Behind the glitz and glamor of a life filled with media attention, lucrative sponsorships, and adoring fans, lies a side of sports that often goes unnoticed. It is the relentless grind, the physical toll, and the mental exhaustion that athletes endure. It’s a reality that many sports personalities face, and tennis players are no exception. Taylor Townsend, the American tennis star, is the latest to peel back the curtain on this hidden side of her life. Known for her fierce competitiveness and resilience on the court, Townsend is also human, and lately, the demands of the game have been weighing heavily on her.

Townsend engaged in an interview with the Tennis Channel after she took down Caroline Dolehide in three sets in the first round of her Cincinnati Open campaign. She reflected upon the physical and mental toll that she has endured over the past couple of weeks and vented her frustration over the scheduling challenges, that might have been overshadowed by her doubles win in Wimbledon and then at the Citi Open. 

When quizzed about how tricky her past few weeks were, Townsend revealed her frustration. “So, I literally have not had a day off in three and a half weeks.” She further said, “From DC, I flew the same day to Toronto, played, and had to qualify. And I lose last round qualies.” The victory in the doubles had established her as a formidable face ahead of the Canadian Open. But the scheduling challenges seemed to put her on the backseat, as she lost to Emma Navarro in the quarter-finals. But the tragedy did not end there for the star player.  

“From Toronto, we drove, I finished my match at like 3 something, we drove at 9’o clock in night. Drove eight hours to come here (to Cincinnati.) I arrived at the hotel at 5.30 in the morning. I slept for 4 hours. Came on site, did everything, you know warm up the whole nine. Played, qualified.” Townsend’s adversities were fueled by her commercial projects as well since the tennis star participated in a shoot. She revealed that it continued till 12:30 in the night, which gave her little time to take a break. In such a situation, any day seems to be a surprise to the American player.

“Yeah, so it was like one after the next after next. So like yesterday was my first day off but it felt so weird. I was like what the hell do I do?” This is not the first time when Townsend has been seen furious over the challenges. Ahead of the Canadian Open campaign, the 28-year-old expressed the woes she is facing ahead of her matches. “I’m tired of this s**t. Played yesterday, I flew this morning, I’ve been up like since 4:00 am, packed my stuff and AG’s stuff, flew from DC to Toronto.” Townsend went straight from the airport to the tournament site right after landing in the city of Mary. 

She had an hour and a half to practice but had to wait for her match due to other long matches on her court. “Then I had to wait and go to court almost like 7:00. Played and won, and I just literally got to my room,” the 28-year-old added. Adding to her challenges are the financial struggles that are keeping her from having a relaxed season.

Financial struggles add to Townsend’s scheduling woes

Besides the ruthless schedule that the World No. 51 is facing, there are also financial challenges that she needs to overcome to ensure a smooth season. While high-ranked players are always surrounded by lucrative deals, the situation is not similar for the players who are ranked below in the table. For Townsend, the situation is no different. 

Ahead of her campaign at the Cincinnati Masters, she revealed how costly flight tickets made her take tough decisions. On her social media handle, Townsend uploaded a video in which she talked about how she was thrust into a stressful scramble to reach her next tournament. “I have to play at 5 o’clock tomorrow at Cincinnati. I feel very overwhelmed. It’s stressful trying to figure out how to get out of Toronto and how to get to Cincinnati. The only flight out of Toronto is like $1400 a person, and a layover, no matter what.”

As the tournament progresses, it would be interesting to see if the star player can overcome the challenges and win big in her hard-court venture ahead of the US Open.