Tennis’ best are all on court at the All-England Tennis Club as Wimbledon gets well and truly underway. But what do they do on their downtime?
Here’s looking at what your favourite tennis players are doing off-court when they’re not looking for that trophy – or not.
Garbine Muguruza
French Open winner Garbine Muguruza has been on the rise for some time now, and displayed brilliant form to upset defending champion Serena Williams last month to win her first ever Grand Slam title.
The Spaniard recently played Italy’s Camila Giorgi in her first round match at Wimbledon. Although Muguruza came out on top in that match, she was taxed somewhat by the Italian, and looked to be on the verge of an upset for a while.
The 22-year-old, who is known to be fond of dancing, watched popstar Rihanna perform in the English capital ahead of that match.
Andrea Petkovic
German player Andrea Petkovic is considered one of the funniest figures on the circuit, and has an active presence on social media. The 28-year-old, the number 32 seed at Wimbledon, is yet to play her tournament opener here, but that has not stopped her from having fun.
She put her limber skills on display in her London apartment.
Martina Hingis
To say former singles No. 1 and current Doubles No. 1 Martina Hingis is fond of Wimbledon would be an understatement. The Swiss Miss became the youngest ever woman since Lottie Dot to win a Grand Slam title with her 1997 Wimbledon win at the age of only 16 – and she had already been the top-ranked tennis player at the time, and the youngest.
Although she has been retired from the singles for a time, Hingis made time to camp out in the sun – and make a new furry friend!
Novak Djokovic
He’s one of the wealthiest sportspersons of all-time, but unlike many, the World No. 1 and defending Wimbledon champion isn’t averse to public transport! The Serb took the famed London Underground with wife Jelena and chronicled his experiences on Twitter.
We’re guessing the smiles are from the fact that he didn’t have to ride the Tube during rush hour...
Roger Federer
He’s returned from what has been a rather injury-prone season, and former World No.1 and veritable GOAT Roger Federer is back, looking for a record 8th Wimbledon title and 18th Grand Slam.
With the Euro 2016 currently in its closing stages, Federer watched home team Switzerland at the Euro 2016 championships. Unfortunately, the team did not have as much luck as Federer has had, and crashed out in their Round of 16 match against Poland.
Andy Murray
Former Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has consistently shown support for his fellow players, and the Scot has been following the tournament closely before his opening match against compatriot Liam Broady today.
British journeyman Marcus Willis recently made the main singles draw at Wimbledon after almost quitting the sport, and yesterday won his opening match in straight sets against a player over 700 ranks higher than himself.
Murray tweeted in support of the 25-year-old Willis, who has spoken of the significant changes in his life following the qualification.
Venus Williams
London weather is notorious for being temperamental, but that did not stop former World No. 1 Venus Williams. The five-time Wimbledon champion took to the grasscourts at the All-England Tennis Club despite the overcast weather in the capital, with not a soul in sight as she got some hitting practice in.
Williams has become a paragon of resurgence in women’s tennis; after having enjoyed her heyday in the early 2000s, the 36-year-old made a return to the top 10 late last year, despite the fact that she has struggled with both injury and an autoimmune disorder that requires special attention.
Dominic Thiem
Austrian ace Dominic Thiem has seen his name repeatedly come up in a list of future World No. 1s, and the youngster, who tweeted in support of Germany at the Euro 2016 Championships, has been using his time at Wimbledon to interact with current No. 1s.
He attended the Wimbledon participants’ party ahead of the tournament, and interacted with defending women’s champion and 6-time Wimbledon winner Serena Williams, who is herself looking for a 22nd title – to tie Steffi Graf’s all-time record.
Juan Martin del Potro
Argentine Olympic gold winner and former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro has made the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 2013, and after being repeatedly sidelined by injury, the 27-year-old, nicknamed ‘Delpo’, has returned to the Championships to try his luck once more.
Up in the first round against Stephane Robert of France, del Potro has seen a recent upswing of form and will expect good results today.
For now, however, the tall player ace has been discovering London like a cliche tourist – camera, bags and all!
He tweeted about his experiences.
Maria Sharapova
She was one of the quickest moving players in her heyday, but Maria Sharapova has seen a two-year ban from tennis after being found to have tested positive for meldonium, a banned performance-enhancing drug.
Sharapova confessed that she had tested positive following her exit from the Australian Open, and could have faced a maxiumum four-year ban from the sport. The Russian ace, who claimed she was not aware the drug had been placed on WADA’s list of banned substances, also said she had been taking it for health reasons.
Sitting out her extended break from the sport, Sharapova, who is a successful businesswoman and one of the highest-paid athletes of all time, has decided to return to academics. The 29-year-old has enrolled at Harvard Business School this year, a move that will stand in her good stead to run her line of dedicated sweets, named Sugarpova.
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