To ink or not to ink? Tennis players and their tattoos

Stan Wawrinka on his way to the Australian Open title in 2014

Jack London, an American novelist, journalist, social-activist and short-story writer, who mostly writes about the struggles for survival, once commented, “Show me a man with a tattoo and I'll show you a man with an interesting past.” Different people get tattoos for different reasons; some as an expression of their personality, some as an expression to a beloved, some as a form of body art. Whatever the reason may be, tattoos certainly give you an insight into a person.For a sport that many say is devoid of personalities, here are some shining examples of tennis players with tattoos and personalities. Presenting our list of 10 tennis stars with tattoos and the stories behind them.

#1 Stan Wawrinka

Stan Wawrinka on his way to the Australian Open title in 2014

Just like you cannot separate Andre Agassi from his ‘image Is everything’ phase or Ana Ivanovic from her ‘playing tennis in a swimming pool’ story, Stan Wawrinka’s career will always be associated with his tattoo which has the words of Irish poet Samuel Beckett on his left forearm: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.”

The fact that he beat Novak Djokovic after losing to him 14 times in a row only added to the poignancy of the quote for the Swiss champion.

When asked about the quote, Wawrinka said, It’s my vision of my job and my life in general. In tennis, as you know, if you are not Roger or Rafa and Djokovic or Andy now, you don’t win so many tournaments and you always lose. But you need to take the positive of the loss and you need to go back to work. It’s that simple.”

#2 Li Na

Li Na was at the receiving end of a major backlash in China when her tattoos became front-page news

China’s Li Na has a fiercely independent streak (she was the first player from her country to break away from the national tennis association as she wanted to have more control over her career, schedule and her earnings). So it’s no surprise that the two-time Grand Slam champion sports two tattoos – a rose and a heart on her chest and a butterfly on her lower back.

Li says the rose-and-heart tattoo represents her love for her husband – “I had been with him for three years when I had it done – I wanted to do something for him and for us. I chose a rose because it’s romantic and having it on my chest means I have given my heart to him.”

#3 Svetlana Kuznetsova

Kuznetsova tattoo
The pain does not kill Kuznetsova, Kuznetsova kills the pain

Kuznetsova is known as one of the most popular players in the WTA locker room and one of the more interesting characters in the game. While she can mesmerise us with her tennis skills, she can also leave us dumbfounded with some of her losses.

The two-time Grand Slam champion has tattoos on both arms: one, in Russian, is dedicated to all those who criticized her during her career and means “Only God is our judge”. The other one is self-explanatory: “The pain does not kill me, I kill the pain.”

#4 Bethanie Mattek-Sands

Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Bethanie Mattek-Sands attire may have sobered down but certainly not her personality

The American, currently enjoying a phase as an upset specialist, was once known only for her outlandish attire. But she has transformed into a solid all-round player, breaking into the top 60 in the singles rankings and becoming a solid doubles player as well.

Mattek-Sands has two tattoos on her right arm – one of them has bees flying around (her nickname as a kid was ‘killer bee’) and the other has flowers.

#5 Dan Evans

Dan Evans tattoo
Britain’s Dan Evans and his Jesus tattoo

Britain’s Dan Evans made a splash at the 2013 US Open when he knocked out Kei Nishikori in the first round. And his ‘Jesus’ tattooo also came into the spotlight.

His countrywoman Laura Robso summed up the tattoo and Evans best when she said, “He’s got a Jesus tattoo. I mean, if you’ve ever spoken to him, he’s really not the most religious person. That doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”

#6 Karolina Pliskova

Karolina Pliskova
Karolina Pliskova

Karolina Pliskova is 24 years old, from the Czech Republic, has a twin sister with whom she has won two WTA doubles titles, and has one of the biggest serves in the women’s game today. She knocked out both the Williams sisters at the 2016 US Open on her way to her first ever Grand Slam final.

Now is as good a time as any to introduce you to her two tatttoos – one on her arm and another on her thigh. Both are Maori-style tattoos and for people not familiar with that terms, Maori refers to people from New Zealand.

#7 Lukas Rosol

There’s more to Lukas Rosol than his powerful groundstrokes

The man who stunned the tennis world with a sensational win over Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2012 has two tattoos – one on his right arm and the other on his left leg.

The one on his leg is inspired by the Maori haka, the ritual wardance made famous by New Zealand's mighty All Blacks rugby team.

#8 Marat Safin

Marat Safin

Marat Safin was everything you would want in a tennis player – good looking, funny, unpredictable, ball striker par excellence. And he was also Russian.

The two-time Grand Slam champion has a Chinese character that translates to “Hou” which means “Year of the Monkey” on his left shoulder (his Chinese astrology sign is Monkey); a human eye and a barcode on his right bicep; and a big sun on his back.

#9 Anna Kournikova

Anna Kournikova tattoo
Korunikova playing World Team Tennis

Anna Kournikova sports a star design tattoo on her lower back. She's always been reluctant to talk about it though, so we can only guess what the tattoo means!

#10 Janko Tipsarevic

Janko Tipsarevic tattoo
Janko Tipsarevic has more than one tattoo

The Serb became famous for his tattoos and his love for literature well before he broke into the top 20 of the world rankings. Tipsarevic has a tattoo that is based on a Dostoevsky quote, “beauty will save the world”.

He has another one on his right shoulder in his mother tongue that interprets as ‘genius’ and his right arm sports a tattoo in Katakana (a Japanese writing system), that represents the first two letters of the names of his father, mother, brother, and himself.