E67 | Marina Erakovic

Episode summary | Marina Erakovic

Marina Erakovic was New Zealand's no. 1 women's tennis player from the age of 15 and spent over a decade inside the world’s top 100 rankings.

Arriving in New Zealand from the former Yugoslavia as a six-year-old who didn’t speak English, she quickly rose to prominence and reached no5 on the junior world tour rubbing shoulders with the likes of Novak Djokovic, and Caroline Wozniaki.

Erakovic's achievements were probably underrated in this country as she was the lone flag bearer on the WTA tour for so long. She played more than 600 main draw singles matches, competed in 36 Grand Slams, reached a career-high 39 in the world in 2012, and won 9 WTA titles and 18 ITF titles. She also represented New Zealand at two Olympic Games.

Off the court, she was one of the eight elected player representatives on the WTA Player Council for four years. A passionate musician, she has also released two EPs under the pseudonym The Mad Era and is now working in the corporate world and on the board of Tennis NZ.

Show notes | Marina Erakovic

1.51 Has Marina picked up a racquet to play a game of tennis since retirement?

5.35 What is Marina up to now? The post-tennis journey: further education, medical school, or working in the real world at PwC!

9.24 How Seamus and Steve know Marina and a summary from Will Ward

11.58 The Mad Era: the musical journey of Marina Erakovic

19.25 Instagram v reality and one of the most detailed Wikipedia page’s ever

25.24 A stint as a field reporter on the Crowd Goes Wild and making Andrew Mulligan eat his own words

28.05 Moving to New Zealand as a six-year-old who didn’t speak English

35.04 The rise to no1 tennis player in New Zealand by the age of 15

46.01 Who were Marina’s contemporaries on the world junior tour and the process to becoming a pro?

50.01 Painting a picture of the cost of a professional career: financial and personal

57.41 Marina takes us behind the scenes of life on the tour: meditation, problem solving, and concerts

1.03.11 Mixing with the big names on tour and becoming a player representative on the WTA

1.07.33 Tennis in New Zealand: The Williams sisters come to Auckland, the battle with High Performance Sport NZ, and Marina’s Olympic experience

1.17.19 Advice for upcoming tennis players and Tennis NZ

1.20.24 The physical toll a career on the tennis circuit has taken on Marina

1.26.21 What triggered the return to tennis?

1.28.48 Serving up some topical tennis questions: Novak Djokovic, Peng Shuai, Naomi Osaka

1.35.58 Doubles chat

1.38.28 The transition to normal life from the tennis tour

1.42.18 Last words from Steven, Seamus and Marina