Gabriela Sabatini has said that when she was young, she used to lose games intentionally because she didn’t want to have a chat with the reporters. According to the former Argentinean superstar, she was an introvert girl and she used to feel nervous while talking to the press.
Talking to the correspondent of a newspaper recently, Sabatini said, “At the start of my career, I used to suffer defeats intentionally because I knew if I won, I would have to talk to the press. So, in order to avoid that, I used to lose matches.”
“I was a shy girl and I used to have problems in my schooling days too. I couldn’t talk to people with confidence. I used to get nervous.”
“I was not lacking competitiveness though and that’s why whenever I lost a match intentionally, I got disappointed.”
Sabatini had caught everyone’s eyes when she had first burst onto the scene in the mid eighties. She was seen as a hugely talented young player and was expected to achieve huge amount of success. But, she couldn’t quite live up to the expectations. She managed to win just one Grand Slam singles title in her career. Also, she didn’t become the no. 1 player in the world ever. The highest position that she managed to achieve in the WTA rankings was no. 3.
When asked about the reason behind her not becoming the no. 1 player in the world ever, Sabatini said, “I think my huge popularity was one of the reasons behind it. Having a low profile helps you to focus on your game much better. But, when you become as famous as I had become, it gets a bit tough.”
Sabatini retired from professional tennis 17 years back in 1996.