"All of the scenarios of what players' lives are like on the tour, and what people who work with them lives are like on the tour, I tried to make as real as possible."
This week brings author Sally Bradfield to the show to talk with co-hosts Nina Pantic and Irina Falconi. Bradfield published a tennis-centric fiction called Not Quite 30-Love in January.
Starting in 1996, Bradfield spent two decades working in tennis, first touring the globe alongside the pros as a WTA communications manager and later becoming an ATP brand manager. Her book started off as a memoir of her experiences at the WTA, but turned into the fictional tale of a protagonist based on herself called Katie Cook.
Cook joins the WTA tour as a 28-year-old and has to deal with the ins and outs of the stressful job, the relentless travel, her colleagues (including her biggest opponent Brenda), and an unexpected love interest (a very attractive ATP player).
Bradfield reveals who the characters are based on in real life, how she came up with the scandals, and what the book-writing process was like. Based on her WTA experience, she shares what it was like juggling journalists and players every day, which players left an impact on her (Maria Sharapova, Martina Hingis and Dinara Safina, to name a few) and how she had to put aside any traces of fandom to do her work properly.
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