy it. They have to love what they do. In any sport they have to love what they do. They have to love being on the road and being away from their friends. If they aren’t social it’s tough.
I see players come and go in three years because they are miserable. They have to love the competitive part of it and they have to love the ups and downs and dealing with adversity. It’s not easy. I try and say that to give kids a reality check. "You’re about to embark on something that’s so difficult and only a small percentage of the world will get to do this in a lifetime, so be realistic about what your chances are. If you are on the cusp of making it then you need to push yourself even harder to be successful because before you know it you will turn 25-30 years old and not have a dollar in the bank and no education." Good luck! I feel like the grim reaper but on the flip side I want them to experience what I’ve experienced and get something out of it and be happy at the end of playing, not feel like they wasted their youth. Unless you’re getting something out of it’s a bummer. Not just monetarily but feel like “I’m so lucky doing this”, that’s winning.
SZ: Did you feel this way in the beginning of your career? Was there ever a time you thought, “Do I want to be doing this?”
RS: I think everyone does at some stage of their career in life. I sort of didn’t give myself an opportunity to fail. When I was young and at the Institute of Sport in Australia in my last year I wanted to go and play Challenger Events in the States. I was told that they wouldn’t pay for me to go, I hadn’t warranted it, it didn’t have the results. I basically said, “I’m going to go anyway.” My dad got me a visa and said, “Best of luck,” and gave me the money. He always tells the story that I came back from that trip and I paid him back and never owed him a dollar since. It’s kinda like you step up to the plate and you do it and my goal was to pay my own way and do it because I loved it. I enjoyed the social part which was important for me. That got me through a lot of early times. I also appreciated being my own boss. That’s been the best. Maybe it’s something my parents instilled in me or maybe I can’t handle authority. It’s probably a combination which is why going into t.v. and things upcoming you have to toe the line in certain things.
SZ: You have the credibility to push and expand an audiences awareness.
RS: True I am allowed to be a little bit creative but still you’ve got to be here on time. You’ve got to be at production meetings.
SZ: You’ve got good company. You already know the people in the booth. You’re not really dropping into a void you know these people. You have many years of shared experiences. Do you have a favorite quote or story that’s helped you on your professional path?
RS: I love telling this story. My dad tells a story when I was a kid he knew I was going to be okay in life because when I was young and a competitive swimmer he said I was the only one in the 10 and under’s who would get up on the big starting block at the beginning of races. Most kids would start on the pavement because the block feels like a 20 foot drop when you’re 10 years old and he said I was the only swimmer in the race that got up on the big block and I looked over at him and gave him the thumbs up. He said, “I knew from that moment in your life that you would be okay.”
I just think the most important thing is to love what you do and truly embrace the whole package of what goes along with it because the reward is immeasurable.
SZ: Rennae thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedule to chat about life on the professional women’s tennis tour. I’ll check back in a year and see how your broadcasting career is working out.
This is the final installment of an interview with Rennae held during the WTA Mercury Insurance tournament at La Costa Resort and Spa.
SZ: What do you think is helpful for young players and parents to know and be aware of when they are making the decision to commit to a professional life in tennis?
RS: I don’t want to pigeon-hole tennis. I think sports in general, I’ll go as far as to say that I think tennis is the most difficult sport. The reason I say that is not because I did it, but because tennis is the truly the only global sport.
SZ: Golf?
RS: If you are an LGPA player you are essentially playing in the States. The LGPA is now going a little bit more to Asia. There is the Evian and British Open, but I don’t court 5-6 weeks in another country or on another continent as a world wide sport. I say this because one of my closest friends is Karrie Webb and she does not travel anything like the players on the WTA. We have Europe, the States, Asia, I feel tennis is the most global sport in the world.
I think it’s difficult for a kid to be really good at because they have to be away all the time and a long way from home. It’s expensive to fly to Europe and back, stay in hotels, while taking mom or dad with you.
SZ: Is it tougher now or just different?
RS: Just different because you are getting paid more now but things are more expensive. It’s all relative. The most important thing is that your kid has to enjoy it. They have to love what they do. In any sport they have to love what they do. They have to love being on the road and being away from their friends. If they aren’t social it’s tough.
I see players come and go in three years because they are miserable. They have to love the competitive part of it and they have to love the ups and downs and dealing with adversity. It’s not easy. I try and say that to give kids a reality check. "You’re about to embark on something that’s so difficult and only a small percentage of the world will get to do this in a lifetime, so be realistic about what your chances are. If you are on the cusp of making it then you need to push yourself even harder to be successful because before you know it you will turn 25-30 years old and not have a dollar in the bank and no education." Good luck! I feel like the grim reaper but on the flip side I want them to experience what I’ve experienced and get something out of it and be happy at the end of playing, not feel like they wasted their youth. Unless you’re getting something out of it’s a bummer. Not just monetarily but feel like “I’m so lucky doing this”, that’s winning.
SZ: Did you feel this way in the beginning of your career? Was there ever a time you thought, “Do I want to be doing this?”
RS: I think everyone does at some stage of their career in life. I sort of didn’t give myself an opportunity to fail. When I was young and at the Institute of Sport in Australia in my last year I wanted to go and play Challenger Events in the States. I was told that they wouldn’t pay for me to go, I hadn’t warranted it, it didn’t have the results. I basically said, “I’m going to go anyway.” My dad got me a visa and said, “Best of luck,” and gave me the money. He always tells the story that I came back from that trip and I paid him back and never owed him a dollar since. It’s kinda like you step up to the plate and you do it and my goal was to pay my own way and do it because I loved it. I enjoyed the social part which was important for me. That got me through a lot of early times. I also appreciated being my own boss. That’s been the best. Maybe it’s something my parents instilled in me or maybe I can’t handle authority. It’s probably a combination which is why going into t.v. and things upcoming you have to toe the line in certain things.
SZ: You have the credibility to push and expand an audiences awareness.
RS: True I am allowed to be a little bit creative but still you’ve got to be here on time. You’ve got to be at production meetings.
SZ: You’ve got good company. You already know the people in the booth. You’re not really dropping into a void you know these people. You have many years of shared experiences. Do you have a favorite quote or story that’s helped you on your professional path?
RS: I love telling this story. My dad tells a story when I was a kid he knew I was going to be okay in life because when I was young and a competitive swimmer he said I was the only one in the 10 and under’s who would get up on the big starting block at the beginning of races. Most kids would start on the pavement because the block feels like a 20 foot drop when you’re 10 years old and he said I was the only swimmer in the race that got up on the big block and I looked over at him and gave him the thumbs up. He said, “I knew from that moment in your life that you would be okay.”
