In addition to being equipped with a huge serve and powerful groundstrokes, World No.3 Karolina Pliskova is also known for her lack of emotion on the tennis court.

The Czech, who currently has 16 WTA titles to her name, spoke about her mental state and conduct during matches. Frequently tagged as an "ice queen", the former World No.1 revealed that she does get nervous during matches.

“Of course I get nervous, scared. Annoyed a lot,” she said in an interview on the Roland Garros daily show. “It’s strange because when I was young, let’s say 10 or 12, I broke so many racquets. My parents were like: ‘So when we buy racquets, don’t break them because it’s kind of expensive!’

“I was like: ‘OK, but once I buy them for myself or once I get it, I can break them!’

Pliskova stated that she stopped this behavior once she began playing in tournaments on the juniors circuit. She cited her main reason for doing so was the need to stay calm and not lose focus.

“It’s not that I don’t want to have emotions, I have so many emotions." Pliskova revealed. "People when they see me on TV they are like: ‘Come on, you’re completely frozen.’ Like an ice queen, they call me. Then they see me in real life and I’m laughing all the time and telling jokes, they’re like: ‘No, it’s not you, it’s not possible.’

“It’s me, but it’s my focus. It helps me not to panic and to stay calm. It’s not in my personality to tell some jokes on court – I would completely lose my focus and my game would go away completely, so that’s why I’m like this.”

On her mindset during the coronavirus pandemic

“So far, so good. It’s starting to be a little bit too long, but I guess that’s the same for everyone,” Pliskova, who will take advantage of the unexpected break by running a coaching camp for kids, said.

“I’ve had two waves. The first was that I was excited to be at home, I was enjoying being at home, seeing my parents, and I was just doing my stuff at home, organizing my closet, normal things we never have time for. And then I started to get a bit bored and I still tried to practice, to exercise or to play tennis every day for one or two hours.

“It’s been a few months; I think I’m doing OK. I’ve started to do some other sports so I don’t get crazy from just going to the gym and playing tennis.

“It’s difficult for everyone, but you can find some positives from this situation. I’m seeing my parents like never before and my friends once per week. I’m like OK, this is the best time! I miss tournaments, I miss travelling. Hopefully everything will be better soon.”

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