If anyone wanted the secret to producing a sporting champion then you might think that having the DNA of sports-playing parents would be the key factor. But, while genetics play a big part, when it comes to some of the parents at this year’s Australian Open, what they are looking for in their children, most of all, is the right attitude.
“For me, what’s important is to give him (her seven-year-old son, Leo) opportunities and to try things in life,” Victoria Azarenka said. “My only rule with him is the effort is non-negotiable. “If you try to do something, you give 100 per cent effort. Result is something, he’s as competitive as I am, he’ll want to have results, but the effort is non-negotiable. If he commits to something, he’s there 100 per cent.”
There were eight mothers in the draw for this year’s Australian Open, including Naomi Osaka, Caroline Wozniacki and Angelique Kerber. All eight know what it takes to become a professional sportswoman, from the sacrifices they have to make to the sheer effort they need to put in.
For some tennis stars, the idea of their child following in their footsteps is too much. Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf were more than happy when their eldest son, Jaden, chose baseball instead of tennis. Others, like Lleyton Hewitt, whose son Cruz is playing in the junior event, actively encourage it.
Tatjana Maria, the German who reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 2022, has two daughters. The eldest, 10-year-old Charlotte, plays tennis and golf.
Like Azarenka, Maria is focused on effort, rather than results.
“I think it’s super-important for kids to keep going, even if it doesn’t go well sometimes because I think sometimes you have a lot of kids, they start a sport, they don’t like it, they stop it, they start something else and at the end, nothing stays.