I just think the most important thing is to love what you do and truly embrace the whole package of what goes along with it because the reward is immeasurable.
SZ: Rennae thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedule to chat about life on the professional women’s tennis tour. I’ll check back in a year and see how your broadcasting career is working out.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Rennae Stubbs - A passion for playing Part 3
Rennae Stubbs just short of her 40th birthday is enjoying a career of semi-retirement from professional tennis. Stubbs the longest serving member of the Australian Federation Cup team has made her professional tennis mark as a doubles specialist. Over her twenty year career on the tour she has chalked up sixty tournament wins, including six grand slam doubles titles. Stubbs made history this year by becoming only the fourth player in World Team Tennis history to be on five Championship teams. Stubbs participated as the co-captain on the Washington Kastles. The team was the first in WTT’s 36 year history to have an undefeated season. Rennae’s tennis career is not over but as she winds down she’s been shifting into a new role as a t.v. commentator.
This is the 3rd installment of an interview with professional tennis player Rennae Stubbs
held during the WTA Mercury Insurance Tournament at La Costa Resort and Spa.
SZ: Playing on the tour you are away from home for great stretches of time. What do you do to relax mentally and physically to stay fresh on the road?
RS: It depends on where you are. I do think it depends on how much you are playing, winning or losing. If you are losing you’re on the practice court a lot in the day.
SZ: You don’t take a day off when things aren’t going well?
RS: I would need to take a mental day. I have the tendency to churn over losses and need to get away. There are some players who just want to get back out there and practice. It depends on your personality. Some people like to chill out in their room and get on the computer. When I began the tour there wasn’t the computer so I’d read. At a tournament like La Costa I can go surfing. A couple of times I won here and I surfed everyday, or played golf. But not every tour stop is La Costa. If I am in Berlin I can go to see some history or something to get away.
SZ: Is it fatiguing going out to see the sights while you are traveling?
RS: It is. People don’t realize how draining it is. People assume we are so lucky traveling and seeing the world. To be honest of the great places I’ve been I haven’t really seen the cool parts. A lot of that is because it’s too physically and mentally draining. People ask me what I mean when I say this, but I say, “When you go on vacation and you go to all those sights that day aren’t you tired at night?” When tennis players have to play a match the next day sight seeing is not easy to do. When you are out of a tournament you are on a plane and onto the next event because if you’ve lost early in the tournament you’ve got to pull it together and prepare for the next tournament. If you’ve had a great tournament you’re straight on a plane to the next event and playing within a day. There’s a lot of down time on the tour but not a lot of that can be utilized in ways that most people would when they have time off. It’s more about conserving your energy.
SZ: Do you plan extra days at some locations so you can have chill time before the next stop?
RS: If depends where you are. If you’re in San Diego you’ll see the players hang around for a day or two. You can’t really plan because you don’t know how you will do. I remember talking with Steffi Graf about this and she said if there’s one thing she wish she had done more of is to have enjoyed her wins, but you don’t have time.
SZ: The responsibilities.
RS: Yes, the responsibilities. The pressure to do well the following week. When you are doing well there are more demands. You get to the end of the event, you win it, you have that moment where you see players cry they are so happy, you give them a couple of hours of joy and the trophy, sit around and talk about the week and then it’s bang, straight onto the next week.
SZ: The slate starts clean.
RS: It’s, “Get over it because you’ve got to play tomorrow at the next event.” It’s constant ups and downs. If you lose you’re upset for three days or you keep thinking about the shots you missed. I can’t tell you how many times at the next practice if I missed a certain ball during a match and I miss it again in practice, deja vu, it’s not fun.
Then you slowly let it go. Then you get into the next week. It’s a tough cycle.
SZ: Did you plan down time and go home?
RS: Having down time, getting away from tournaments and focusing on practicing things or working on fitness is as important as winning matches. When you are doing really well it’s as important as ever to give yourself a day or two to not think about tennis and stress. It feels as though you’re tuned in from the first moment of the year of playing to the very end. During the season you don’t feel like you have down time. I always saw the day after the Tour Championships as the day I could breathe without stressing, because I knew I had six weeks before the Australian Open began.
SZ: Did you ever work with a sport psychologist during your career?
RS: I didn’t. I did when I was at the Institute of Sport in Australia because it was stressed upon us. I think it’s an individual thing. I think it’s really helped some players. I talk to players and friends about how to handle situations. I have found that to be more beneficial to me. For me it was difficult to listen to a sport psychologist when it felt like, “You don’t know how I feel. You don’t know what it feels like to have break point and not think about the outcome of that". You can tell me to breathe and do certain things, maybe it’s just my personality. I’m combative. Whereas if a player says to me, “Listen this is what I did in this moment, this is what benefited me.” Then I think to myself, “Oh I’ll try that.” It’s an individual thing.
SZ: The tour is unique in that players start it at a very young age and this is the only environment they are immersed in for many years. Then they get outside that and someone can see that a player is strong in certain areas of their lives but outside these boundaries, a lot is missing.
RS: Yes, it’s something the WTA is trying to do, to teach more life skills. I don’t think this gets talked about enough. I talk to players about it because you’re in such a microcosm of the world and you’re such a small part of life. You don’t get life skills. Simple things like how do you pay your bills? You get parents looking after the details for you and suddenly you turn 30 and wonder what have I been doing with my life? It’s scary for players that have been on the tour since they were sixteen. Everything is catered to like booking your hotel room. The tournaments make it easy for players. On the flip side there are certain things a normal 17 or 18 year old girl can’t fathom what we go through. So it is what it is. But I think life skills aren’t part of the tour. You’re taught everyday to wake up and work hard, practice, hit the ball and everything else will be okay. There are many players I talk to and ask them what they are going to do when they are done playing and they don’t know. Even for someone like me, I’ve always taken an interest in television. I’ve always been quite social and networked yet it’s still scary for me. It’s so different.
SZ: It’s a transition of who you know yourself to be.
RS: You’re receiving this accolade, you’re hearing people tell you how impressed they are you’re a professional tennis player and it shifts to you’re a normal person again, and that’s hard.
SZ: That’s interesting because it doesn’t matter what you are doing, you have value as a person. You've enjoyed this stage and the highlights of this commitment you've given to tennis and the success of your professional involvement. You’ve demonstrated great competence. You have great resources, connections and people have tremendous respect for you and what you’ve been doing the last twenty years.
RS: It’s always been the plan to think of life after tennis. It’s funny because I’ve thought I’ve always done that really well but to not play professional tennis, it’s been the biggest part of my life and not have that any more when it’s time to stop it’s like jumping off a cliff into safety but where? The unknown is always a bit scary for anyone.
