Nach vielen Jahren im Leistungssport nimmt sich Laura Siegemund eine Pause.
The 38-year-old from Metzingen stepped away from the WTA Tour in August, concluding that the relentless global circuit had pushed her past both her physical and mental limits.
“Es ist ganz wichtig zu wissen, wann man seine persönliche – egal ob physische oder mentale – Grenze überschreitet,” Siegemund told SWR Sport.
The German player’s career has featured severe physical and psychological hurdles alongside its triumphs, including a torn cruciate ligament and persistent back trouble. She also faced an earlier mental crisis during her mid-twenties.
“Mit Mitte 20 habe ich schon mal einen kompletten Burnout gehabt,” Siegemund told SWR Sport, adding that nobody discusses those struggles now because she managed to salvage her career afterward.
When asked if professional tennis qualifies as a dream job, Siegemund hesitated before answering. “Eine schwierige Frage,” she told SWR Sport, explaining that while making a living through sport feels like a dream, the realities of the profession involve stark hardships.
She pointed to the unrelenting travel, financial expenses, and constant pressure on and off the court. “Die ganzen Strukturen, alles, was mit dem Tennissport zu tun hat, ist extrem belastend und das ist kein Traum,” Siegemund told SWR Sport.
“Jeder, der in irgendwas viel erreichen will, muss Opfer bringen, keine Frage, aber Tennis ist brutal, was es einem an Opfern abverlangt,” Siegemund told SWR Sport.
Siegemund acknowledged that the sport delivers profound highs to match its demanding lows, highlighted by her quarterfinal run at Wimbledon and her singles victory at the 2017 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. “Es geht natürlich in beide Extreme,” she told SWR Sport, noting that losses are difficult to process while major achievements bring immense satisfaction.
She examined that psychological balance in her book, “Wild Card: Herausforderungen mental meistern,” which she wrote following her psychology studies.
Siegemund has not set a timeline for her current break and intends to return to competition only when she feels ready. “Wenn man auf einem großen Platz spielt und legt irgendwie den Volley ab und die Menge fängt an zu toben, das sind so Sachen, die fehlen mir richtig,” she told SWR Sport.
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