Andre Agassi’s “Da**ed Lonely” Tennis Sentiments Run Deep Through Young Compatriot Aleksandar Kovacevic

From the outside, the life of an elite tennis player may seem to be quite glamorous and appealing, but the reality tells a different story! According to several renowned psychologists, tennis is one of the loneliest and most emotionally challenging sports in the world. Being in the cauldron of pressure (tennis courts) far away from your home, with no teammate to cheer, under the scrutiny of the critics with every single missed shot, it really becomes a bit challenging for the players. Perhaps that’s why Katie Mobed, who has been part of Team GB’s psychology support setup, once said, “Tennis is mental torture in some ways.” Several tennis stars have often spoken about these topics in the past, and recently, the 26-year-old American tennis player, Aleksandar Kovacevic, also opened up on the same. What did he say, though?

Born in NY, Aleksandar Kovacevic is of Serbian descent, and he cites the 2005 US Open match between Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils, which he watched on TV when he was just 6 years old, as the reason why he began playing tennis. If not tennis, perhaps Kovacevic would’ve worked in finance, or perhaps he may have become a snowboarder by now. During an interview with CLAY on April 19, the American tennis star spoke a bit about his “love-hate relationship” with tennis. He stated how losing matches can really put the players in some “pretty dark places,” but at the same time, he highlighted how tennis can also be fulfilling at times.

When was the last time Aleksander Kovacevic felt trapped in a dark place, though? In reply to this question during the interview, he said, “Tennis is very lonely. You don’t have teammates you can rely on, and when you have a bad night, no one can sub in for you. It’s difficult, but obviously, we don’t live the worst lives in the world. It’s a good life. I can’t complain too much. People are dying in some parts of the world. I can’t say my problems are comparable to others. But talking about my life, if I’m losing eight, nine matches in a row, going week to week, having the same tough experiences, for me, it’s not an easy life.“

Kovacevic is currently ranked 77th in the world, he has had quite a few ups and downs in these four years of his professional career. But talking about the lowest point in his career, he added, “At the end of last year, I was not doing well on the court, off the court. I wasn’t able to win two matches in a row since the US Open. Is not that I was considering retiring, but it’s just hard, man. When your life is centered around this one sport, and you are not performing well, you will just have a hard time.“

However, Kovacevic isn’t the only one to speak about how lonely tennis can be at times. American legend Andre Agassi wrote about how lonely it is to be a tennis player in his autobiography: “Tennis is the sport in which you talk to yourself. No athletes talk to themselves like tennis players. In the heat of a match, tennis players look like lunatics in a public square, ranting and swearing. Why? Because tennis is so da**ed lonely. Only boxers can understand the loneliness of tennis players—and yet boxers have their Corner men and managers.”

In 2020, during an interview, Stefanos Tsitsipas spoke about how hard it was for him to make friends on the Tour during his early days. Later on, he even said, “Tennis is a lonely sport, where you really are very lonely. We have a team that follows us all over the world but I would be lying if I said I don’t spend countless nights sleeping alone. All these journeys have added further stress, and I now feel led to isolate myself.” Not only them, even Nick Kyrgios claimed that at the start of his career, he felt lost and was alone in an “ocean of so many people.“

American tennis star Sloane Stephens also labels tennis as a “very difficult and lonely sport.” How do these players manage to overcome these issues and excel in their careers? Well, take the example of Novak Djokovic, who once said, “Every match is a mental and emotional challenge.” With his experience over the years, he now credits his success on the court to his mental strength. So, this is something that Aleksandar Kovacevic could also learn from this tennis “idol.“ 

Interestingly, in this interview with CLAY, Kovacevic not only spoke about his darkest phases but also revealed his best day in his career. What did he say?

Aleksandar Kovacevic recalls his memorable moment with his tennis “idol” Novak Djokovic

Aleksandar Kovacevic has always looked up to the Serbian as a kid. His father, Milan, originally from the Serbian capital, Belgrade, moved to the US to study computer science at UCLA College, and his mother, Milanka, is from Travnik. Because of their Serbian roots, Kovacevic revealed, “Djokovic also inspired my dad a lot. He is Serbian.”

Kovacevic got the chance to play against his tennis idol in the R128 of the 2023 French Open. Although Djokovic defeated him by 6-3,6-2,7-6(1) in that match, the American did earn a few words of praise from the Serb after the match. Speaking about Kovacevic, Djokovic said, “He played really well, and he was handling himself very good there mentally, hanging in there. I served for the match, he broke me. I mean, credit to him for fighting spirit.”

Recalling those fond memories with his idol, Kovacevic, in his interview with CLAY, he said, “Maybe playing Djokovic in the French Open center court, in 2023. That was just cool. He was my idol growing up. He’s still my idol. He’s the best tennis player of all time. It was a privilege for me and something I’m super grateful to have been able to do. I’d love to see all the things that he’s doing, so I can kind of almost take some things to copy, but part of this sport is being kind of like secretive about what you’re doing so that other people don’t get to replicate it.“

It was a memorable day for not just him, but also for his family, and he was once even invited by Djokovic to practice in Belgrade. So, that’s the “love-hate relationship” of Kovacevic with tennis. Share your thoughts on whether you agree with these players on tennis being the loneliest sport in the world.