Olivia Gadecki details the importance of enjoying the moment and remaining focused on the practice court in our “Train with the Pros” series.
Brisbane, Australia, 20 September 2024 | Jackson Mansell
Olivia Gadecki has soared to extraordinary new heights in 2024.
The 22-year-old from the Gold Coast won her first WTA doubles title in March and contested her first WTA singles final last week. These performances have helped Gadecki achieve new career-high rankings of world No.64 in doubles and world No.88 in singles.
Gadecki, who this week became the new top-ranked Australian women’s singles player, also recently made her Olympic Games debut.
The rising star shares her training routines, as well as some valuable advice, in our Train with the Pros series.
Do you have a preferred time of day to practice?
My favourite time of day would probably be in the morning. It’s funny actually, I never used to be a morning person but now I love waking up really early and starting the day early. I just feel like it’s nice to get something done really early in the day. I really like to practise between 8am and 9am because the sun is not that strong at that time.
How many hours per week, on average, do you spend on the practice court?
Maybe like 20 hours on court.
Do you have a favourite part of your game you like to work on?
I enjoy practising my volleys. I also like hitting through the middle. There’s nothing better than hitting it clean through the middle.
Can you recall any training sessions you were particularly nervous for?
When I was hitting with Ash Barty, I’d always be quite tight, even though she was always so warm and welcoming. So once you eased into it, then it was fine, but I was pretty nervous for those practices.
Who are your favourite players on tour to practice with?
We’re very lucky in Brisbane that we have a really good group of girls. We’ve got Pri (Priscilla Hon), Lizette (Cabrera), Kim (Birrell), Kaylah (McPhee) and they’re really good. We all really enjoy practising together, so we’re super lucky to have each other.
Are there any players on tour you’d most like to practice with?
I want to say (Victoria) Azarenka. I really love the way she goes about her practices. I’ve watched her quite a few times and she’s serious, but fun. She just hits an unreal ball too, that looks so clean, and I feel you could get some good rhythm with that. I’d love to practice with her.
What advice would you share with an aspiring player wanting to get the most out of a training session?
The best advice I’ve got is to be present. I think it is really important, because time goes very quick, so enjoy the moment and be really open to learning. Be patient is the other one. Over time, it’s little pieces to the puzzle that’ll come together. So be positive because things will fall into place eventually. It may not happen overnight, but it will.
Finally, if you had five minutes left in a training session and could do anything you wish, what would you choose?
Definitely work on my serve. It’s such a key aspect of my game. There’s nothing like hitting a couple of targets before finishing a session. If you’ve had a pretty average session but you finish like that, you can be happy.
> READ MORE: From our “Train with the pros” series
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