"Windows were broken, it was -10 degrees, freezing" - Grigor Dimitrov on how hardships during childhood years in Bulgaria made him a better player

Grigor Dimitrov recently recounted the struggles he and his family went through in kickstarting his tennis career in Bulgaria. The World No. 10 admittedly trained in unfavorable environments as a child, but that did little to dampen his spirit.

Dimitrov is near matching his best career level in 2024. Having won 24 of his 31 matches on the ATP tour thus far, the Bulgarian won his first title in more than six years at the Brisbane International in January. He also reached the final of the Miami Open in March where he lost to the in-form Jannik Sinner in straight sets.

Grigor Dimitrov is currently competing at the Italian Open; he is already in the third round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, beating Yoshihito Nishioka and Terence Atmane in his first two matches this week. The 32-year-old recently made an appearance on 'The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast' where he was asked by the host to describe his early years in Bulgaria.

Dimitrov said that he had his share of hardships during the beginning of his tennis career, disclosing that he and his father would train in school halls during the winter. Since the windows of the halls weren't well maintained, he would practice at very cold temperatures.

"Not easy. I grew up in a very small tennis stop south of a province in Bulgaria. And winters, we had to play in school halls, me and my dad every morning had to put up scotch tapes for lines. Windows were broken, it was -10 degrees, it was freezing," Grigor Dimitrov told Craig Shapiro (20:10). "It was in a school hall where they played handball. I had to get up every morning, and we used to pull up nets and two metal poles. And, yeah, this is how my day was beginning."

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Grigor Dimitrov believes his childhood hardships were formative: "I owe everything to those experiences"

Grigor Dimitrov poses with the 2024 Brisbane International trophy

On the same podcast, Grigor Dimitrov admitted that he was grateful to have gone through several tough experiences early on in life. He also claimed that his parents, both of whom share an athletic background, taught him the importance of hard work.

"You know, it's everything. It's tenacity. Honestly, it's a lot of things altogether. Where there's a will, there's a way. For me, it was never anything else," Grigor Dimitrov said on the podcast (20:38).

"My mom was a former volleyball player. My dad was a tennis coach, so I come from naturally a very athletic family. For us, sport is life. I owe everything to those experiences to be completely honest," he added (20:51). "Even with my dad and my mom have taught me so much. Hard work, that's it. There's no shortcuts, there's zero shortcuts."