The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour is losing one of their most personable players with the retirement of Australian player Alicia Molik this month. It would be hard to find a more popular professional on the tour than Alicia. In a game full of hardened athletes, Alicia was consistently friendly and represented herself, the game and her country beautifully.
Some might think that Alicia, age 27, is young to retire from the game of tennis but knowing her my whole tennis career, I can see the reasons how she would come to this decision.
Alicia devoted herself to continually improving her game. She had an extremely committed attitude and a single-minded focus but she could also switch off from the game, especially when home in her beloved town of Melbourne. As a fellow Australian player, I know how tough being away from home can be, quite simply it’s so far away from everywhere else – a flight from Europe is over 24 hours In the U.S., an American player can duck home after a first-round loss to refresh and see the family and then fire up for the next week. For an Aussie, trips have to be longer leaving you feeling like a gypsy. When Alicia and I first started out on the WTA Tour, Australia was still a strong country on the tennis scene as there was a gang of players on both the men’s and women’s circuit. This was especially evident at Grand Slams – Australia had so many guys on tour just playing doubles they were always friendly to fellow Aussies and had a more relaxed attitude. Socializing was important back then which helped keep a more well-rounded lifestyle. Nowadays, the women’s tour is a lonely place. I think the rise in ranking and abundance of players from other cultures has changed the dynamic of the tour to more cut throat environment with no fraternizing with the enemy. It is also not the easiest place to meet Mr. Right!
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Alicia’s breakthrough came at the end of 2004 when she won three titles and the bronze medal at the Athens Olympics while finishing the season Top 20 for the first time .She continued her winning form at the beginning of 2005 winning Sydney and then reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open – taking out Venus Williams along the way. She also won the Australian Open doubles that year with Svetlana Kuznetsova. Her biggest win since returning from injury was taking the doubles title at the French Open in 2007.
Alicia’s easygoing nature made her the ideal travel companion and I was lucky enough to travel the world with her as one of my best friends. I missed her while she was recovering from the middle ear infection that kept her out of the game for 12 months. Although for the past year I don’t think we were ideal pair as we both were home-sick and dreaming of our next career moves – therefore Alicia decision comes as no surprise. I have so many fond memories of her antics off the court Alicia loves the color red not only in clothes and accessories but good Aussie wines. I am sure she will take advantage of this time to indulge where she couldn’t before. Just quietly, I know the real reason for her sudden retirement from the game, it’s so she can devote her entire time to the bridesmaid’s duties that I have had mapped out for my November wedding! Alicia is loved by the Australian population and I am sure she will be supported in anything she wants to try next.
