Very superstitious: tennis players and their rituals
Call them superstitions, call them habits, call them rituals … some players are well known for having certain formalities and ceremonies that must be performed in each game. Whether it’s a lucky pair of shorts, a certain route you take to hit the court, or a culinary habit, there is no shortage of bizarre rituals adopted by those who play tennis professionally.
One such professional, and a former great at it, is Croatian Goran Ivanisevic, who is famously a huge fan of the food routine. During his time in Australia at the Hopman Cup, he reportedly ate at the same table in the same restaurant every night, ordering the same meal of clam chowder, lamb, and ice cream with chocolate sauce throughout the tournament. Ivanisevic has a number of similar superstitions and practices, such as always getting up from the court chair behind his opponent, calling for the same ball again after he has served an ace, and always avoiding stepping on or standing on the tram tracks (a superstition shared by Martina Hingis and American legend John McEnroe).
Another common superstition shared by multiple players is to keep the same clothes, or wear yours in exactly the same way. Serena Williams, for example, ties her shoelaces the same way before every game, prefers the same shower before every match in a tournament, and also wears the same pair of socks for every game. Novak Djokovic, on the other hand, refuses to use the same shower twice in a row. However, he insists on having his poodle, Pierre, with him in London when he competes at Wimbledon.
Djokovic is not the only great contemporary who indulges in a superstition or two; our own Andy Murray raised his eyebrows at Wimbledon last year when he stormed into the quarterfinals looking distinctly hairier than usual. Despite his insistence that it was just laziness, many experts speculated that his blooming beard was due to some court superstition. Meanwhile, Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal is very particular when it comes to placing his water bottle on the court, making sure it is always in the exact same spot or position at the end of each seat, down to the millimeter. These guys are some of the most successful players in the sport, so it seems like they’re on to something with their seemingly bizarre superstitions – a ‘lucky’ pair of shorts might be worth thinking about in an attempt to improve your own game! !