THERE are few tennis players from South-east Asia who have enjoyed success in the sport at the highest levels. Tamarine Tanasugarn from Thailand is one of them, with the three-time Olympian ranked in the top 20 in both singles and doubles during the course of her 22-year professional career.
Now 47, the Los Angeles-born Tanasugarn – who retired in 2016 – tasted victory over many former world No 1 players including Grand Slam champions Jennifer Capriati, Amelie Mauresmo, Simona Halep and Iva Majoli. On the grass courts at Wimbledon, Tanasugarn reached the quarter-finals in singles (2008) and the semi-finals in doubles (2011).
Tanasugarn was recently in town to attend the inaugural Singapore Tennis Open (STO) as one of the event’s community ambassadors. The week-long tournament, which ran from Jan 25 to Feb 1, saw Belgium’s Elise Mertens crowned the singles champion while the duo of Giuliana Olmos and Desirae Krawczyk won the doubles’ title.
BT Weekend met the affable Tanasugarn for a quick chat on the penultimate day of the STO at the Kallang Tennis Hub. This is an excerpt of the 15-minute interview, where she talked about why she thrived on grass and her brief doubles stint with Maria Sharapova.
You have played on all surfaces, but you have said before that your favourite is grass. Why is that so?
When I was training in Thailand 30 years ago, there was only an old cement court to practise on. There were not many tennis courts back home to begin with at that time. So I grew up playing on this very fast surface, and I got used to the fast and low bounces of the ball.
I am not that tall (1.65 metres), so the grass surface where the ball also bounces quite low and fast suited my playing style a lot. I must say, though, that I am not that confident being on clay, and I know that my best performances were on either hard court or grass.
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What do you remember about playing doubles with former world No 1 Maria Sharapova, with whom you won two titles in 2003?
We played together for a short while, about a year. I have many good memories being on court with Sharapova. She was very polite and it was so much fun to travel and play together.
I remember meeting her when she was very young, just 16, and that was a year before she won her first Grand Slam singles title (Wimbledon). I was quite fast at the net, and she was a powerful player at the back of the court, so I felt we would be a good combination.
I approached her to be my doubles partner and she agreed. We won the Japan Open and Luxembourg Open. We went on to play in the doubles at the Australian Open in 2004 too. After she won Wimbledon later that year, she wanted to concentrate on her singles career, and I respected that decision.
What is your assessment of Thai tennis players today?
There are many popular sports such as badminton and golf, but tennis has always been very well followed too. Over the years, Thailand has produced many successful players like Paradorn Srichaphan, Danai Udomchoke and myself. At this year’s Australian Open, Kasidit Samrej impressed many people (in his first-round, five-set defeat to Daniil Medvedev).
At the STO, we saw 22-year-old Mananchaya Sawangkaew reach the quarter-finals (where she lost to Anna Kalinskaya). She is now ranked 115th in the world and played against a top-20 opponent in the latter stages of a tournament. That sort of experience will give a big boost to her game and confidence.
Tamarine Tanasugarn during the interview with BT News Editor Lee U-Wen at the Kallang Tennis Hub, on the sidelines of the Singapore Tennis Open. PHOTO: SINGAPORE SPORTS HUB
Tennis has changed quite a lot over these last two decades or so, with better nutrition and the use of technology. What is your take on this?
I agree. The professionals these days are much stronger, fitter, stronger and mentally sharper. And with the rise of technology, we have access to information and data around the clock, so it is definitely much more advanced than when I was an active player. But remember, everyone else also has that same knowledge, so what is important is what you do with it.
Do you play much tennis or any other sport?
I run a tennis academy in Bangkok where I coach a lot of young players. I am out on the court with them where I share my experience of being on tour for 20 years. We have got about 100 players enrolled at the moment, and some of them are as young as five.
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Publish date : 2025-02-21 02:31:00
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