The Tennis Podcast

Laura Robson is 25 years old. She is ranked 511 in the world and has not played a competitive match for eight months. Until today. Robson made the trip from Bath, where she had commentated with me on the final rubber of Britain’s run to the Fed Cup World Group 2 play-offs, to Shrewsbury, home of an exceptionally well-run but modest ‘futures’ event for young players trying to make their mark, cobble a living together or come back from injury.

At the end of every Grand Slam I always find myself grappling with two conflicting emotions: sadness and relief. The sadness stems from the resounding comedown following fourteen days of intense action. Grand Slams are like my life companions when they’re on; they fill my days, give me energy, and dictate my mood. When the bubble bursts I quickly begin to miss the tennis. After a fortnight of immersing myself in the event, there’s suddenly a profound emptiness. This year I felt this inevitable low perhaps more keenly than ever before, but only because the high of being in Melbourne had been so high.

I always knew I would enjoy my two weeks in Melbourne Park. I didn’t know I would enjoy it this much. Having spent the fortnight telling you what the Australian Open is like, I thought I’d use this penultimate blog to show you what it’s like. From my viewing points on the Rod Laver Arena, to the Margaret Court Arena, and the outside courts, I’ve included pictures from all to try to convey the differences. Around the grounds there are images that hopefully give you a feel for what ticket-holders get to see, if you have never been here, and the detail that the organisers have gone into.

We are all blind to the future, but the business of talent spotting at a junior Grand Slam is a particularly tricky one. How on earth can you figure out who’s going to ‘make it’? A quick glance at the list of junior Grand Slam winners shines light on the difficulty of the task. For every Roger Federer there’s a Wesley Whitehouse, for every Andy Murray there’s a Vladimir Ignatic, for every Simona Halep there’s a Noppawan Lertcheewakarn. Part of the problem is that it can be too easy to get sucked in by the fact that all the juniors play such great tennis. They wouldn’t be at a Grand Slam if they didn’t.