Coutts Woman

Virginia Wade

With Wimbledon just around the corner, Coutts Woman broke out the Pimms and spoke to veteran women’s champion Virginia Wade on the upcoming tournament.  Here, she answers some of our burning questions and reveals why Roger Federer is her idol, who her money’s on this month and how unequal pay for men and women had becoming ‘embarrassing’…

Is there much hype about Wimbledon in the US? (Wade lives there)

Absolutely.  Tennis gets a lot of attention, but sporadically.  There are a lot of sports here, and the difficult thing is trying to find ways of keeping tennis on the front page.  Now they have the tennis channel and that helps.  So there is a lot of anticipation around Wimbledon, as always. 

“…as soon as someone comes along with any promise, the British media virtually devour them.”

How do you think the game has changed over the last 30 years?

It is so powerful now.  I think we were as fit as we could be back in my time but we did it in a different way.  We didn’t work out to build strength but focused instead on speed training and work on the court.  And we were fit!  We just weren’t pushed to the brink.  The powerful rackets have also changed the game along with the upper body strength.  The result is the time between hitting the ball at either end of the court has decreased.  Players have to react so quickly that it puts a tremendous strain on them physically. That’s why there are so many injuries. 

Is the power serve dominating the women’s game now?

The serve in the male game on fast courts has always dominated but it hasn’t been quite as much a factor in the women’s game until now.  The game we played certainly used to have more variety and tactics.  What’s gone now is the variety of the shots, like slices and angles and the volley because they get up to the net and they can’t handle the pace of the ball there.  So, that’s all getting extinct now.  And it’s so sad because it was very skilful and enjoyable part to watch. 

Who do you enjoy watching at the moment?

I am completely enamoured of Roger Federer.  I just think he’s fantastic.  He is so good and so creative, and manages to do all sorts of things.  He doesn’t just play a boring old game.  So, Roger is my idol.  On the women’s side, there are so many good players but I respect different players for different shots.  For the most variety, there is Justine Henin and Amelie Moresmo.  They play smart tennis and are fun to watch.  The Russians are terrific athletes and all very good players.  But what we need is more of a mix.  When you get the Williams sisters in a final, it’s a non-event.  There’s a certain element of emotion missing when it’s two sisters playing.  It’s the same with two Belgians playing each other or two Russians.  You need the mix to work at the right time.  And that has been missing lately.

Why are there no high profile British women competing?

It’s pathetic really.  Everyone’s been scratching their heads for years trying to come up with an answer and no one has really made much headway.  I think what happens in the UK is that there is such a bad record that it becomes so hard to change.  And as soon as someone comes along with any promise, the British media virtually devour them.  It’s very hard for them to keep their feet on the ground and take the pressure. And the pressure is considerable because there’s such a desperate need for somebody.  That’s always been the way in England though.  That’s why I did better away from home.  Because you could just get on and play.  As soon as you’re back in England, there’s so much press coverage!

Which female player will you be putting your money on at Wimbledon this year?

I think you’re talking Serena Williams, Sharapova and Henin.  They’re the three favourites. It’s so hard to know with Serena at Wimbledon because you feel she’s lost her motivation until she gets so annoyed with people saying she hasn’t got it anymore that she works so hard and is such a good player that she can win.  Sharapova, you have to count in.  But her shoulder has been worrying her so much. As long as she’s fit, you’ve always got to figure she’s a potential winner.  There are a lot of contenders such as Venus if she’s fit.  Moresma is out with appendicitis.  Jankovic, who won in Charleston, is also a potential winner.  She’s so good and is having a hot season, having won three tournaments.

You’re a Wimbledon champion, how do you look back on your career now?

Growing older is always a process of learning more about yourself.  Looking back, and knowing the things I know now, I think I was very naïve as a tennis player.  I had very little input from the outside for years.  The big issue for a player, which is hard to understand for a spectator, is maintaining your objectivity.  You get so involved in yourself, your play, and your mistakes that you lose objectivity.  You get hung up on your own problems and forget that the player at the other end is probably having theirs too.  Spectators see players as machines.  But that little confidence issue or tense feeling plays havoc with your executions.

What advice would you give to the women players this year?

When I was playing at my best and I was on a team then with Billie Jean King, one of the things we would just go over and over together was to ‘Stay in the present’.  You do all your preparation before the game and then you just have to relax and concentrate on playing.  At one stage, I would go through this mantra in my head, telling myself to ‘Relax and concentrate’ and remind myself I’d done the work.  So my advice would be, you know what you have to do, liberate yourself with these mantras and concentrate on executing.

What do you think of Wimbledon paying men and women equally for the first time?

Frankly, I thought it should have happened years ago.  I thought that the year it would happen would be 2000 because it seemed like a nice way to come into the new century.  Thank goodness they have changed, it was embarrassing for the last few years as they were the only grand slam that wasn’t quite equal.