SZ: What has been the transition path from being a competing player to the next stage of your career? You’ve been participating as a t.v. commentator for awhile now.
RS: I started in broadcasting when I was eighteen. A well known Australian broadcaster asked me what I was going to do when I am done playing tennis? I said I would love to work in television.
SZ: Early on you had an opportunity.
RS: Yes, the broadcaster said, “Well come up to the booth tomorrow.” My first reaction was,
“You’re kidding.” He said “Come on do it”. So I did and the first piece I did I was on camera. I remember the match. I remember who played.
SZ: Was it fun?
RS: Yes, I loved it. I worked the finals of the Australian Open for ESPN in 1997, with Cliff Drysdale when I hurt my wrist. I worked a bit with Pam Shriver during Fed Cup and we did Chicago together. This was when they were a little less professional about tennis. Now they’ve got their team and I’m just trying to slowly fit into that team. I work a lot for Australian t.v. now and have sporadic work with the Tennis Channel.
SZ: Has the transition been easy or a steep learning curve?
RS: It’s a process because I am still competing professionally on the tour part-time. I still play team tennis.
SZ: You can’t drop right off the cliff.
RS: Some player’s like Steffi, she was completely done. She just stopped cold turkey.
SZ: She had Andre (Agassi). It wasn’t like she was walking into a total void.
RS: That’s very true. I think that’s very important. I think people say well you shouldn’t stop playing because of someone else or stop because you don’t want to travel anymore but sometimes that's a big reason to stop. Even for me settling down and not wanting to be on the road all the time. But we’ll see what happens. It’s part of the learning curve.
Next week final segment, advice for parents and young players thinking about a life on the tour.
* Featured guests are not current nor former clients of Susan Zaro
This is the 3rd installment of an interview with professional tennis player Rennae Stubbs
held during the WTA Mercury Insurance Tournament at La Costa Resort and Spa.
SZ: Playing on the tour you are away from home for great stretches of time. What do you do to relax mentally and physically to stay fresh on the road?
RS: It depends on where you are. I do think it depends on how much you are playing, winning or losing. If you are losing you’re on the practice court a lot in the day.
SZ: You don’t take a day off when things aren’t going well?
RS: I would need to take a mental day. I have the tendency to churn over losses and need to get away. There are some players who just want to get back out there and practice. It depends on your personality. Some people like to chill out in their room and get on the computer. When I began the tour there wasn’t the computer so I’d read. At a tournament like La Costa I can go surfing. A couple of times I won here and I surfed everyday, or played golf. But not every tour stop is La Costa. If I am in Berlin I can go to see some history or something to get away.
SZ: Is it fatiguing going out to see the sights while you are traveling?
RS: It is. People don’t realize how draining it is. People assume we are so lucky traveling and seeing the world. To be honest of the great places I’ve been I haven’t really seen the cool parts. A lot of that is because it’s too physically and mentally draining. People ask me what I mean when I say this, but I say, “When you go on vacation and you go to all those sights that day aren’t you tired at night?” When tennis players have to play a match the next day sight seeing is not easy to do. When you are out of a tournament you are on a plane and onto the next event because if you’ve lost early in the tournament you’ve got to pull it together and prepare for the next tournament. If you’ve had a great tournament you’re straight on a plane to the next event and playing within a day. There’s a lot of down time on the tour but not a lot of that can be utilized in ways that most people would when they have time off. It’s more about conserving your energy.
SZ: Do you plan extra days at some locations so you can have chill time before the next stop?
RS: If depends where you are. If you’re in San Diego you’ll see the players hang around for a day or two. You can’t really plan because you don’t know how you will do. I remember talking with Steffi Graf about this and she said if there’s one thing she wish she had done more of is to have enjoyed her wins, but you don’t have time.
SZ: The responsibilities.
RS: Yes, the responsibilities. The pressure to do well the following week. When you are doing well there are more demands. You get to the end of the event, you win it, you have that moment where you see players cry they are so happy, you give them a couple of hours of joy and the trophy, sit around and talk about the week and then it’s bang, straight onto the next week.
SZ: The slate starts clean.
RS: It’s, “Get over it because you’ve got to play tomorrow at the next event.” It’s constant ups and downs. If you lose you’re upset for three days or you keep thinking about the shots you missed. I can’t tell you how many times at the next practice if I missed a certain ball during a match and I miss it again in practice, deja vu, it’s not fun.
Then you slowly let it go. Then you get into the next week. It’s a tough cycle.
SZ: Did you plan down time and go home?
RS: Having down time, getting away from tournaments and focusing on practicing things or working on fitness is as important as winning matches. When you are doing really well it’s as important as ever to give yourself a day or two to not think about tennis and stress. It feels as though you’re tuned in from the first moment of the year of playing to the very end. During the season you don’t feel like you have down time. I always saw the day after the Tour Championships as the day I could breathe without stressing, because I knew I had six weeks before the Australian Open began.
SZ: Did you ever work with a sport psychologist during your career?
RS: I didn’t. I did when I was at the Institute of Sport in Australia because it was stressed upon us. I think it’s an individual thing. I think it’s really helped some players. I talk to players and friends about how to handle situations. I have found that to be more beneficial to me. For me it was difficult to listen to a sport psychologist when it felt like, “You don’t know how I feel. You don’t know what it feels like to have break point and not think about the outcome of that". You can tell me to breathe and do certain things, maybe it’s just my personality. I’m combative. Whereas if a player says to me, “Listen this is what I did in this moment, this is what benefited me.” Then I think to myself, “Oh I’ll try that.” It’s an individual thing.
SZ: The tour is unique in that players start it at a very young age and this is the only environment they are immersed in for many years. Then they get outside that and someone can see that a player is strong in certain areas of their lives but outside these boundaries, a lot is missing.
RS: Yes, it’s something the WTA is trying to do, to teach more life skills. I don’t think this gets talked about enough. I talk to players about it because you’re in such a microcosm of the world and you’re such a small part of life. You don’t get life skills. Simple things like how do you pay your bills? You get parents looking after the details for you and suddenly you turn 30 and wonder what have I been doing with my life? It’s scary for players that have been on the tour since they were sixteen. Everything is catered to like booking your hotel room. The tournaments make it easy for players. On the flip side there are certain things a normal 17 or 18 year old girl can’t fathom what we go through. So it is what it is. But I think life skills aren’t part of the tour. You’re taught everyday to wake up and work hard, practice, hit the ball and everything else will be okay. There are many players I talk to and ask them what they are going to do when they are done playing and they don’t know. Even for someone like me, I’ve always taken an interest in television. I’ve always been quite social and networked yet it’s still scary for me. It’s so different.
