Magda Linette asks for a date. Just before the match for the final of the Australian Open

Magda Linette will turn 31 in February and is playing her 30th Grand Slam tournament in her career. A tennis player from Poznań fulfills the dreams with which she set out into the world of her beloved sport a long time ago. She has never even reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam event before, and now she will play for the final of the Australian Open.

Dad’s line

– It’s not easy – smiles Tomasz Linette. – I have my classes, I run trainings at AZS Poznań, so I talk to journalists, for example, when I walk the dogs. Representatives of various editorial offices are even lining up. Now you’ve reached me, and I can already see that one of the TV stations has arrived and hopes that I’ll finish talking to you soon – says the father of a sportswoman who is admired all over Poland today. Finally admires.

Magda Linette played tennis well and even very well for years, but she was still in the shadows. First Agnieszka Radwańska, then Iga Świątek. And for the longest time in the shadow of her own abilities, which she could not fully use.

Little Magda and little Wilson – that’s how it all began

Now reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open, the result of this tournament equaled both the former number two in the world ranking and the current number one. And she proved to herself that she can do anything. Now we are talking about a sensation, and those who know Magda repeat that she finally has what she worked very hard for.

– Surely it would be best for everyone if Magda talked about it, if she went back to her beginnings and shared many memories. But now is not the time for that, you know. That’s why I have the role to replace her in these matters. And I try to fulfill it – says Tomasz Linette.

Let’s see how Magda’s dad is doing. – My daughter got her first racquet when she was three years old. On the courts of Olimpia at the Porsche Open tournament we bought her first little Wilson. We thought that Wilson would be lying somewhere, but Magda wanted to start bouncing with him, so we bounced at home through a pillow, with a soft ball. I’m a tennis coach, I’ve never taught such small children, but since Magda really liked bouncing at home, I took her to the courts and we started playing tennis through a small net. Magda was able to focus on bouncing for over an hour, not three minutes like other children. And that means there was real passion in her. It developed so much that she ended up walking around beating the wall on her own for two hours. At the age of six or seven, she could hit several hundred balls in a row. It was very interesting, unusual. So we decided to take it a little further – says Magda Linette’s dad.

– I saw that my daughter has such a passion and talent that I have not noticed in other children. And since initially Magda didn’t have the strength in one hand, she started hitting the forehand with both hands, which she saw in the only tennis player from the top at that time, Monika Seles. This Monica became Magda’s favorite tennis player for years – we hear from Mr. Tomasz.

Well-read, educated, always the best

At the age of a teenager, Seles dominated the world of tennis, and Magda, as a few years old, began to rule in Poland. – She always knew what she wanted and was always focused on great tennis, because since she was a kid she was always the best girl in Poland in her year. She won everything one by one – says Jakub Piter.

– We worked with Magda when she was an adult player and already won her first ITF tournaments. She came to me when she had a slight fall. I was supposed to give her fire to play again. It was probably 2011-2012. But I knew her very well before, because my sister Kasia is a year older than Magda, we are all from Poznań, so we kept passing each other, we also played training sessions together and even I, although I am a few years older than the girls [trener jest z rocznika 1988, Katarzyna Piter z 1991, a Magda Linette z 1992]I also played with them sometimes. For half a year, I even ran them both at the same time, but it was a bit too much for both of them, because in such a small environment, everyone is constantly teasing, asking who is better, comparing. Despite this, the girls endured, their relationship was always very correct and they even played doubles together – adds Piter.

One of Magda Linette’s first coaches confirms what everyone in the community says about her: that she had a talent for tennis and, above all, for hard work. – She has always been an incredibly hardworking girl. And terribly intelligent. In addition to being a good tennis player, Magda is well-read, educated, and has always done well in school. She is not only an excellent athlete, but also a very smart woman. I am very happy to see how successful he is now. She deserved and earned them – we hear from Piter. – By the way, it is from our cooperation that I remember especially the match with Karolina Pliskova. She was already around the 100th place, and Magda much lower. She came to France to win the tournament, but Magda eliminated her because she played a great match, tactically similar to that of the quarter-final of the Australian Open – adds the coach.

