We start our journey with a dream, the dream of being among the best in the world at what we do. If you ask 8-year-old children what their dream or goal is in tennis, they will answer that they want to be among the top 10 players in the world or even world number 1 or they want “to be like Simona Halep“.

But what if they fail to make the top 100? Is it considered a failure by others? Or even by themselves?

I started my own journey in tennis with the dream of playing in a Grand Slam tournament and being top 100 at the age of 20.

I received an interesting question from a young player at an event organized by coaches Dragoş Enache and Cătălin Dinescu, where I spoke in front of the children about my experience on the tour, and this question sounded like this:

Did you start tennis as a hobby or as a job?

Interesting question, coming from a young girl who wants to play tennis at a professional level.

When I started tennis, I never thought that it would become my job or that I would treat it as such. I was only thinking that I would end up in the WTA circuit and spend at least 5 years of my career there, following my passion, which would lead me to the much-desired goal.

I started promisingly with the first title at the age of 18, but the follow-up was different from what I had imagined. Then I thought that if I reach 25 years old without having reached my goals, I will not continue.
This is probably the thinking many players have at that age. I remember I was in America in 2019 and I went out to dinner, where Ann Li was also (her best ranking was 44 WTA, a promising and talented player), and she was wondering:

Why do they play at 25 if they’re not in the top 100?

That’s what I was thinking too, back then:

Why is she still playing at 26 years old if she’s ranked 400 WTA?

I was lucky to have a person who made me see tennis differently, to see it as a job. To become a professional, to earn my money from the tournaments I play, from the team matches I participate in.

And I ended up in this situation that I now see from a different perspective.

Why am I still playing tennis ?

I’m still playing because it has become my job. I play, at the same time, out of passion. I play because I still have goals to achieve. I’m still playing because I still have time to do so. I’m still playing for the adrenaline I feel on the court, for the feeling during practice after successful shots, for the feeling I get after winning a match, for the challenges raised by losing a match, for the challenges during a trip, for the people I get to know all the time. And I will continue to play as long as I am healthy and have results.

Some consider us “lost souls” on the circuit.
But I think we are “strong souls“. Souls who relentlessly pursue their dream and who take it week after week and manage to find solutions in any difficult moment, and that makes us winners.