So one last dance. Professional athletes always have the hope that the last dance either like the Chicago Bulls’ season in the basketball docuseries of the same name – or like the tennis feature film Wimbledonin which a thirty-something plays his way to victory against all odds and meets the love of his life along the way.
It is the romantic hope for athletes before the ride into the sunset: a final triumph.
Andrea Petkovic was world number 9 in 2011, now she is in her mid-thirties and ranked 92nd. A few days ago she had indicated in a post on Instagram – she had given a training video the hashtag #lastdance – and shortly afterwards confirmed that the US Open would be the last tournament in her active career. So the last dance for Petkovic, who liked to dance on the pitch after winning, what would it be?
Petkovic admits: ‘I was really scared of losing zero and zero’
Well, life isn’t a movie. Petkovic was eliminated in the first round by the Swiss Belinda Bencic – and yet the German danced after this game, at least a little bit, as she thanked the many fans on Court 7 for their support. It was good the way it was, Petkovic thought so too, because you can see this 2:6, 6:4, 4:6 as representative of what Petkovic has achieved in her career and what she wants to be remembered for. It’s not so much about triumphs as it is about dancing.
“I’ve just cried for the last five days, several hours a day. I maybe won two service games in training,” she said after the game. Petkovic has always stood out from many of her colleagues because she spoke openly about what was going on in her head – and she stood out from everyone because she also reflected on What because what was going on in her head; So this time: “It was all so sad – although if you think about it now and see it from the outside, then it seems rather funny.” This is a typical Petkovic action: first crying about herself and then laughing at how much she cried about herself.
She feared that Bencic would shoot her off the pitch due to the tearful preparation. That’s the biggest fear many athletes face when they’re about to retire: that they’ll get beat up like boxer Mike Tyson did. He quit early in the seventh round in 2005 against Kevin McBride on the grounds that he really didn’t want to belittle the sport anymore by letting a guy like him be beat up by plums like McBride.
Belinda Bencic ended up being too strong for Andrea Petkovic in her last US Open match.
(Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP)
And Petkovic? “I was really happy it went against Belinda. She’s young and a top player at the top of her game. I was just afraid it would be quick.” That’s exactly what it looked like at first, Bencic won the first eight rallies, Petkovic seemed less troubled by the elbow that had been injured for months than by a shaky hand: “I was really afraid of losing zero and zero.”
According to Petkovic, she “managed my career the way I want to be remembered”.
In The Last Dance There’s a moment at the end when the Chicago Bulls players write down what this season and this team meant to them. With Petkovic it sounded like this: “I sat down when I changed sides and asked: What do people know you for? What do you stand for?” The 34-year-old was never one of the most talented players, she didn’t overpower her opponents, but fought them down. She was ambitious and had an overdose of what, depending on your age, means charisma, coolness or swag names. “My virtues,” she summarized in New York: “Run after every ball, believe in myself, never give up, give my best. Reflecting on my career, I managed it the way I want to be remembered.”
Petkovic ran against Bencic after every ball, almost two kilometers in total, an amazing value. She believed in herself, she didn’t give up and did her best. She lost by dropping eight points in a row at 4-4 in the third set. But the loss didn’t bother her that much. She hadn’t lost – the younger, healthier, better won. “That’s why I decided in the summer to end my career,” said Petkovic: “I still have a lot of passion for this sport, but my body doesn’t allow it anymore. When I see young players, I notice that my story is told.”
It’s actually less the seven tournament wins or successes at Grand Slams – semifinals in Wimbledon, quarterfinals in Melbourne and New York – that Petkovic remembers. Rather, it’s the moments when she took you with her on the pitch – and then let you into her world of thoughts.
The best time of your career? “The last four or five years, even if I was only selectively successful”
Now, when she talks about what would be on her “Last Dance” note, she doesn’t talk long about successes, but rather about the team spirit of the Fed Cup team and how proud she is that they like successes that of three-time Grand Slam winner Angelique Kerber and Wimbledon quarter-finalist Jule Niemeier (who later said she shed “a few tears” during Petkovic’s game). The best time in her career, therefore: “The last four or five years, even if I was only selectively successful. I was there with so much passion after the burnout – it was pure love for the game. I’m proud of that.”
So talks one content to have the story of the first career told; even if she still wants to play a training game in Europe, said Petkovic. It’s now time for younger people like Coco Gauff, who follows “almost like a stalker on Twitter” and who has also given nature plenty of coolness and charisma. Only one thing she found a bit strange, said Petkovic: “Americans always say first of all: ‘Congratulations on this career!’ The Europeans: ‘What’s Next?’ I like the American way better.”
So then: Congratulations on this career – and have fun with everything that comes next!