Injury threatens to derail Daniela Hantuchova’s season before it has even started.
It is enough to consume any player’s attention a day out from their season opener and can make little else matter in an endeavour entirely focused on the individual.
But not for the popular Slovak.
A former world No.5 and one of only five women to have claimed the mixed doubles title at each of the four Grand Slams, Hantuchova returned to Brisbane this week for the third-straight year to prepare for the Australian Open – her most successful major to date.
An early-morning MRI scan has put her behind schedule and her body language is enough to suggest the achilles tendon tear will likely force her withdrawal from the tournament.
She is not about to pass up her next appointment though, at Brisbane’s Mater Children’s Hospital.
Casting her injury woes aside, Hantuchova perches up on the bed next to one of the young patients, Saskia, where the two team up for a game of Pictionary. A duo from the Starlight Foundation leaves them stumped with an obscure drawing of the Lion King.
“I’m really bad at this,” Hantuchova laughs.
Content to mingle with the children, sign autographs and pose for photographs, Hantuchova’s minder asks while walking between wards whether she needs to be anywhere soon.
“No, it’s completely fine, it can wait,” she says. “This is far more important.”
While visiting hospital patients is nothing new to some of the game’s elite, helping sick children is a cause that has become particularly close to Hantuchova’s heart, having established House of the Smile in Cambodia.
“It is the biggest part of my foundation where I’ve got a house for kids – around 40 or 50 – who have the HIV virus and we’re treating them and supporting doctors by helping provide medications every year,” she said.
“It’s something I’d like to do more and I’m looking forward to helping out this year as much as I can.”
Having finished in the top 30 for eight of the past nine years and a mainstay in the top 20 for four of those, Hantuchova would relish the chance to emulate her semi-final appearance at the Australian Open three years ago.
Offcourt, the 27-year-old is no stranger to the camera lens. She is one of the game’s most photographed players of the past decade having featured in shoots for Sports Illustrated and Italian Vogue. Her latest glamour shoot though, is for a more noble cause.
“I just finished a calendar and everything from that will go to the hospital I support in Cambodia,” she said. “I spent a couple of days shooting it in Hungary at a castle my brother has turned into a four-star hotel.
“Hopefully if we can raise more money it will help improve their health and education.”
Having qualified for one of Slovakia’s best universities after school, Hantuchova realises the importance of education – her dad is a computer scientist and her mother a toxicologist, while her older brother is an architect.
She is adamant it will play a role in her life after tennis.
“I’m the only one in my family that doesn’t have a university degree,” she said.
“Hospital visits like this help put things in perspective. I definitely have plans to go on to study.”
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INJURY threatens to derail Daniela Hantuchova’s season before it has even started.
It is enough to consume any player’s attention a day out from their season opener and can make little else matter in an endeavour entirely focused on the individual.
But not for the popular Slovak.
A former world No.5 and one of only five women to have claimed the mixed doubles title at each of the four grand slams, Hantuchova returned to Brisbane this week for the third straight year to prepare for the Australian Open – her most successful major to date.
An early-morning MRI scan has put her behind schedule and her body language is enough to suggest the achilles tendon tear will likely force her withdrawal from the tournament.
She is not about to pass up her next appointment though, at Brisbane’s Mater Children’s Hospital.
Casting her injury woes aside, Hantuchova perches up on the bed next to one of the young patients, Saskia, where the two team up for a game of Pictionary. A duo from the Starlight Foundation leaves them stumped with an obscure drawing of the Lion King.
“I’m really bad at this,” Hantuchova laughs.
Content to mingle with the children, sign autographs and pose for photographs, Hantuchova’s minder asks while walking between wards whether she needs to be anywhere soon.
“No, it’s completely fine, it can wait,” she says. “This is far more important.”
While visiting hospital patients is nothing new to some of the game’s elite, helping sick children is a cause that has become particularly close to Hantuchova’s heart, having established House of the Smile in Cambodia.
“It is the biggest part of my foundation where I’ve got a house for kids – around 40 or 50 – who have the HIV virus and we’re treating them and supporting doctors by helping provide medications every year,” she said.
“It’s something I’d like to do more and I’m looking forward to helping out this year as much as I can.”
Having finished in the top 30 for eight of the past nine years and a mainstay in the top 20 for four of those, Hantuchova would relish the chance to emulate her semi-final appearance at the Australian Open three years ago.
Offcourt, the 27-year-old is no stranger to the camera lens. She is one of the game’s most photographed players of the past decade having featured in shoots for Sports Illustrated and Italian Vogue. Her latest glamour shoot though, is for a more noble cause.
“I just finished a calendar and everything from that will go to the hospital I support in Cambodia,” she said. “I spent a couple of days shooting it in Hungary at a castle my brother has turned into a four-star hotel.
“Hopefully if we can raise more money it will help improve their health and education.”
Having qualified for one of Slovakia’s best universities after school, Hantuchova realises the importance of education – her dad is a computer scientist and her mother a toxicologist, while her older brother is an architect.
She is adamant it will play a role in her life after tennis.
“I’m the only one in my family that doesn’t have a university degree,” she said.
“Hospital visits like this help put things in perspective. I definitely have plans to go on to study.”