SZ: It’s a transition of who you know yourself to be.
RS: You’re receiving this accolade, you’re hearing people tell you how impressed they are you’re a professional tennis player and it shifts to you’re a normal person again, and that’s hard.
SZ: That’s interesting because it doesn’t matter what you are doing, you have value as a person. You've enjoyed this stage and the highlights of this commitment you've given to tennis and the success of your professional involvement. You’ve demonstrated great competence. You have great resources, connections and people have tremendous respect for you and what you’ve been doing the last twenty years.
RS: It’s always been the plan to think of life after tennis. It’s funny because I’ve thought I’ve always done that really well but to not play professional tennis, it’s been the biggest part of my life and not have that any more when it’s time to stop it’s like jumping off a cliff into safety but where? The unknown is always a bit scary for anyone.
SZ: What has been the transition path from being a competing player to the next stage of your career? You’ve been participating as a t.v. commentator for awhile now.
RS: I started in broadcasting when I was eighteen. A well known Australian broadcaster asked me what I was going to do when I am done playing tennis? I said I would love to work in television.
SZ: Early on you had an opportunity.
RS: Yes, the broadcaster said, “Well come up to the booth tomorrow.” My first reaction was,
“You’re kidding.” He said “Come on do it”. So I did and the first piece I did I was on camera. I remember the match. I remember who played.
SZ: Was it fun?
RS: Yes, I loved it. I worked the finals of the Australian Open for ESPN in 1997, with Cliff Drysdale when I hurt my wrist. I worked a bit with Pam Shriver during Fed Cup and we did Chicago together. This was when they were a little less professional about tennis. Now they’ve got their team and I’m just trying to slowly fit into that team. I work a lot for Australian t.v. now and have sporadic work with the Tennis Channel.
SZ: Has the transition been easy or a steep learning curve?
RS: It’s a process because I am still competing professionally on the tour part-time. I still play team tennis.
SZ: You can’t drop right off the cliff.
RS: Some player’s like Steffi, she was completely done. She just stopped cold turkey.
SZ: She had Andre (Agassi). It wasn’t like she was walking into a total void.
RS: That’s very true. I think that’s very important. I think people say well you shouldn’t stop playing because of someone else or stop because you don’t want to travel anymore but sometimes that's a big reason to stop. Even for me settling down and not wanting to be on the road all the time. But we’ll see what happens. It’s part of the learning curve.
Next week final segment, advice for parents and young players thinking about a life on the tour.
* Featured guests are not current nor former clients of Susan Zaro
Monday, August 15, 2011
Rennae Stubbs - A passion for playing - Part 2
Rennae Stubbs just short of her 40th birthday is enjoying a career of semi-retirement from professional tennis. Stubbs the longest serving member of the Australian Federation Cup team has made her professional tennis mark as a doubles specialist. Over her twenty year career on the tour she has chalked up sixty tournament wins, including six grand slam doubles titles. Stubbs made history this year by becoming only the fourth player in World Team Tennis history to be on five Championship teams. Stubbs participated as the co-captain on the Washington Kastles. The team was the first in WTT’s 36 year history to have an undefeated season. Rennae’s tennis career is not over but as she winds down she’s been shifting into a new role as a t.v. commentator.
This is the second installment of an interview with professional tennis player Rennae Stubbs, held during the WTA Mercury Insurance Tournament at La Costa Resort and Spa.
SZ: A singles match can be played as early as 11 in the morning while a featured doubles match may not go on court until 9 or 9:30 in the evening. How do you negotiate planning your day?
RS: When you are young it’s easier because your body responds. One big reason I stopped playing singles because I was hurting myself in singles to the point it was affecting my doubles. I was losing matches because either I had bursitis in my knee and I couldn’t really move the way I wanted on the court. I knew I had to concentrate on getting my body healthy and then I could be prepared in the doubles. Yes, physically it’s tough, really tough. Some players like Lisa Raymond have been blessed with good genes and have had few injuries. I think about players that I know that were never in the training room for injuries. Then some players are in there all the time.
SZ: Do you go to the gym while on tour?
RS: Usually every event has a gym either at the courts or at the hotel. Players, depending on how long their match is will do a cool down, maybe a work-out if they are only playing doubles they’ll do a training session after. It’s governed by how much you’re playing. If you are playing a lot of matches, if you feel like you are in shape you need to stay at a certain level or if you feel like you’re getting slow. There were times when I felt like I wasn’t getting up for my overheads or not getting to the first volley and I needed to do more explosive work. It depends on how you are.
SZ: Do you have a trainer at home who sends you work-out programs? Or do you have enough knowledge to do it yourself?
RS: In the last few years it’s narrowed down to me being disciplined enough to do it in the gym myself. When I was playing at my prime I would go home and really have training periods and then go on the road and maintain as much as I could. I also like to push myself in practice. I would always push myself on the court during practice and I think that always helped me.
SZ: Because you were more prepared when you got on the court?
RS: I just liked to push myself out on the court. Steffi Graf was like that. She just worked so hard on the court nothing was harder than that.
SZ: It shows, that’s why you’re Grand Slam Champions.
RS: It wanes, you have your up and down periods where sometimes you are working harder in the gym than other times. It’s a long season. Sometimes you see players working a lot at the start of the year and then at the end they are just trying to maintain their health. A lot of players just do yoga or things that keep themselves fresh. It depends on your body type and what works.
SZ: What do you consider to be your professional title. You just retired this year?
RS: I haven’t officially retired. There was bit of a misconception of my retirement at the start of this year because the Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley asked me if this is my last Australian Open. I said it is, and he said Tennis Australia wanted to do something for me during the Australian Open because I am so rarely at home.
I never retired and haven’t retired from the WTA so when I saw a ticker at the bottom
of the Tennis Channel saying I had retired, I was like “No, no it’s my last Australian Open.” I’ve also said I wouldn’t play Australian Fed Cup anymore because I’ve always made myself available for Fed Cup. I wanted to give the other players an opportunity. Having said that if they said, “We really want you to play, would you play?” I probably would have.
SZ: Can you see yourself coaching Fed Cup for Australia?
RS: I’d love to. I’ve always said if I were asked I would be honored and I would love to do that but I’m not going to boot anyone out. I think everyone is doing a great job.
SZ: Did you enjoy participating on Fed Cup?
RS: Absolutely.
SZ: You’re a team player.
