[Feb 27, 2023] Today I am returning home after competing for two weeks in UTR tournaments. I played two semi-finals on hard courts. These were my first two consecutive tournaments on this surface after the meniscus surgery in December 2020. My body feels very well after 10 matches, it reacted quite well, without too much pain, and from this point of view I am satisfied and proud of the work I did in practice and in the gym. I have a very good trainer and we both learned how to work with my body and how it reacts better.

If you ask me, physical strength is the most important for an athlete. Without it, mental strength breaks down.

When you play the final set and your physical strength is much lower than in the first set of the match and than that of your opponent, mental strength drops as well. Physical strength is necessary to build mental strength, because you know that you can rely on, and have confidence in your body.

During the last week of these two tournaments I seized the opportunity to assist as a spectator to the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai. I had never had the opportunity to see so many top players in one place and to see matches of that level, although over time I have trained with Monica, Sorana, Simona or Irina and felt their game.
I saw Iga Swiatek playing live (versus Liudmila Samsonova) for the first time after watching her so many times on TV. Now I can say that she is the best example of strong physic, consistency, mental, all combined with a very good concentration, proper tactics, but also optimal field vision. Through the endurance she has and the consistency given by the perfect positioning, she manages to make the difference.

Would Swiatek still have been #1 without such a strong psychic?

And now I come to a popular question: does a player need a mental coach or psychologist?

There are different cases on the circuit, Swiatek travels with a mental coach, but Sabalenka just has given up on him, because she found her answers on her own, prove for that: she just won her first Grand Slam tournament.  

I developed my mental aspects a lot by reading books about tennis, the psychology of tennis, or other sports, I strengthened myself physically and mentally by going to crossfit classes combined with physical and tennis practice and strict nutrition.

All this was happening in 2019 when I became the ITF number 1, with four W15 tournament titles and three other finals that year; managing all this without a mental coach.

But then there was an injury followed by surgery at the end of 2020, which I admit I didn’t know how to manage mentally and maybe neither did my team.
I should have taken more care of my body, focus much more on recovery, introduce muscle strengthening exercises, start cycling, not running. In short: patience and attention, a totally different approach compared to the months before.

A 180-degree change. And at the same time, I had to step up to bigger tournaments.

Without a fully recovered physique and with an additional pressure placed by the previous results, I started the 2021 season. But I was lucky with Dr. Mogoș who treated me and with Mrs. Lupu who took care of my recovery. I believe that I should have used the help of a psychologist at that time because I didn’t know how to manage those moments. 

So, there are different moments in every player’s career. But everyone has a duty to develop, and the juniors must be guided by a team that knows them very well.