A biography for Ana Ivanovichasn’t been written yet.
“I've had to fight to improve my life. Nothing has come easily.”
“Coaches were all saying that I was really talented and I had potential, but coming from Serbia, it wasn't easy. The '90s were the hardest years for our country - we went through two wars.”
“When I'm very motivated, and when I have to compete, I change a little bit; I become very competitive.”
“Our job is quite strange in that we hire a coach, and therefore, we're the boss. But coaches tell us what to do, and I think some coaches might struggle with the idea of a girl being the boss and telling them, 'I don't want to see you now. I want to have some time to myself.'”
“I won two ITF tournaments in Japan in two weeks. I had to qualify for both of them, which meant that I won 16 matches in 15 days.”
“Even when I get dressed up to go out, I never use too much makeup.”
“In cities like Miami, my hair can get so frizzy, it looks crazy. I use TRESemm Extra Hold hairspray. I use a lot of it.”
“My parents were very protective of me and my brother, so they never talked to us about the situation in our country.”
“We are constantly under lots of pressure, so I take lots of time to recover and do all the things I need for my body to be in the perfect state to compete the next day.”
“You'd be surprised at how many times I'd hit the ball, and the hair would go straight into my eyes. That's why, even when I play indoors, I wear a visor, because it stops that, and I'll apply a lot of gel and hairspray to keep it tight.”
“It was different when I was young, aged 20, playing the French Open. I didn't have so much experience. I just played tennis because I loved the game.”
“There's really not much friendship between the girls on tour. There's so much rivalry and jealousy, so everyone just hangs out in their own camp. In the locker room and players' lounge, you can feel the jealousy.”