RS: No question. I was orange girl, or hitting partner, or showed up to stand in the corner and do whatever was asked. “Rennae, we need you to serve a hundred balls to a player, or we need you to go out there and win our 5th rubber.” It was just sort of like whatever you need me to do.
SZ: That’s one feature that makes you a great player. You love your environment. You love what you are doing.
RS: I think tennis players are selfish and in their own world. I just love the team environment of Fed Cup. It’s a very Australian thing the mate mentality and I just love it. It’s been really great to play and we have so much fun. I mean our team dinners, the stories, the matches some of the memories from Fed Cup are irreplaceable.
SZ: So it would be be neat if you had an opportunity at some point to be involved with Fed Cup Australia on the coaching side?
RS: No question, it'd be great.
SZ: You are one of the consistently successful players on the tour. In your opinion what are mental toughness qualities that help talented professional players become successful week after week, year after year? Part of it sounds as though it’s just the passion for the game.
RS: I think it’s the passion for the game. The respect for the outcome in the game itself.
SZ: The history?
RS: A little bit. More than anything for me it was about a legacy every time I walked onto the court I wanted to give 100% and never tanked a match. I never threw a match. It was always very obvious that I wanted to win and I think you have to love to win but hate to lose more.
SZ: You have purpose when you play.
RS: You have to have purpose in practice. I tell kids now that I hit with that are sort of half-assing it in practice, “Listen I just want you to know that this is the way you are going to play for the rest of your life, because you can’t practice one way and turn it around in a match. If you can’t do it now you’ll never be able to do it in a match.” Just being around Steffi Graf and some other greats through-out the years I saw that. I’m a pretty jovial kidding person but when I walked onto the court I was very serious about what I did. I think you’ve got to have this yearning to be good everyday. You’ve got to surround yourself with the right people who also want success.
SZ: Who were your early role models and mentors, the people that enriched your life and appreciation of tennis and life?
RS: As a young Australian Liz Smylie was a big influence. She was doing well in doubles, won Wimbledon doubles and was a good singles player. I just sort of hung out with her a lot and practiced with her and Kathy Jordan. They took me under their wing and we would practice and they would make me feel like I had potential to be as good as them. There’s little things I’ve grasped from people. I remember Kathy Jordan yelling at me in practice because I’d hit a volley a certain way and she said, “Don’t ever hit that volley there,” and that resonated in me. I probably say the same thing to younger players now. I just think that’s the great thing about life it’s exposing what you’ve gone through in your life to someone younger and seeing the fruition of it.
SZ: The tour is an unusual place because players come and go. It’s the opportunity to be mentored by this flexible family of people.
RS: It’s true. I’ve had different people just sort of tell me different things through-out my career that I grabbed ahold of and used to help me through big matches. Todd Woodbridge would tell me things during mixed doubles matches that I would remember on the doubles court. Todd had told me he would play with me if I reached number one in the world in women’s doubles. I got to number one in the world and he didn’t play with me. I had to beat him in the Australian Open final before he agreed to play with me. We ended up winning the U.S. Open (2001) together which is pretty special.
SZ: You haven’t experienced huge gaps in your career, you’ve been consistent.
RS: Yeah, I take pride in that. In 2009 when I played with Samantha Stosur and we made the finals of Wimbledon and the finals of some big events we ended up not winning a tournament that year, although we made the end of the year Tour Championships. We had a good year but it was the first time since 1992 I hadn’t won a tournament. I said the year I don’t win a tournament is the year I quit. I got to the end of 2009 and thought I had such a good year it would be a bummer to stop on this note so I played on in 2010 and Lisa Raymond and I won the tournament at Eastbourne which made it 60 tour titles for me and 70 titles for her. It was kinda cool. You don’t think about it until people begin saying 60 tournaments, it’s a lot of tournament wins.
Sandra Cecchini was an Italian singles player and she won an event every year she played on the tour. When I heard that I thought that would be an awesome accomplishment. I thought it was a good goal.
Thursday, part 3 of the 4 part interview, do players relax on tour, how
sport psychology fits for players, and thoughts about her career transition.
Featured guests are not current nor former clients of Susan Zaro
This is the second installment of an interview with professional tennis player Rennae Stubbs, held during the WTA Mercury Insurance Tournament at La Costa Resort and Spa.
SZ: A singles match can be played as early as 11 in the morning while a featured doubles match may not go on court until 9 or 9:30 in the evening. How do you negotiate planning your day?
RS: When you are young it’s easier because your body responds. One big reason I stopped playing singles because I was hurting myself in singles to the point it was affecting my doubles. I was losing matches because either I had bursitis in my knee and I couldn’t really move the way I wanted on the court. I knew I had to concentrate on getting my body healthy and then I could be prepared in the doubles. Yes, physically it’s tough, really tough. Some players like Lisa Raymond have been blessed with good genes and have had few injuries. I think about players that I know that were never in the training room for injuries. Then some players are in there all the time.
SZ: Do you go to the gym while on tour?
RS: Usually every event has a gym either at the courts or at the hotel. Players, depending on how long their match is will do a cool down, maybe a work-out if they are only playing doubles they’ll do a training session after. It’s governed by how much you’re playing. If you are playing a lot of matches, if you feel like you are in shape you need to stay at a certain level or if you feel like you’re getting slow. There were times when I felt like I wasn’t getting up for my overheads or not getting to the first volley and I needed to do more explosive work. It depends on how you are.
SZ: Do you have a trainer at home who sends you work-out programs? Or do you have enough knowledge to do it yourself?
RS: In the last few years it’s narrowed down to me being disciplined enough to do it in the gym myself. When I was playing at my prime I would go home and really have training periods and then go on the road and maintain as much as I could. I also like to push myself in practice. I would always push myself on the court during practice and I think that always helped me.
SZ: Because you were more prepared when you got on the court?
RS: I just liked to push myself out on the court. Steffi Graf was like that. She just worked so hard on the court nothing was harder than that.
SZ: It shows, that’s why you’re Grand Slam Champions.
RS: It wanes, you have your up and down periods where sometimes you are working harder in the gym than other times. It’s a long season. Sometimes you see players working a lot at the start of the year and then at the end they are just trying to maintain their health. A lot of players just do yoga or things that keep themselves fresh. It depends on your body type and what works.
SZ: What do you consider to be your professional title. You just retired this year?
RS: I haven’t officially retired. There was bit of a misconception of my retirement at the start of this year because the Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley asked me if this is my last Australian Open. I said it is, and he said Tennis Australia wanted to do something for me during the Australian Open because I am so rarely at home.
