一支球拍用3年！ 教練透露謝淑薇的特殊之處
2021/02/15 11:15
謝淑薇。（資料照，歐新社）
〔體育中心／綜合報導〕台灣一姊謝淑薇昨勇闖2021年澳洲網球公開賽女單8強，寫下我
國女將在大滿貫的最佳戰績。謝淑薇的外籍教練保羅（Paul McNamee）透露，她打球非常
精準，並提到小薇曾經使用同一支球拍有3年的時間。
「WTA官網」報導，保羅接受訪問時說，有一天在英國義本（Eastbourne）的比賽，謝淑
薇連續兩次擊球出界，差了約3英呎，她當時一直錯失擊球，「那不是淑薇，她通常只會
差幾毫米。」
保羅當時注意到謝淑薇的球拍線斷了，「她已經有3年沒有斷線了，你告訴我有哪一名球
員使用同一支球拍三年，而不換球拍。」保羅提到，「球員們會隨著比賽用球來換球拍，
對吧？她用同一支球拍打好幾年了。」
「她不清楚球拍斷線的感覺是什麼，所以她不知道球拍線斷了。原因之一是她純粹是在球
拍的中心點擊球。」保羅說道。
謝淑薇在澳網闖進女單8強後，以35歲之姿，成為網壇進入公開化年代以來，以最老之姿
首次嚐到大滿貫賽8強的選手。保羅指出，「我一直相信她至少能打進大滿貫賽8強或準決
賽，這就是我的感覺，而她現在做到了。」
https://sports.ltn.com.tw/news/breakingnews/3439917
2021 Australian Open 13 hrs ago
'There's only one Su-Wei': McNamee on unleashing Hsieh's free spirit
Hsieh Su-Wei's coach Paul McNamee sheds light on her whimsical approach to lif
e and tennis and how he's is able to get the best out of one of the most unpre
dictable personalities on tour.
By Courtney Nguyen - WTA Insider
Tennis players are creatures of habit and control. Whether it's specific pre-m
atch routines, using the same shower stall after every match, or changing racq
uets every time a fresh can of balls is used, elite athletes want - nay, need
- things to be exactly how they want them.
And then there's Hsieh Su-Wei, who does not even notice if she's playing with
a broken string.
"She's so precise the way she plays," Hsieh's long-time coach Paul McNamee tol
d reporters in Melbourne, where Hsieh advanced to her first major quarterfinal
by defeating Marketa Vondrousova 6-4, 6-2 in the Round of 16 at the Australia
n Open. "No one can redirect traffic as well as she can on both sides. Doesn't
matter which way it's coming from, she can redirect it either way.
"Players change racquets on the change of balls, right? She'll go years with t
he same racquet."
"She was playing a match in Eastbourne one day. She missed two balls in a row
by three meters. Change ends, keeps going. She's missing balls by so far. That
's not Su-Wei. She misses by millimeters normally.
"I noticed she was playing with broken strings in her racquet, literally playi
ng with broken strings. She hadn't broken a string for three years. You tell m
e a player that uses the same racquet for three years and doesn't change the r
acquet.
"We had a bit of trauma before this tournament because she had to get a restri
ng before the tournament. That's once a year. Players change racquets on the c
hange of balls, right? She'll go years with the same racquet.
"She didn't know what it was like to play with a broken string, so she didn't
know it was broken. One of the reasons is she hits the ball so purely in the c
enter of the racquet. Most people break strings when they hit it around the fr
ame.
"She doesn't frame balls. I mean, she would rather not play if she did that."
With wins over Tsvetana Pironkova, Bianca Andreescu, Sara Errani, and Marketa
Vondrousova, Hsieh became the oldest woman in the Open Era to make a first maj
or quarterfinal. It's a remarkable achievement for a Hsieh, who already sits a
t World No.1 on the doubles circuit.
"To think she's 35 years of age, in her first Grand Slam quarterfinal," McName
e said. "She's been in the Round of 16 a few times, won three WTA singles titl
es."
"I always believed she had a Grand Slam quarter at least in her, quarter or a
semis. That's what I felt like. She's achieved that now. She ticked that box."
McNamee knows something special when he sees it. The former ATP player and exp
erienced coach and tennis administrator knew Hsieh Su-Wei was a special talent
, even when she was ranked outside the Top 300 and struggling to build a consi
stent career on the WTA Tour.
"Like most people, I enjoyed watching her play," McNamee said. "I felt like th
at she had the potential to have the best finishing volleys in the world. In t
he end, she was able to achieve that. It's borne out by [the fact] she's the c
urrent No. 1 ranked player in doubles.
"I said to her, I think you got the best finishing volleys in the world. She l
ooked at me like I could have had two heads. She was very humble, very far rem
oved from that. She was ranked over 300 in singles, 40 something in doubles."
The talent was obvious ever since Hsieh made her professional debut at 16-year
s-old in 2001. Playing on the ITF Circuit, Hsieh won her first 37 matches and
winning five consecutive titles as a qualifier.
Hsieh's road to the WTA Tour was a circuitous one. Coached by her father growi
ng up, Hsieh stopped playing tennis for nearly a year before moving to Japan f
or three years to give herself more structure and support to pursue her tennis
career.
But it wasn't until Hsieh linked up with McNamee that her career took off. Hsi
eh credits the Aussie for teaching her the ropes of the tour and opening her u
p to the cosmopolitan delights of living as a permanent traveler.
"Before I worked with him, I have a lot of time alone, so I don't have much in
formation from other people," Hsieh said. "So I have no idea where is my game.
That's why it is not easy to improve or to find a way out.
"Sometimes I go to the tournament, I have no one to warm up [with]. I'm more w
orried about how you going to survive today for the match, I hope I don't play
really bad on the court because I couldn't warm up."
"She's a free spirit. You don't want to box that spirit. You got to let it ris
e and be free. That's the important thing. It's important that she's allowed t
o express herself. That's the same with her tennis."
For McNamee, the key to helping Hsieh was to simply let Su-Wei be Su-Wei, and
be there when the opportunity arose to offer any advice and support.
"She's a free spirit," McNamee said. "You don't want to box that spirit. You g
ot to let it rise and be free. That's the important thing."
"It's important that she's allowed to express herself. That's the same with he
r tennis. It kind of reflects the way she is off the court. She kind of acts o
n a whim sometimes, doesn't like to plan too far ahead.
"Even finding out if I'm going to be helping her or coaching her, I normally o
nly find out a week or two before," he said, laughing.
"There's only one Su-Wei. There are times when she's kind of focused and other
times when she really is not motivated at all to practice. I've experienced i
t where she'll just go and hit one or two balls, didn't hit them well, that's
it, she won't play anymore that day. Wasn't feeling it.
"The hard thing for me was I was kind of super professional. I worked hard. I
would warm down with a file-mile run, that was the warm-down. She'd never been
on a run."
McNamee credits Hsieh's boyfriend Frederic Aniere, who has stepped in on coach
ing duties over the last few years, for helping Hsieh continue to reach new he
ights.
"It's nice of her to give me some credit, but really Fred has been the one tha
t's helped her actually be more professional, if I can say that," McNamee said
.
"They live together in Paris. She likes Paris. Fred has been an amazing influe
nce on Su-Wei the last few years. It's a team effort absolutely."