Julia Görges - "I have no outstanding bills"
With Julia Görges , the first woman from the golden generation of the German Tennis Association has said goodbye.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Oct 22, 2020, 10:58 am
When the tennis circus also came to a standstill in spring, Julia Görges had a slightly confusing experience. At first she lacked the usual competitive pressure, the tension at work, the energy of professional athletic life. “The shutdown was funny,” says Görges. “At first I slept badly because the usual rhythm wasn't there.” But soon everything changed for her. Görges enjoyed being in one place, waking up in the morning in his own bed, not having to think about the next tournament or the next trip. The deceleration was almost magical: “Suddenly I had so much time ahead of me. Time for me, ”says Görges,“ it was wonderful to spend the whole summer at home. ”It was something“ that I never had as an adult.
Görges never got out of the state of slight alienation from her job and its side effects, such as the restless traveling around - and whoever listened to her more closely in late autumn during a long conversation in her adopted home Regensburg could not be entirely surprised that she was has now decided to say goodbye to tennis. Her parting words sounded emotional, after all, she had unconditionally subordinated herself to the dictates of a professional career for two decades. At the same time, however, it was a typical Julia Görges decision: self-confident, autonomous, rational.
Görges no longer found the necessary dedication
Görges looked soberly at the situation, she knew that she could not and would no longer muster the necessary dedication. And she also knew this: the prospect of top tennis would not please her, the looming ghost tournaments in the next twelve to eighteen months. She hadn't even gone to the US Open recently, and also for the French Open, her very last tournament, in which she lost her very last match to Laura Siegemund, this was true: “All these restrictions, this being locked in a bubble, there I don't enjoy it. "
Corona, this all-determining and overlapping pandemic, could not only act as an accelerator of career considerations for Görges. All you have to do is look at the golden German generation that shaped German tennis over the past decade and, in the form of Angelique Kerber, even created new Grand Slam dream moments. Görges has now left the treadmill of the tour, and you don't need to be a prophet to see further thoughts of withdrawal and withdrawal messages on the horizon. Andrea Petkovic would probably have stopped after this season, she now wants to hang on for another year. But who knows whether the book author and part-time journalist will really find some leisure time in the tour life and, quite tangibly, enough opportunities to start the tournament. 2020 was also a lost year for Kerber, the front woman. In the end she seemed rather lost in the action on the big stage, the prospect of further complexities in the foreseeable future certainly cannot make her happier. If you add Anna-Lena Grönefeld and Sabine Lisicki to this successful group of players, the great void is soon possible - a German women's tennis without too much relevance.
A bang in Stuttgart 2011
From now on, Görges will look at it all from the sidelines. She probably smiled at the headlines that spoke of a “hammer” or even “shock”. In the end, it was nothing more than a consistent step for her, reminding her a little of what she had said about changing locations or moving: “I'm a passerby everywhere. I enjoy a place, and then at some point I get a signal, and then I know: So it's good here now. ”Now it was good with tennis, also because she had gained a“ very important experience ”in the months of alternative pursuits : "I know that after tennis I'll be fine too."
Almost ten years ago Görges ended the long sadness in German women's tennis with a bang when she held up the trophy at the top 2011 Stuttgart tournament. In the final she defeated the world number one Caroline Wozniacki. “It was crazy, because at the beginning of the week I said to my mother: We'll drive away the Porsche after the finale.” The sports car that the winner traditionally receives alongside the prize money. After the final, her mother came up to her and said: “What were you doing there?” She was then traded as a Grand Slam winner, a potential number one. But she often failed to strike the difficult balance between aggressive and controlled play. Late in her career, she experienced another remarkable upswing, with the 2018 Wimbledon semi-finals advancing into the top ten. “I have no bills open. I'm anything but dissatisfied with what I've achieved, ”says Görges.
Absurd trip to Indian Wells
In Regensburg, Görges had quickly lost sight of the big tennis stages in recent months. She also gave up five times, took care of the beautification of her own home, and became a regular at DIY stores and garden centers. “I love to design and decorate myself,” she says, “there was enough to do, and I was very, very happy to do it.” She even upgraded her own fitness room. However, she no longer needs it to prepare for further tournament engagements. Just so as not to rust yourself.
In March Görges had traveled to Indian Wells for 24 hours to start the “fifth Grand Slam” in the California desert. Then the tournament was canceled, Görges flew back 24 hours. “It wasn’t the first time to sink into consciousness. I thought the whole thing was a joke, "says Görges," and I also thought: normality will come back. "But nothing became normal anymore, until today. The old life gave way to a new, different life. And in this new life there is no longer a professional player named Julia Görges.