I never retired and haven’t retired from the WTA so when I saw a ticker at the bottom
of the Tennis Channel saying I had retired, I was like “No, no it’s my last Australian Open.” I’ve also said I wouldn’t play Australian Fed Cup anymore because I’ve always made myself available for Fed Cup. I wanted to give the other players an opportunity. Having said that if they said, “We really want you to play, would you play?” I probably would have.
SZ: Can you see yourself coaching Fed Cup for Australia?
RS: I’d love to. I’ve always said if I were asked I would be honored and I would love to do that but I’m not going to boot anyone out. I think everyone is doing a great job.
SZ: Did you enjoy participating on Fed Cup?
RS: Absolutely.
SZ: You’re a team player.
RS: No question. I was orange girl, or hitting partner, or showed up to stand in the corner and do whatever was asked. “Rennae, we need you to serve a hundred balls to a player, or we need you to go out there and win our 5th rubber.” It was just sort of like whatever you need me to do.
SZ: That’s one feature that makes you a great player. You love your environment. You love what you are doing.
RS: I think tennis players are selfish and in their own world. I just love the team environment of Fed Cup. It’s a very Australian thing the mate mentality and I just love it. It’s been really great to play and we have so much fun. I mean our team dinners, the stories, the matches some of the memories from Fed Cup are irreplaceable.
SZ: So it would be be neat if you had an opportunity at some point to be involved with Fed Cup Australia on the coaching side?
RS: No question, it'd be great.
SZ: You are one of the consistently successful players on the tour. In your opinion what are mental toughness qualities that help talented professional players become successful week after week, year after year? Part of it sounds as though it’s just the passion for the game.
RS: I think it’s the passion for the game. The respect for the outcome in the game itself.
SZ: The history?
RS: A little bit. More than anything for me it was about a legacy every time I walked onto the court I wanted to give 100% and never tanked a match. I never threw a match. It was always very obvious that I wanted to win and I think you have to love to win but hate to lose more.
SZ: You have purpose when you play.
RS: You have to have purpose in practice. I tell kids now that I hit with that are sort of half-assing it in practice, “Listen I just want you to know that this is the way you are going to play for the rest of your life, because you can’t practice one way and turn it around in a match. If you can’t do it now you’ll never be able to do it in a match.” Just being around Steffi Graf and some other greats through-out the years I saw that. I’m a pretty jovial kidding person but when I walked onto the court I was very serious about what I did. I think you’ve got to have this yearning to be good everyday. You’ve got to surround yourself with the right people who also want success.
SZ: Who were your early role models and mentors, the people that enriched your life and appreciation of tennis and life?
RS: As a young Australian Liz Smylie was a big influence. She was doing well in doubles, won Wimbledon doubles and was a good singles player. I just sort of hung out with her a lot and practiced with her and Kathy Jordan. They took me under their wing and we would practice and they would make me feel like I had potential to be as good as them. There’s little things I’ve grasped from people. I remember Kathy Jordan yelling at me in practice because I’d hit a volley a certain way and she said, “Don’t ever hit that volley there,” and that resonated in me. I probably say the same thing to younger players now. I just think that’s the great thing about life it’s exposing what you’ve gone through in your life to someone younger and seeing the fruition of it.
SZ: The tour is an unusual place because players come and go. It’s the opportunity to be mentored by this flexible family of people.
RS: It’s true. I’ve had different people just sort of tell me different things through-out my career that I grabbed ahold of and used to help me through big matches. Todd Woodbridge would tell me things during mixed doubles matches that I would remember on the doubles court. Todd had told me he would play with me if I reached number one in the world in women’s doubles. I got to number one in the world and he didn’t play with me. I had to beat him in the Australian Open final before he agreed to play with me. We ended up winning the U.S. Open (2001) together which is pretty special.
SZ: You haven’t experienced huge gaps in your career, you’ve been consistent.
RS: Yeah, I take pride in that. In 2009 when I played with Samantha Stosur and we made the finals of Wimbledon and the finals of some big events we ended up not winning a tournament that year, although we made the end of the year Tour Championships. We had a good year but it was the first time since 1992 I hadn’t won a tournament. I said the year I don’t win a tournament is the year I quit. I got to the end of 2009 and thought I had such a good year it would be a bummer to stop on this note so I played on in 2010 and Lisa Raymond and I won the tournament at Eastbourne which made it 60 tour titles for me and 70 titles for her. It was kinda cool. You don’t think about it until people begin saying 60 tournaments, it’s a lot of tournament wins.
Sandra Cecchini was an Italian singles player and she won an event every year she played on the tour. When I heard that I thought that would be an awesome accomplishment. I thought it was a good goal.
Thursday, part 3 of the 4 part interview, do players relax on tour, how
sport psychology fits for players, and thoughts about her career transition.
Featured guests are not current nor former clients of Susan Zaro
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Rennae Stubbs -A passion for playing
Rennae Stubbs just short of her 40th birthday is enjoying a career of semi-retirement from professional tennis. Stubbs the longest serving member of the Australian Federation Cup team has made her professional tennis mark as a doubles specialist. Over her twenty year career on the tour she has chalked up sixty tournament wins, including six grand slam doubles titles. Stubbs made history this year by becoming only the fourth player in World Team Tennis history to be on five Championship teams. Stubbs participated as the co-captain on the Washington Kastles. The team was the first in WTT’s 36 year history to have an undefeated season. Rennae’s tennis career is not over but as she winds down she’s been shifting into a new role as a t.v. commentator.
This is part 1 of a 4 part interview with Rennae that spans her starting out as a tour player, training on the road, goals, players who mentored her, the challenges of life on the tour, career transition, and advice for parents and players thinking of about a career as a professional athlete.
SZ: It was kind of you to offer Sloane Stephens, (rising young American tennis player), encouragement after losing her match this afternoon.
RS: For me it always translated better when it came from a peer rather than a coach because you see a coach as a coach but you don’t see a coach as a peer unless of course if you’re being coached by someone who’s been there and done that. When I heard it from peers I was a little bit more receptive. It sunk in more.
SZ: Early on you played doubles with Helena Sukova?
RS: Yes, I won my first WTA event with Helena.
SZ: Did it help you recognize your talent as a player that she asked you to play as her doubles partner?
RS: Of course. I felt like I could lean on somebody out there, because I felt she could sort of get me through something that I didn’t understand and I could sort of lean on her or sort of feel like you’re just running behind them, and they are going to clear the air for you a bit and make it easier.
SZ: So you trusted her.
