Andrea Petkovic: I would never trash a player for playing bad

• Tennis News
• WTA Tennis

Former world No 9 Andrea Petkovic says she has never been the type that would trash a player for playing badly. Petkovic, 35, retired from pro tennis after the 2022 US Open and 16 seasons on the pro level. Now, Petkovic is making a transition to the commentary booth.

"I would never trash a player for playing bad, I would always try and explain why things are happening. And mostly it's because your opponent is doing something really well in a way that makes you play worse," Petkovic said on Tennis Channel's Inside-In podcast, per tennis.com.

Petkovic has always been a fan of the game

Some tennis players don't like to watch tennis matches in their free time as they prefer to focus on something non-tennis related. But when Petkovic was injured, she loved spending her time watching matches.

Petkovic - who battled several serious injuries throughout her career - now admits she was always motivated by hearing what doubters had to say. "I don't know how the other players are, but I love watching tennis. I always kept watching when I was injured.

I was always somebody that was fueled by revenge, I will call it. It's not the right word, but it fueled me when people said, 'oh she's done for. She's been injured so much, she's never going to come back.' That kind of fueled me to show them," Petkovic recalled.

Last summer, Petkovic decided the US Open would be the final tournament of her career. But before Petkovic announced her decision, Serena Williams revealed she would be ending her career at the US Open. "I wake up the next day, I turn on my phone, and I have 100 direct messages: Serena Williams retiring at the US Open. And I was like, now it doesn't matter. Nobody will care about poor little Andrea at the US Open!" Petkovic revealed.