Getting To Know... Urszula Radwanska
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SYDNEY, Australia - Living in the shadow of an elder sibling is never easy,
but 19-year-old Urszula Radwanska, the younger sister of world No.10
Agnieszka, is ready to shine. In 2007 she won junior Wimbledon - two years
after Agnieszka did - and last March made her Top 100 debut by reaching the
fourth round at Indian Wells, beating Svetlana Kuznetsova along the way.
Three quarterfinals followed, and for the first time the Radwanskas faced off
on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. The head-to-head currently stands at 1-1, with
Urszula scoring her win at Dubai and Agnieszka finding revenge at Eastbourne.
We spoke with Urszula on the sidelines of the Medibank International Sydney.
When did you start playing tennis? Was it inevitable that you'd go into the
'family business'?
UR: I started playing when I was five with my sister and my father in
Germany, where I was born. At first it was just for fun, we'd play not with a
ball but with a balloon! And then we started to play well and now I would say
it is more like a job for me. But it's really nice we are still all traveling
together, that I am hitting with my sister and that our father is our coach
and our mother is with us.
At what point did you start to think that you could make it as a professional
on the Tour?
UR: It's hard to say one moment. When my sister and I played junior
tournaments in Poland, we were the best, so we started to think that maybe we
could do something in the world. It was probably around the age of 14 or 15
that the possibilities started to become more clear to us.
How far did you go in your schooling?
UR: I finished high school, and now I'm doing tourism studies through a
sports academy, I guess you could describe it as sports tourism.
Tell us about your home town, Krakow.
UR: It's a very old city. I love to spend time there because it's my home,
but also the city center especially is very beautiful. There's a lot to see
there. I also love to visit Zakopane, which is a resort not too far away in
the Tatra mountains, on the border with Slovakia.
Did you have a tennis idol when you were growing up?
UR: Yes, actually I still like Serena Williams but now I don't have idols as
such because I'm meeting them at tournaments and playing against them, so
it's a different mentality. Among the retired players I cheered for Steffi
Graf.
What do you consider your greatest strengths as a player?
UR: I play an aggressive game, attacking, so I like to play on faster surfaces
… I don't like to play on clay. I don't want to give too many details
because other people might read it! But for sure I still need to work on
every shot and keep practicing to get better. My favorite shot is the
backhand.
If you could steal a shot from another player, what would it be?
UR: The serve of either Williams sister.
What's your best tennis memory to date?
UR: I think I would have to say it's still winning junior Wimbledon. It was a
bit surprising because we don't have grass courts in Poland, so we cannot
practice on the surface. But I enjoy the speed of it. I love going back there
- I think it's my favorite Grand Slam.
You played Agnieszka twice on Tour last year. The Williams sisters make it
clear they don't like playing each other. Are you the same, or do you
secretly enjoy it?
UR: No, I don't like to play my sister because one of us will need to lose.
It's tough, because you are trying not to think about who is on the other
side of the net but it's still in your mind, this is my sister. We practice
all the time together and we know each other's games and personalities so
well. But for sure it's something we will have to get used to.
Is there a particular quality about Agnieszka that your admire, and that
would like to emulate to become a better player?
UR: I'm more emotional on the court. Sometimes I'm throwing the racquet or
screaming. She's more quiet. Maybe I could learn from that...
Was it always that way, even when you were children?
UR: Yes, it was all the time like this! I was the one getting into trouble.
When you're not training and playing matches, what do you like to do to relax?
UR: In the evenings I like to stay in the room and watch movies, or maybe go
to the cinema sometimes. I'm not so much of a sightseer… I'm a little lazy
when it comes to that.
Do you still keep rats for pets?
UR: No, we don't have them anymore. We couldn't take care of them because we
travel so much now.
Were they cuddly? Could you play with them? What did you like about them?
UR: They were so smart. But we were not often with them, so they were really
aggressive sometimes.
What are your goals for the season?
UR: At the moment my ranking is around No.70 and I want to be Top 50 soon…
as soon as possible. But I haven't really thought through where I want to be
by the end of the year.
If not tennis…
UR: That's a hard question. Tennis was always in my life.
跟姊姊比起來，成長速度慢很多，依舊在等待有所突破。
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