RS: When you are playing with someone who’s achieved so much you just think it’s routine for them and if I just sort of do what I’m doing, she’ll tell me if I’m not doing it right. Then I’ll know I’m not doing it right. Whereas if she is encouraging me then I’m
probably doing something right. So you just sort of keep doing your thing.
SZ: You have an enviable professional career doubles record. Did you envision yourself as a career doubles player?
RS: I sort of felt before I even walked on the court with Helena for the first tournament that she felt I was worthy to be out there. It’s a funny story. I had played against Helena in Tokyo and I guess she saw something in me that there was potential to be a pretty decent partner. She she came up to me and asked if I would be interested in playing in Osaka the following week. I mean when she asked I instantly thought to myself, “Oh my god no way that’s too much pressure.” I didn’t have any plans to go to Osaka so my instant reaction was, “No, I’m not playing there.” But inside I think it was more like, “Helena Sukova just asked me to play doubles and I’m not ready for that.” I don’t think I was mentally ready for it. About twenty minutes went by and I was sitting with myself going, “What the hell have I done? What am I joking one of the best doubles players that have ever played the game has just asked me to play a doubles event. So I went “Okay this is my chance, take it.” I remember walking back and saying to her, “Helena have you found a partner for Osaka?” She said, “No.” So I told her I would go and play with her and we ended up winning the tournament.
SZ: Fate and Destiny?
RS: I think in some respects I would have been a good player eventually anyway because I felt like I had the skill. But I think that everything happens for a reason and I think my sort of taking the bull by the horns and saying, “yes” in the end and taking the responsibility that if we didn’t win the tournament it would be my fault. That’s how I felt. If we don’t win the tournament it’s 100% because of me. I’m the one that sucks between the two of us. That’s what you think when you’re young and you haven’t achieved anything. So when we won it I was pretty pleased.
SZ: Was there more pressure going forward?
RS: No because the next tournament I won was with Steffi Graf in Germany. So that’s pressure! Basically I learned that the secret to doubles is picking people who are much better than you. That’s the secret.
SZ: Is there a bit of humbleness going on?
RS: No. I always say pick someone as good as you or better.
SZ: Does it motivate you to show up?
RS: I think when I was younger of course when Steffi asked me to play the doubles event in Hamburg, again I said, “No.” Playing with Steffi in Germany, even though we were friends I was still like, that’s pressure. I was playing club tennis for her club in Germany at the time and really needed to be back for a match on Saturday. It was a match against a rival club team and she said, “Don’t worry you’ll be back for the semis because we play, Jana Novotna and her partner second round, so we will lose.” These were Steffi’s words, “So we will be out of the tournament and you’ll be back in time to play the club match.” So we win our first round and end up upsetting Jana Novotna and her partner in the second round. I went back and played the club match near Frankfurt and then flew back to Hamburg in the same week. I played the semi-final club match which we won then I told Steffi she had to tell the guy I was playing for at her club, that ended up being her manager, that I can’t get back to play the big club rival final and it’s her fault because we were in the finals of the tournament. Steffi and I ended up winning the tournament.
SZ: You have an amazing career record of winning 60 doubles titles, 6 of them grand slams. Many people have no idea how incredible your doubles record has been over the years yet ninety-seven percent of people who come to watch professional tournaments are social recreational players who play doubles. As you shift into your burgeoning career as a t.v. commentator do you envision making doubles a premiere part of your broadcasting future?
RS: Most people watch singles because they see these players on t.v. and in print media. People who follow tennis know who I am and sort of know what I’ve done through the years. Certainly when I played with Lisa Raymond or Cara Black we loved going to events like San Diego, and Eastbourne and different events around the world that really appreciated who we were as a doubles team. The audience would share with us how much they loved watching us play and that’s sort of one of the reasons you keep playing, because the people really appreciate what you do and they can’t believe the shots you can make because they play doubles.
Doubles is a different game. Even Serena Williams has said to me when we were playing WTT, she wasn’t returning very well one night and she said, “Returning in doubles is so much harder than in singles.” So you know there are things about doubles that are much more difficult than in singles. The physicality in singles is obviously more difficult because you are essentially covering the whole court and you are out there by yourself. Doubles is tactically much more difficult than singles. Anticipation, having the courage to move at net on balls that are just sitting there. The timing and ability to take a ball quickly out of the air, and there’s obviously the precision in returning serve. If you look at where a opponent is standing at the net there’s only a few spots in the court where you can hit a clean winner. That would be a perfect return down the line which is over the highest part of the net which is difficult to do. Or a clean winner inside out and then you’ve got to get past the volleyer so it’s very precise. Doubles is a very different game than singles. I don’t think it’s explained to people enough how difficult it is. As Serena said it’s so much harder to return in doubles because in singles you can hit the return of serve back into the middle of the court. In doubles the middle of the court is the worst shot. So it will be nice to promote and educate to help people understand how difficult it is to do what the really good doubles players do.
SZ: Did you have an idea you would be involved in doubles for your professional career or were you hoping to be more involved in singles?
RS: I don’t think any player starts out thinking they are going to make their living playing doubles. I was always a better doubles player. I played a lot of doubles as a kid in team events in Australia. The weekends were filled up with a lot of doubles for me. I think it just lends itself to my nature, my game and it just came naturally. Singles I had to really work on. Then I got some pretty bad injuries that affected me. When I came back and trying to qualify for singles events I was always doing well in doubles so the problem was I couldn’t really go and play qualifying at some of the events for singles. So that’s another reason why some players only go into doubles because they are making money doing it that way and then they have to forfeit essentially doing well in doubles to go and play a qualifying event in singles. That becomes difficult because the player ends up giving up a guaranteed decent pay check to go and possibly get another one in singles. It’s hard because you are paying your own way and I had bills to pay. I was on my own so those decisions you make over time. I mean I didn’t quit playing singles until I was 29 so I played a long time but it was hard for me because I was always doing so well in doubles. I had to make a decision and when I did it was when I really started to excel in doubles.
Tomorrow, Rennae reflects on training on the road, goals, players who mentored her.
Featured guests are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro
This is part 1 of a 4 part interview with Rennae that spans her starting out as a tour player, training on the road, goals, players who mentored her, the challenges of life on the tour, career transition, and advice for parents and players thinking of about a career as a professional athlete.
SZ: It was kind of you to offer Sloane Stephens, (rising young American tennis player), encouragement after losing her match this afternoon.
RS: For me it always translated better when it came from a peer rather than a coach because you see a coach as a coach but you don’t see a coach as a peer unless of course if you’re being coached by someone who’s been there and done that. When I heard it from peers I was a little bit more receptive. It sunk in more.
