Former Tennis Star Maryna Zanevska Embraces New Projects and Life after Retirement

A month ago, on August 30 precisely, Maryna Zanevska played the very last match of her career. Torn by back problems, the 30-year-old Belgian said goodbye to the world of tennis with a defeat (3-6, 2-6) against Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, future world number one, in the first round of the US Open.

Since then, the native of Odessa (Ukraine) has not had time to be bored… Selected pieces.

Maryna, how do you feel a little month after playing your last match? Do you miss tennis?

“I feel good and happy because I am very busy these days. Busy with new challenges and objectives. So there is no room for me to miss tennis. I am sure that this will happen one day because this sport has represented 22 years of my life, but not for the moment… The day after my last meeting, I was already looking into new activities, new projects, planning my new life in fact. I feel liberated and excited about what awaits me in the coming days, weeks and months.”

Exactly, what projects are you working on?

“I will be very honest. When I decided to end my career, I told my husband and my family that I wouldn’t do anything for I don’t know how long… I needed freedom. However, the day after my last meeting, I was already busy with new challenges. I think it’s part of the sporting character that I have developed over all these years. I realize that I need challenges to move forward. For now, I’m focusing on my study program at Harvard University. I want to learn as much as possible and get the most out of it. I also want to develop my candle business (Editor’s note: Savage Love Candles) which I launched during the Covid crisis, in 2020. Finally, I would like to discover new sports. Maybe I’ll go to winter sports and learn to ski because I never did because of tennis. It is too traumatic a discipline for the members. I also want to try Pilates or cycling and swimming but in a different way. I haven’t exercised for a month and my back seems to hurt even more. My knees, elbow and legs feel differently too. So I’m going to get back to it.”

About the studies you started at Harvard, can you explain to us what the program consists of?

“This assistance was offered to me by the WTA based on a program that has existed since 2017 within Harvard University. In May, the WTA sent an email detailing this opportunity for players to apply for. When I read it, I already knew that I was potentially going to play my last tournament at the US Open. So I decided to give it a go and they accepted me. At first, I was scared because going back to school hasn’t happened to me in fifteen years. In total, fifty athletes from different disciplines take part. The program takes place over one semester and the start was given on September 16. This return to school could be followed online but I wanted to take full advantage of the experience. I wanted to meet the other athletes, attend the school, get to know other students and teachers. It is for this reason that I traveled, at my own expense, to Boston. The course is completely free. It is supported by the association to which the athlete belongs.”

Zanevska’s ex-coach looks back on her end of career: “When your player learns that her city is bombed just before going on the court…”

What will you actually study?

“The courses are taken online. And the school makes us work on business cases from the real world. It’s very interesting because we get straight to the point. Before the start of the school year, we had to study three files about which we had a discussion between athletes and teachers. Each student had to explain why this or that idea was preferable in each of these cases. This is how we learn, by memorizing the best examples but also the biggest mistakes not to make. At the end of the back-to-school day, we were able to choose two mentors, second-year students. So there is a girl and a boy who will accompany me during online meetings via Zoom. At the end of the semester, as a test, I will have to present the analysis of a business case. It’s something very difficult, because you have to think differently. You have to think like you’re another person, not the tennis player.”

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There were a lot of explosions, the apartment was shaking.

Speaking of tennis, do you have any projects related to your sport?

“I have a business project related to tennis that I would like to launch next year. But it’s too early to talk about it. What is certain is that I no longer intend to find myself on a court (Editor’s note: read becoming a coach). In organizing a tournament on the other hand, why not? !”

You are currently in Ukraine for around ten days. How is the situation in Odessa and in the country in general?

“The trip was difficult because, as you know, the country is closed and at war. It is therefore not possible to take the plane. I had to take a flight from Germany, in Düsseldorf where I live, to Moldova. There, in Chișinău, my parents came to pick me up. It is a three-hour drive to Odessa. Although we crossed the borders quickly, we arrived too late to avoid the curfew. We had to stop thirty kilometers from home, at a military post where the soldiers forced us to sleep in our car in a parking lot. It was only at 5 a.m. that we were able to leave. It was pretty special and the first night afterward, at my parents’ house, was scary. I have never felt such fear in my life.”

What happened ?

“After eating with my family during a very emotional moment where I saw everyone again, I fell asleep. And around midnight, I heard huge noises. In my mind, it’s like I’m still in Germany. I was like, ‘Why are they having fireworks?’ Little by little I realized that I was in Ukraine, in Odessa. This sound was obviously not fireworks. There were several attacks, fourteen missiles in all (Editor’s note: and 19 drones, all destroyed by the Ukrainian defense, as well as 11 of the missiles). It was terrible. There were a lot of explosions, the apartment was shaking. Since there is no shelter or shelter nearby, my mom came to get me so we could wait in the bathroom for everything to end. So there are at least two walls between the windows and us. If they explode, there is no risk of cutting yourself. On the other hand, if the missile falls right on your house, you are dead in a second. You never know where the missile is going to land. Perhaps on your neighbors’ house or on the home of other family members? When it was all over, I couldn’t sleep for the next two hours. My heart rate was way too high. It was only later in the morning, when I woke up, that I learned of the damage that had occurred in our city. One of the affected places has a special place in the hearts of residents. This was an old hotel, closest to the port which is attacked most nights. It is a very famous place, with a magnificent view. Today, there is nothing left. So it was a very sad morning but everyone was happy that no one was killed or injured. It was really, really crazy.”

So the situation has not calmed down in the region?

“No, it’s hell every day. I understand that people talk about it less, that the subject is less represented in discussions, people have to continue living their lives and cannot think about Ukrainians all the time. But it’s scary, it’s scary. Very scary. I was shocked. I was also shocked because my family, my brother and his wife were making jokes. I was like, ‘How can you make jokes?’ Like them, the population got used to it… Some of my friends wrote to me to see how I was doing, because they know it was the first time for me. But here, everyone has gotten used to it and I don’t understand how it’s possible.”

The Odessa Hotel, which was no longer in service, was destroyed by a Russian missile. ©DR.
2023-09-28 17:00:00
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