“I’m very happy and it’s the biggest success of my career,” Anna Karolina Schmiedlova exclaimed in joy when reaching the Paris Olympics’ semifinals. The Slovakian is the only contender from her nation in any tennis event at the Games this season. But like a lone warrior, she has taken on the responsibility to propel her country forward and is all set to compete against Iga Swiatek for the bronze medal. While she might fight alone on the red clay, behind the scenes, the 29-year-old player has her biggest supporters cheering for her, her parents.

The Kosice-based tennis player owes her athletic genes to her parents. But maybe not for the same sport that she found her interest in at the age of seven. Her father, Juraj, found his passion in hockey and played the sport for HC Kosice. However, her mother, Martina, had a different sport in mind when she pursued her athletic dreams: water skiing. Born in Czechoslovakia, Martina’s mother has also remained a national champion in the sport. 

However, when Schmiedlova was growing up, both her parents did not force her to pursue either of their sports they were in but pushed her to follow her own dreams in tennis. Speaking about this in an interview with tennisphotoworld.com, she said, “My parents introduced me to tennis, they wanted me to do some kind of sport…They didn’t mention me to be a professional tennis player, but I turned out to be pretty good in playing tennis and I liked the game and finally I became a pro.” 

Although her parents planted the seed of the sport in her head, Schmiedlova was reluctant to play tennis after her first lesson. It was only some time later that she found her calling in the sport. The former world no. 26, did not have to look back after that. She now boasts three singles title in the WTA Tour, with 12 on the ITF Circuit as well. But her hurdles are hardly over.

She has navigated her way to the most prestigious event in tennis, the Summer Olympics, for the second time in her career, embracing a bigger challenge in her next match. Schmiedlova is well aware of what a significant achievement that is, not only for her career but also for her nation! Moreover, she also has a younger sister, Kristina, whose love for tennis has blossomed at a young age, enabling them to join forces in the Billie Jean King Cup once.

Meet Schmiedlova’s sister, who once played tennis too!

Schmiedlova’s sister, Kristina’s interest in tennis, began as a kid as well! But compared to her sister, her WTA ranking was much below. Perhaps that is the reason why the former World No. 412 left the sport quite early. But even in the short period that she played tennis, Kristina managed to win two ITF titles. Moreover, Schmiedlova, who is three years younger than her sister, also made her mark in the French Open junior Grand Slam event, reaching the quarterfinals there.

However, after making it to the finals at the junior Wimbledon final event, Kristina took the bold decision to leave the sport. 21 at the time, Schmiedlova focused on studying medicine while her sister went ahead with her dreams in tennis. Now, she is making her debut in a “medal” match at the Olympics. As she takes on World No. 1 in her next match, Schmiedlova will certainly have the support of his athletic family!