The date 19 February 1962 is tattooed on her stomach. The day her mother Hana Mandlíková was born. “I look up to her and try hard to make her proud of me,” says the daughter of the Czechoslovak tennis legend, who is starting to assert herself on the biggest tennis scene.
Elizabeth Mandliková is heading to the top of tennis. On Monday, the 21-year-old tennis player representing the United States of America finally achieved an important career milestone.
She qualified in San Jose and defeated experienced compatriot, world number 33 Alison Riske-Amritraj in the first round. She recorded her very first win on the WTA circuit.
He is once again one step closer to his long-term daring dreams: to win Grand Slams and be world number one.
The path is not simple and artful. A famous name, which tennis fans often don’t associate with Hana Mandlíková due to the unbiased American version, can understandably not do anything by itself.
Thanks to her success in California, Mandliková will have her first look at the elite 200. That’s for sure. The biggest tournaments will already be within reach, as well as the possibility of further, faster progress towards the heights.
The player, whom they call Eli for short, understands Czech very well, speaking is worse. In interviews, he admits that at home in Florida, the family speaks only English. A family with extra strong tennis DNA. Elizabeth’s twin brother, Mark, is also a tennis player, though not as successful yet. The ATP currently does not even list him in the world rankings.
However, four-time Grand Slam champion Hana Mandlíková is, at least for her daughter, the main tennis role model.
“I’ve been a tennis fan my whole life and the list of people who have influenced me is very long. But I definitely look up to my mom the most. She’s my biggest supporter and fan, she’s a Hall of Famer and she’s done so much. So I want to work hard to she was proud of me,” the young tennis player recently told Digitaljournal.com.
Mandlíková, now sixty years old, shone in the eighties. In 1980, she won the Australian Open, the following season she added a triumph at Roland Garros. She held the US Open trophy in her hands in 1985 and celebrated in Melbourne for the second time in 1987. She also reached two Wimbledon finals and was ranked the highest in the world at number three.
She ended her great career already in 1990 at the age of only twenty-eight, she already had Australian citizenship. She also lived with Jana Novotna in Antwerp, Belgium, and finally anchored in a pure tennis environment in Florida. It was there, specifically in Boca Raton, that she gave birth to twins in 2001.
He experiences his children’s matches a lot. “Sometimes I can’t watch it,” she described years ago.
Regarding the fact that her children are already representing the USA, she commented in 2017: “If you look at it worldwide, it basically doesn’t matter. They were born in America. If they were born in the Czech Republic, they play for them. I’m still a patriot and I won’t let you go to the Czechia. But when you travel all year round, you have a global perspective.”
He must be very happy with Elizabeth now. The daughter shone already at the beginning of the year, when she won two ITF tournaments in Brazil. Now she confirmed her form in San Jose, where she will play her biggest duel to date in the second round.
In it, she will challenge the big favorite, world number four Paula Badosa from Spain.
“My performance goals for the future include participation in all Grand Slams, then Grand Slam titles and becoming world number one,” she reminded in May of this year that her childhood dreams did not leave her even after reaching American adulthood.
“In terms of short-term goals, I just want to keep improving my tennis and my mind step by step. The most important thing for me is to keep the same intensity and inner passion for this sport,” she said.
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