Pitbull Jadzia won’t go to dinner

After the match against Pliskova in Melbourne, one of the first things Linette did was receive the bouquet. – Moments after the game, I play Magda a bouquet. your emotions. I write: “Girl, you are amazing, you can do anything!”. I also write that I am proud of what she has achieved, that she finally has this zen, i.e. such absolute peace that she is unshakable and opponents break rackets. Finally, it is as it should be – it is Magda who throws her rivals off balance, not Magda – says Monika Piecha, Magda’s friend.

– Some hours after the game we talk not about tennis, but about life. A few hours after defeating Pliskova, Magda asked how my date was – our interlocutor smiles.

Piecha was a former amateur tennis player. About 10 years ago, people around Linette asked if she would like to take some photos of Magda, since she plays tennis and is a photographer. – I said: “Well, why not, how?!”, I took pictures, we made a nice contact and our relationship developed so that Magda is my best friend. Sometimes people ask me when Magda is playing another match and I say I don’t know because we mainly talk about what to wear or where to go on vacation, not about tennis. When we meet, Magda is always with my Jadzia, that is the pitbull with which Magda posed for a photo for the auction for the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (you can bid for a dinner with Linette – Jadzia will not participate, in the photo she is simply because she is Magda’s favorite) . We talk about fashion, what makes us laugh, relaxes us, and also about serious life topics, our mouths don’t shut up. We understand each other in half a word. We don’t have to finish the jokes, and the other one already knows what’s going on. We both have a bit of a dark sense of humor, says Piecha.

A psychologist helped. “We pushed for it”

But my friends also talk about tennis. And these are very important conversations. – I knew that Magda would win, but I also knew that she needed to control her emotions. Thinking, not that Magda from Poznań plays with great tennis players, because it blocked her, but thinking that she is Magda Linette, also a great tennis player, and that there is nothing to be afraid of. I talked to her the same as people from her team that a psychologist could help her a lot. We put pressure on it and Magda undertook such cooperation – Piecha tells us.

– Great, because it gave her a lot. Many times it happened that I turned on the match and Magda’s face immediately saw that it was a lost match, Magda was so tense. And now I turn on the TV and watch with pleasure, I’m not stressed one bit, because I see that she knows where she is, knows what she’s doing. Her movements and face show that she has matured emotionally to beat the best tennis players in the world. Other best tennis players in the world – he adds.

Magda Linette turned on the turbo mode

The father of the Australian Open semi-finalist is very happy that his daughter has joined the group of the absolute best in the world, but at the same time tries to keep a healthy distance. Like years ago.

– I will tell you that in general I did not go to tournaments too much. Rather, grandparents rode, calm people. I preferred to make sure that tennis did not affect our family relationships too much – reveals Tomasz Linette.

Now he is not in Australia and even seeing that his daughter is doing so well, he did not decide to drop everything and fly to cheer her on from the stands. He watches everything from Poznań, with as much calmness as he can afford.

– Looking at Magda’s successive matches won at the Australian Open, only one memory comes back to me from the tournament from years ago, which I was at. I remember when Magda beat another girl 6-0, 7-0. The game went so fast that there was a mistake, an extra game was played unnecessarily – smiles Mr. Tomasz.

We learn from Monika Piecha that now Linette turned on the turbo mode in December, in Florida. Then Magda’s friend visited her at her base. And she photographed sparring. Linette has trained with Jessica Pegula, Sofia Kenin, Linda Fruhvirtova, Brenda Fruhvirtova, Lauren Davis and Renata Zazua.

Sabalenka for the taking. But that’s not the most important thing

– It was amazing how she looked. When she played for points with opponents, it was space. I told Magda: “Girl, you go and win, you play so cool that it’s just a matter of the head. Psychologist, psychologist and once again a psychologist!”. Magda looked at me incredulously, and I reassured her: “That’s right! I’m not lying, I see how you play.” We’ve known each other for years, we’re friends, and I can see what talent she has. The stress was killing her terribly. Commentators say that Magda has improved tennis because they have not seen her training. And the truth is that now she does in matches what she does in these trainings, because she stopped blocking herself – convinces the photographer.

According to Piecha, Linette could become the Australian Open champion. But that’s not the most important thing, according to her. – I always write to her: “Go to this court and make your dreams come true. Don’t look at anyone’s expectations of you. You are supposed to enjoy, have fun.” I think that Sabalenka is also up for grabs, but whatever happens, this year will be Magda’s. She already felt that she didn’t have to stress, that she didn’t have to be afraid, that she could do everything. And it will stay with her – sums up Magda’s friend Linette.