Angelique Kerber - "Without defeat there is no success"
It was a season of highs and lows for Angelique Kerber . First the difficult start with the quarantine before the Australian Open, then the victory in Bad Homburg and the return to the top 10 in the world rankings. In the current episode of "911 - The Porsche Podcast", the Porsche brand ambassador talks about motivation and leadership, her anticipation for the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and how important it is to keep setting new goals.
by PM
last edit:
Dec 17, 2021, 01:09 pm
“During my vacation, I was able to unwind and look back over the difficult season. I am very satisfied with what I have achieved in 2021 and that patience and hard work have paid off for me. ”Angelique Kerber looked in a good mood and visibly relaxed when she went to the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart to talk to Dr. Sebastian Rudolph, Head of Public Relations, Press, Sustainability and Politics at Porsche AG, was connected. Looking back, she leaves no doubt that the Porsche-supported WTA tournament in Bad Homburg was the turning point for her after the unfortunate start to the season. “Holding the trophy in my hands as the winner after the final was one of those moments that I work so hard for,” she says. “Everything went well at this tournament. I was able to play on my beloved lawn, and there were finally fans in the stadium again to whom I could show: I'm still there, I can still win. "
# IMG2 #
"You cannot have success without defeat"
She then played well at Wimbledon and at the US Open. She has already won these Grand Slam tournaments in her career, as has the Australian Open. But the successes that Germany's best tennis player had in recent years did not come overnight, as she says: “To be successful, you have to work hard, you need a lot of discipline and patience, but also passion and fun. After defeats you have to get up again and continue on your way, because without these defeats you cannot have success. "
It was not always easy for her to deal with people's expectations, especially not after her super year 2016, in which she catapulted herself to the top of the world rankings. But she fought her way out of the deep into which she had fallen afterwards and fulfilled her big tennis dream in 2018 with the victory at Wimbledon. It is always easier to get up than to stay up, she says. Ultimately, it is important to keep going, setting new goals and constantly re-motivating yourself: “It was a long and very exciting journey. I didn't win Wimbledon in two weeks. It took me 12, 13 years to get this title. But he made me who I am now. "
"The most important thing is to do your job with passion and heart and soul"
Angelique Kerber is a lone fighter on the tennis court. Nevertheless, she never plays for herself, but always for her team. She attaches great importance to this. “A leader always needs a strong team that he can rely on, in sport as well as in a company,” she says. Sometimes, however, you need new accents, a change, new challenges. The decisions that she has to make in this role are sometimes very difficult. She accepts this responsibility because she is convinced that she will benefit from it in the end: "The self-confidence with which I go on the pitch is what my team gives me." What defines good leadership? That took a lot of things, she says, qualities like discipline, patience and motivation. But also respect and communication. "The most important thing is that you do your job with passion and heart and soul, that you set goals with your team and do everything to achieve them together."
Angelique Kerber recently saw herself in the leading role in the final of the Billie Jean King Cup. In addition to veterans from the Porsche Team Germany, hopeful young players from the Porsche Talent Team also played at the showdown of the best women's tennis nations in Prague. The number 1 not only led the way on the pitch, but was there for her new teammates throughout the week of the finals. “I really enjoy passing on my experiences to young players and accompanying them on their way,” she says. “That's what I often wished for in my early years. Then I might not have made one or two mistakes. "She can well imagine supporting young players as a mentor in the future:" That is definitely a role that I will see for myself at some point. "
"The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is a very special tournament"
In the meantime she has started preparing for the new season and is working with her team focused on the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. When she talks about 2022, she automatically comes up with the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, one of her all-time favorite stops on the WTA Tour. “This tournament is very important to me,” she says. “My first win in the final against Caroline Wozniacki, the fantastic audience, the great atmosphere in the Porsche Arena - that will always be one of the highlights of my career. Somehow everything started there for me. ”She successfully defended the title she won in 2015 the following year. But it is not just the memory of these successes that makes them rave. “The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is a very special tournament,” she says. “The players love to come to Stuttgart. You just feel good there. I too look forward to returning to the Porsche Arena every year. "