The long tennis careers of hegemons like Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams or Roger Federer are the exception and not the rule. On average, tennis players stay in the game for about 8.5 years, but for many it ends much sooner due to injuries and lack of funding. Only a few have Plan B, so for most the only way is to train as long as health allows. For former tennis players to develop their potential off the court in areas of life completely different from sport is a true feat. But, as you know, a talented person is talented in everything.
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Mario Ancic (Croatia)
“I have heard more than once from other players that athletes have to die twice,” Croatian Mario Ancic told Tennis.com. – At 26 years old I had to say goodbye to life by training eight hours a day due to problems with my heart, thyroid gland and then also mononucleosis. For three years I tried to return, but at some point I had to honestly tell myself that a different path was needed.” Ančić was considered one of the best tennis talents of the 2000s: he beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2002, reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2004, took Olympic bronze that same year and became the winner of the Cup. Davis in 2006 as part of the Croatian national team, winning the decisive match.
Ančić sometimes works as an expert on tennis broadcasts.
Photo: twitter.com/MirnaZidaric
Mario managed to find himself in a different field. In 2009, he graduated from Split with a law degree, interned at Harvard Law School, and entered Columbia Law School. He received his Juris Doctor degree in May 2015 and has lived and worked in New York for almost 10 years. “I worked in investment banking on Wall Street for a couple of years. Then I moved to a private equity fund, of which I am now vice president. We invest and buy companies all over the world, trying to increase their value,” Ančić is completely satisfied with his current life.
Paradorn Srichaphan (Thailand)
In the early 2000s, the Thai caused a sensation, being the first Asian tennis player to enter the top ten players on the planet. He first declared himself out loud by beating Andre Agassi in the second round of Wimbledon 2002, and a year later he faced Rafael Nadal at the royal courts. Unfortunately, numerous injuries did not allow Paradorn to establish himself among the best, and his tennis career was finally “buried” by a motorcycle accident in 2010, during which he suffered fractures in both arms and a knee injury.
Paradorn was married to Miss Universe 2005 Natalia Glebova, who represented Canada in the competition.
Photo: Getty Images
Srichaphan began searching for his higher purpose while he was still a professional tennis player: in 2005, he became a Buddhist monk for a month, shaved his head, and adopted the name Mahaviro. After tennis, the Thai founded tennis academies in Thailand and Vietnam, and also opened a chain of Italian restaurants in Bangkok. Paradorn also fulfilled a long-time dream and starred in a film: the former tennis player played one of the main roles in the action film “Jungle Warriors.”
Srichaphan also tried himself in politics (he lost the elections to the Bangkok parliament) and was involved in promoting products to strengthen men’s health. In 2011 he opened the company “The Magic of Paradorn Thai Herbs” and sold a remedy to improve potency in the Asian market. The product is a supplement that contains ginseng, oysters and black galangal, similar to ginger. Paradorn stated that he himself uses this remedy.
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Gabriela Sabatini (Argentina)
Argentina’s Gabriela Sabatini shone early, winning the prestigious Orange Bowl youth tournament at the age of 13. Two years later, Gabi reached the adult semi-finals of Roland Garros 1985, where she lost to the future winner of the tournament, 30-year-old Chris Evert. The highlight of Sabatini’s career was the 1990 US Open, where she won the only major of her career. Unfortunately for the South American, she played during the heyday of Steffi Graf and then Monica Seles and, unable to accept the role of number two, she ended her career at 26 years old.
Gabriela Sabatini announces her perfume
Photo: From the personal archive of Gabriela Sabatini
Sabatini does not regret having ended his career so soon. Two years before saying goodbye to tennis, Gabriela founded her perfume brand, which is now in great demand around the world. The brand that bears the athlete’s name, in addition to perfumes, produces bedding; This business has allowed him to accumulate a fortune of 8 million dollars.
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Alex O’Brien (United States)
In the 1990s, Alex O’Brien established himself as a strong player: he was in the top 30 in singles, defeating monsters like Andre Agassi, Boris Becker and Mats Wilander. And yet, the main achievements in Alex’s tennis career came in doubles: in 1999, in a duet with Canadian Sebastien Lareau, he won the US Open and became the first racket player in the world.
Alex O’Brien and Sebastien Lareau with the US Open trophy – 1999
Photo: Jon Buckle/EMPICS via Getty Images
Having won $3.5 million in prize money during his tennis career, O’Brien turned to banking, aided in this by a degree from Stanford University, famous for producing the world’s best scientists, engineers and economists. In 2000 he started working at one of the banks and ten years later he assumed the position of president and majority shareholder. Today, Alex also has business interests in the livestock, oil, gas and debt industries. The successful financier also does not forget tennis: in 2007 he founded a foundation for the development of children’s tennis in Texas.
Jamie Baker (UK)
Jamie Baker started out with his best friend Andy Murray in his native Glasgow, but the boy had no outstanding talent and only faced his opponents with crazy dedication. Jamie was 22 when he played the Challenger in Mexico and discovered a strange rash on his ankle. The next day, he leaned on his knee while warming up and nearly passed out when, about 10 seconds later, a golf ball-sized tumor formed at the site of the contact. Upon returning home, Baker went to the clinic to be examined and discovered that he had idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). The disease is believed to be caused by a virus that causes the body’s immune system to activate and attack platelets necessary for blood clotting. Due to the disease, which affects 33 people per million, he could no longer play normally and ended his career a couple of years later.
Jamie Baker at Wimbledon in 2012
Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images
Jamie trained as an economist and today works for a company specializing in hotel financing in London. He is also his personal development specialist, an inspiring mentor who brings out the best in his employees. “I always knew I wouldn’t get lost and that I could defend myself. I remember early in my career playing with David Nalbandian, and during warm-ups he tried to hit the ball right in my face into the net. He probably wanted to intimidate. And then I took the ball out of my pocket and shot it at his groin! -Baker admitted-.
