Shvedova: Was happy to guide Kazakhstan's young players in Junior Billie Jean King Cup

Kazakhstan’s U-16 girls team handled the hot conditions well but couldn’t “deal with the emotional part,” says captain Yaroslava Shvedova.

Yaroslava Shvedova at an interaction in New Delhi on Thursday. - KAMESH SRINIVASAN

Kazakhstan failed to achieve its target of qualifying for the World Group stage in the Junior Billie Jean King Cup, but Yaroslava Shvedova, the captain of the team, was happy to guide the U-16 girls.

“Australia played better. Our girls handled the hot conditions well, but were not able to deal with the emotional part,” the two-time Grand Slam champion and former World No. 3 doubles star said.

Shvedova will return home to captain the Kazakhstan women’s team for the playoff against Germany.

“I’m very happy to support and guide the young players, as I felt that I can contribute with my experience. I did an ITF coaches course before this event to understand the role better,” Shvedova said.

Legends Doubles

Shvedova, whose twin children go to school, said she was happy to support the projects of the Kazakh Tennis Federation as much as she could. She was also excited about being invited by Wimbledon for the ‘Legends doubles’, and looked forward to returning to court with her friend and most successful partner, Vania King.

ALSO READ - Mouratoglou to coach Simona Halep full time

“Initially I was reluctant, as I had retired only recently after the quarterfinals of mixed doubles at the US Open. It was too soon to be joining the legends. Once Vania said that she was going, I agreed. I train nowadays and want to get back in shape,” she said.

Quite delighted to have partnered Sania Mirza to win the title in Washington, Shvedova was all praise for the Indian ace. She recalled her victory over Sania en route to her WTA singles title in Hyderabad in 2007, and the manner in which Sania beat her a few months later at Wimbledon, dropping only three games.

Famous for her golden set against French Open finalist Sara Errani in the third round of Wimbledon, Shvedova recalled that there were no errors from the Italian, and that she herself was firing away, winning all the 24 points in the set. “There is a short version and a long version of the golden set on YouTube,” she noted with pride.

When asked what advice she had for the young girls who aspire to make it big in tennis, Shvedova said that players should first have “belief” in themselves and “enjoy the game,” not worrying about the results.