Tennis Superstitions - The Weird and the Wonderful
Call them superstitions, or call them habits....whatever the name there's plenty of tennis players past and present who own up to having their own quirky rituals and some of them are right here at Hopman Cup XX.
Whether it's wearing the same pair of socks, playing the same music or even grabbing the same locker in the change room day after day, there's a whole bag of weird and wonderful routines on the circuit.
Tennis great and ABC TV expert commentator here at Hopman Cup Fred Stolle says one of his superstitions was to fold his towel neatly at every sit down between games. He also admits that whenever he played Wimbledon he would get the transport car to pick him up and take him to the arena at midday every day, regardless of what time his match started that afternoon or evening. Obviously his superstitious ways paid off with 18 Grand Slam Championships under his belt and an induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Fellow ABC TV Expert Commentator and Australian great Geoff Masters says he never had time for superstitions when on court but knows plenty of other players quirky habits including some who would eat at the same restaurant and the same meal every night when taking part in a tournament. That includes former Hopman Cup star Kim Clijsters (HC XIII,XIV,XV,XVI) who once dined at the same Italian restaurant every night during a winning run at the French Open. Croatia's Goran Ivanisevic (HC VIII,IX) is a fan of the food routine, reportedly sitting at the same table at the same restaurant and ordering the same meal of fish soup, lamb and ice cream with chocolate sauce during one tournament. Ivanisevic also always tries to rise from his courtside chair after his opponent, if he serves an ace he asks for the same ball again, if he wins he then attempts to follow the same routine as closely as possible the following day and he doesn't like to stand on the court lines.
A number of other Hopman Cup stars share his superstition about those white lines. Swiss Miss Martina Hingis (HC VIII,IX,XI,XIII) never stepped on the tramlines between points and neither did American legend John McEnroe (HC II).
Fellow American Serena Williams (HC XV,XX) has plenty of habits...she ties her shoelaces the same way every game, tries to use the same shower before each match and is said to favour the same socks throughout an entire tournament.
Her stand-in for game one at this year's Hopman Cup Meghann Shaughnessy(HC XVII,XX) also has some rituals...if she is doing well at a tournament she'll sit at the same breakfast table every day, warm up on the same court and use the same shower.
Frenchman Arnaud Clement (HC XIV,XX) keeps the same headband when he wins to use again in the next match and Aussie Lleyton Hewitt (HC XIV,XV,XVI) is known to enjoy the Rocky anthem 'Eye of the Tiger' before a big game.
Another Hopman Cup champion Lindsay Davenport (HC VII,XI,XV) would never hold her trophy above her head until she won a Grand Slam. Prior to her US Open win in 1998 she would only ever hold the trophy next to her ear or chest. Whilst Russia's Marat Safin (HC XIII,XVI,XVII) is said to always travel with an 'evil eye' to ward off evil spirits and bad karma.
Hopman Cup XX VIP guest and tennis legend Martina Navratilova had her own superstitions when she played the circuit, apparently wearing the same pair of earrings during a tournament and often wearing a greenish blue tennis dress on the final day of an event.
ABC TV Hopman cup commentators Louise Pleming and Lisa McShea also own up to some superstitions though Louise admits hers came many years ago.
"When I was a child I used to make sure the loose balls never hit the back of the court if possible and if they did I wasn't too keen to use them again...but when I played the professional circuit I really couldn't follow up on that because the ball boys and girls had that under control."
Lisa McShea says she would always try to use the same shower at Grand Slam events, the same toilet and if possible even grab the same locker.
Although he hasn't been at Hopman Cup as yet, Spain's Rafael Nadal is very particular when it comes to his water bottle courtside, every sitdown making sure it goes back to exactly the same spot or position each time, right down to the centimetre.
And just to leave you with one final superstition from another Aussie tennis legend. Roy 'Emmo' Emerson - the only male player to win singles and doubles titles at all four Grand Slam events and an International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee - had a favourite pair of shorts that he would try to wear as often as possible to keep his winning streak alive!
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