That moment when Ajla beat Serena
It’s so lovely to sit down and chat to you Ajla. I know, our Cocobella community is so excited to learn more about you and your life on and off the court. But can you take us back to those last moments in your now very famous set with Serena Williams and won. What was going through your mind?
Ajla Tomljanović: That last game with Serena was like 10 minutes long and Serena just kept on defending every match point, I think it was five or six times. Normally I would start over thinking and let my mind race in a negative way, but I just kept thinking I’d rather be in my position than hers and kept thinking about all the positive things that were happening instead of me focusing on me not winning quickly in last game. But that’s much easier said than done. I do remember the crowd getting to me a little, because they were going nuts for Serena as they felt like it could be her last game and cheering extra hard for her. So, it wasn’t easy, but at the same time it was so fun. I know that sounds crazy.
What an incredible moment in your life. You touched on the fact that you think that tennis is a mental game, how true has that been for you throughout your career?
Ajla Tomljanović: I mean, very true. I remember, every time I lost a tough match, there was always a mental reason. And of course, there are some matches you play well, and the other person plays well, and you lose by point and there’s nothing really to feel bad about because you know you did everything you could, it just wasn’t your day.
But there are a lot of matches. A lot where I had so many regrets where I either got too nervous, and I backed off what my game should be and didn’t really execute what I’m working on in practice. And those losses hurts so badly because it’s you, you can’t train that. So, you must be put in that position over and over again and execute the right way win or lose.
It’s taken me a few years of just thinking about all the losses and trying to get better to get to a point where I have matches like that one against Serena where people were saying it was a perfect match. But there were many imperfect matches leading up to that that I had to go through to get to that stage.
Serena is the greatest of all time, and to have had a chance to play her not having had a chance to play her before in my career was really special.
Yeah I can imagine there was were probably no regrets after that match with Serena. So how did you feel after that match? Were you pinching yourself? What did you experience?
Ajla Tomljanović: For me, it was a huge moment because I’d never made it to the fourth round of US Open, not so much for me to beat Serena. That came later with all the stories. But for me, it was a moment just for me. I know that the story was mostly about her. But I just kept thinking that I have a chance to do something I haven’t done in my career. But then when it ended, I realized that it’s much bigger than that and that felt just strange.
But I was so grateful that I was part of that moment. Because that’s, that’s history right there. I mean, Serena is the greatest of all time, and to have had a chance to play her not having had a chance to play her before in my career was really special.
Amazing. And, of course, you made headlines across the world everyone was talking about, about you. How has your life changed since that moment?
Ajla Tomljanović: Oh, not much. I mean, it’s really nice that people have heard my name now. And my name is really difficult to pronounce. I’m sure people don’t even know how to say it. Right (laughs). But it’s just sweet when I guess before the Serena match, it never really happened to me that people maybe in New York are like, “Oh, you’re the girl that played Serena”. They might not know, Ajla, just the girl that beat Serena. And that’s fine. I mean, I’m just happy to have lived that.
For me, it was such a special moment for the people that were in my corner. And in the end, that’s really all that matters. Everything that comes on top of that I’m grateful for, but people will forget because new people and players come in and out all the time. But to have that for yourself is huge for me.
Well, we were also proud of you back in Australia. So, you’ve been unfortunately injured since the start of this year and had to pull out of the Australian Open. How are you going to approach getting back on the court? What is the next tournament that you’ll be playing at? I don’t know if you can say that. But what have you got to prove coming back? Because we’re I think all eyes are on you.
Ajla Tomljanović: It’s a little hard to say exactly which tournament, I definitely don’t plan on missing any more majors, that’s for sure. But I’ve been surprised when I’m when I’m injured I usually stay away from the tennis and I don’t watch it on TV. But I’ve had it on a lot in my house and I catch myself really enjoying to watch the tennis and being like, oh my gosh, I can work on this. I can get better at this.
There’s an eagerness to get back and I love to compare it to other times in my career when I was injured and there was maybe more fear or just not as much excitement to come back. I love that feeling that I’m just kind of counting down the days and just thinking about what can I improve on that maybe I wouldn’t have had the chance if I didn’t have a couple of months off to just really think about my weaknesses. But I don’t have anything to prove. Because that’s just you know, that’s just silly. But I think that there’s my best tennis still ahead of me, which is really exciting because I’ve played some good tennis last year. But the fact that I think I can do more is what keeps me really motivated to come back stronger.
I’m constantly learning more about myself and trying to get better.
Yeah, amazing. So take us back to when you were a little girl and you had dreams of being a tennis star. What do you think that little girl would think of you now looking at your career so far?
Ajla Tomljanović: I should think about this more often because I think she’d be super happy. My dream was basically to just live the life I’m living and as a kid for me it was to compete in Wimbledon because I always remember watching the grass and every final was always on TV. But it’s more than that to me, the fact that I’m living my dream and people call this work, it definitely doesn’t feel like it. And the older I’m getting, the more I’m realizing how precious it is because there’s an expiration date to this career. And I think she would just be thrilled that I’m constantly learning more about myself and trying to get better.
Beautiful. Well you should be super proud of yourself. You’re an incredible person and such an inspiration to so many people.
Stay tuned for part two of our interview with Cocobella Ambassador, Ajla Tomljanović, where we chat all things food and nutrition.
Our Cocobella Ambassador Ajla Tomljanović graces the cover of issue 11, T Australia, The New York Times Style Magazine
