At 18, almost 19, Marina Stakusic has everything of a completely normal young adult. She likes to spend time with her family, with her friends. Go to the cinema, go cycling.
However, Stakusic is not a normal young adult, especially not when she has a tennis racket in her hands. His sparkling performance during Canada’s historic victory at the Billie Jean King Cup10 days ago, propelled her to the rank of new young star of this sport in the country.
Marina Stakusic.
Photo AFP
We must of course not get carried away too quickly in this sport where it is so difficult to access the elite, but the fact remains that the story of the Mississauga player is as incredible as it is inspiring. .
For six months this year, she was forced to stay away from competition due to a knee injury, an ailment that worried her at times.
But upon his return, Stakusic began to make his name resonate on the ITF circuit, in the antechamber of the WTA. As of September, the young player has won three titles in five events.
Three victories in the top 100
Those performances prompted Canadian captain Heidi El Tabakh to ask the reserved Marina to join her team for the Billie Jean King Cup final.
And since victory often breeds confidence, and confidence often breeds confidence, Stakusic presented herself as the knife between the two.
Photo AFP
As Canadian number 2, behind Leylah Fernandez, Stakusic largely contributed to this first Canadian triumph in 60 years. During the week, she beat three players who are among the top 100 in the world. Including the Italian Martina Trevisan, then 43rd, during the first match of the grand final.
Her first three lifetime victories against equally highly ranked rivals. The Ontarian occupies the 265th level on the WTA.
“I’m starting to come down a little from my cloud,” she said with a big smile on Wednesday during a conference call.
“Because for several days, I still didn’t understand what had happened!” she added.
Marina Stakusic et Heidi El Tabakh. PhotoAFP
A disarming calm
But while she was overwhelmed by the scope of the feat she contributed to, Stakusic was never overwhelmed by the challenge before her in Seville, Spain.
A fact which is not surprising if we rely on the interview given to The Canadian Press by Mike Thompson, who coached her among the juniors and who remembers the young Marina when she was not was only eight years old.
“Nothing bothered her. She never got angry on a tennis court. Tennis is such a mental game. You always have to keep your cool,” he praised her, while emphasizing her superb hitting technique: “Each time, the contact was made in the middle of the racket.”
Félix Auger-Aliassime and social networks
Stakusic’s life has changed since that Billie Jean King Cup triumph. On a financial level, in particular. Before the team tournament, she had pocketed some $36,600 in purse money; she has since received part of the $2.4 million check given to the champions of the event.
Among the congratulations she received after this coronation were those from some important tournament directors, which could not be detrimental for the rest of her career.
But what seems to have delighted her more is that her compatriot Félix Auger-Aliassime started following her on social networks.
“Did you follow him back?” a journalist asked her.
“Oh, I already did!” Marina replied, laughing.
The top 100 and a place at Roland
But the next few months will feel like a return to normal for Stakusic, who is nursing an abdominal muscle injury and is not ranked enough to participate in qualifying for the Australian Open in January.
She will therefore return to the ITF circuit, with two main goals in mind: “To have my place at Roland-Garros and to break into the top 100.”
Without wanting to aim beyond that for the moment, she is however very aware that 19 is an age that often brings luck to Canadian players. Bianca Andreescu won the US Open at 19 in 2019, and Leylah was also that age when she reached the final there two years later.
“Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps,” Stakusic smiled.
2023-11-22 18:06:35
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