Sabatini Confesses: Fear of Public Speaking & Losing on Purpose

When you think of Argentine tennis, the first player that comes to mind is Gabriela Sabatini. Sabatini recently appeared on former rugby international Agustín Crevi’s YouTube channel and opened up about her inner feelings and how media criticism has affected her career. Major Argentine media reported on what Sabatini said during his podcast and YouTube appearances.

“I had a very competitive spirit. I didn’t want to lose at anything. I got angry a lot. One time I got so angry that my mother tried to drag me off the court. I smashed my racket and said some harsh words.” (Gabriella Sabatini)

Sabatini’s rise to stardom came when she won the Roland Garros junior women’s singles title in 1984, when she was just 14 years old. Her life changed forever after her victory over Bulgaria’s Katerina Maliba. “After winning Roland Garros, I returned to Buenos Aires with my father, and when we arrived at the airport, a huge crowd of people had gathered. My father said to me, ‘I think everyone came because of you.’ It was a moment when my life before and after the championship was very clearly divided.”

“When I first started playing tennis, until I was 14 or 15, it was just a game for me. And I really enjoyed it, but I forgot what it felt like, and before I knew it, everything changed on its own.”

The most shocking confession was her extreme introversion and shyness. “I was so scared that I would have to speak in front of the public if I got to the final that I sometimes even thought about losing in the semi-final to avoid that situation, and it actually affected my performance. It sounds crazy, but it’s true,” Sabatini confessed. She admitted that this ‘quiet trauma’ was one of the main reasons why she did not reach world number one (highest ranking was number three).

She also recalled how hurtful the media’s assessment was at the time. “I was so angry and hurt when I read an article in the newspaper that said, ‘You’ll never be number one because you don’t train properly,’” he said. “It was a good thing that there wasn’t social media at the time. If there had been, it would have been too difficult to handle.”

Now, 29 years after his retirement, Sabatini looked back on those days from a different perspective and said this. “When I opened the newspaper, I started seeing criticism directed at me, and very negative criticism at that. ‘How do these people know what goes on behind the scenes and how I really feel? Where on earth do they make these things up?’ I thought so. “It was really heartbreaking and it hurt me a lot.”

Sabatini also spoke about his special relationship with Diego Maradona, who stayed by his side during times of emotional breakdown. “What more can I say about Diego? He had the warmest and biggest heart in the world. He would call me personally if I looked like I was having a hard time. He was a very considerate person that I couldn’t find anywhere else.”

In 1988, she won in Rome, Montreal and Boca Raton. In particular, in the Boca Raton final, he won after a close battle against Steffi Graf (Germany). That same year, she served as the flag bearer for the Argentina national team at the Seoul Olympics and won a silver medal in singles. And finally, he achieved his goal of winning a major championship at the 1990 US Open. On September 8, 1990, he won the US Open by defeating Graf, the best player in the world at the time.

Regarding the reason for his sudden retirement at the age of 26, when he was at his physical peak, Sabatini said, “My brain couldn’t take it anymore.” She explained that the external pressures surrounding the sport, such as fame, media, and public expectations, rather than tennis itself, ate her away, and she chose to quit tennis before she completely hated it.

After retirement, Sabatini was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2006. She also built a successful career as a businesswoman through her eponymous perfume line, which was launched in 1989 and continues to be sold in global markets to this day. In addition, he actively participates in charity activities and cooperates with UNICEF, UNESCO, and the Youth Olympic Games.

She, who always wrote a diary to overcome loneliness and pressure, expressed pity for her past self, saying, “Sometimes when I re-read the diary from those days, I want to hug the little girl who wrote it.”

[기사제보 tennis@tennis.co.kr]

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