SZ: Early on you played doubles with Helena Sukova?
RS: Yes, I won my first WTA event with Helena.
SZ: Did it help you recognize your talent as a player that she asked you to play as her doubles partner?
RS: Of course. I felt like I could lean on somebody out there, because I felt she could sort of get me through something that I didn’t understand and I could sort of lean on her or sort of feel like you’re just running behind them, and they are going to clear the air for you a bit and make it easier.
SZ: So you trusted her.
RS: When you are playing with someone who’s achieved so much you just think it’s routine for them and if I just sort of do what I’m doing, she’ll tell me if I’m not doing it right. Then I’ll know I’m not doing it right. Whereas if she is encouraging me then I’m
probably doing something right. So you just sort of keep doing your thing.
SZ: You have an enviable professional career doubles record. Did you envision yourself as a career doubles player?
RS: I sort of felt before I even walked on the court with Helena for the first tournament that she felt I was worthy to be out there. It’s a funny story. I had played against Helena in Tokyo and I guess she saw something in me that there was potential to be a pretty decent partner. She she came up to me and asked if I would be interested in playing in Osaka the following week. I mean when she asked I instantly thought to myself, “Oh my god no way that’s too much pressure.” I didn’t have any plans to go to Osaka so my instant reaction was, “No, I’m not playing there.” But inside I think it was more like, “Helena Sukova just asked me to play doubles and I’m not ready for that.” I don’t think I was mentally ready for it. About twenty minutes went by and I was sitting with myself going, “What the hell have I done? What am I joking one of the best doubles players that have ever played the game has just asked me to play a doubles event. So I went “Okay this is my chance, take it.” I remember walking back and saying to her, “Helena have you found a partner for Osaka?” She said, “No.” So I told her I would go and play with her and we ended up winning the tournament.
SZ: Fate and Destiny?
RS: I think in some respects I would have been a good player eventually anyway because I felt like I had the skill. But I think that everything happens for a reason and I think my sort of taking the bull by the horns and saying, “yes” in the end and taking the responsibility that if we didn’t win the tournament it would be my fault. That’s how I felt. If we don’t win the tournament it’s 100% because of me. I’m the one that sucks between the two of us. That’s what you think when you’re young and you haven’t achieved anything. So when we won it I was pretty pleased.
SZ: Was there more pressure going forward?
RS: No because the next tournament I won was with Steffi Graf in Germany. So that’s pressure! Basically I learned that the secret to doubles is picking people who are much better than you. That’s the secret.
SZ: Is there a bit of humbleness going on?
RS: No. I always say pick someone as good as you or better.
SZ: Does it motivate you to show up?
RS: I think when I was younger of course when Steffi asked me to play the doubles event in Hamburg, again I said, “No.” Playing with Steffi in Germany, even though we were friends I was still like, that’s pressure. I was playing club tennis for her club in Germany at the time and really needed to be back for a match on Saturday. It was a match against a rival club team and she said, “Don’t worry you’ll be back for the semis because we play, Jana Novotna and her partner second round, so we will lose.” These were Steffi’s words, “So we will be out of the tournament and you’ll be back in time to play the club match.” So we win our first round and end up upsetting Jana Novotna and her partner in the second round. I went back and played the club match near Frankfurt and then flew back to Hamburg in the same week. I played the semi-final club match which we won then I told Steffi she had to tell the guy I was playing for at her club, that ended up being her manager, that I can’t get back to play the big club rival final and it’s her fault because we were in the finals of the tournament. Steffi and I ended up winning the tournament.
SZ: You have an amazing career record of winning 60 doubles titles, 6 of them grand slams. Many people have no idea how incredible your doubles record has been over the years yet ninety-seven percent of people who come to watch professional tournaments are social recreational players who play doubles. As you shift into your burgeoning career as a t.v. commentator do you envision making doubles a premiere part of your broadcasting future?
RS: Most people watch singles because they see these players on t.v. and in print media. People who follow tennis know who I am and sort of know what I’ve done through the years. Certainly when I played with Lisa Raymond or Cara Black we loved going to events like San Diego, and Eastbourne and different events around the world that really appreciated who we were as a doubles team. The audience would share with us how much they loved watching us play and that’s sort of one of the reasons you keep playing, because the people really appreciate what you do and they can’t believe the shots you can make because they play doubles.
Doubles is a different game. Even Serena Williams has said to me when we were playing WTT, she wasn’t returning very well one night and she said, “Returning in doubles is so much harder than in singles.” So you know there are things about doubles that are much more difficult than in singles. The physicality in singles is obviously more difficult because you are essentially covering the whole court and you are out there by yourself. Doubles is tactically much more difficult than singles. Anticipation, having the courage to move at net on balls that are just sitting there. The timing and ability to take a ball quickly out of the air, and there’s obviously the precision in returning serve. If you look at where a opponent is standing at the net there’s only a few spots in the court where you can hit a clean winner. That would be a perfect return down the line which is over the highest part of the net which is difficult to do. Or a clean winner inside out and then you’ve got to get past the volleyer so it’s very precise. Doubles is a very different game than singles. I don’t think it’s explained to people enough how difficult it is. As Serena said it’s so much harder to return in doubles because in singles you can hit the return of serve back into the middle of the court. In doubles the middle of the court is the worst shot. So it will be nice to promote and educate to help people understand how difficult it is to do what the really good doubles players do.
SZ: Did you have an idea you would be involved in doubles for your professional career or were you hoping to be more involved in singles?
RS: I don’t think any player starts out thinking they are going to make their living playing doubles. I was always a better doubles player. I played a lot of doubles as a kid in team events in Australia. The weekends were filled up with a lot of doubles for me. I think it just lends itself to my nature, my game and it just came naturally. Singles I had to really work on. Then I got some pretty bad injuries that affected me. When I came back and trying to qualify for singles events I was always doing well in doubles so the problem was I couldn’t really go and play qualifying at some of the events for singles. So that’s another reason why some players only go into doubles because they are making money doing it that way and then they have to forfeit essentially doing well in doubles to go and play a qualifying event in singles. That becomes difficult because the player ends up giving up a guaranteed decent pay check to go and possibly get another one in singles. It’s hard because you are paying your own way and I had bills to pay. I was on my own so those decisions you make over time. I mean I didn’t quit playing singles until I was 29 so I played a long time but it was hard for me because I was always doing so well in doubles. I had to make a decision and when I did it was when I really started to excel in doubles.
Tomorrow, Rennae reflects on training on the road, goals, players who mentored her.
Featured guests are not former nor current clients of Susan Zaro
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