WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN

August 21, 2020

Karolina Pliskova

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. I'm curious, you are the only Top 10 player from Europe to make the trip over to America. So I'm curious, was this an easy decision for you to do this, and are you surprised you're the only one from that group?

KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Maybe I'm surprised a little bit. For me, it was easy decision because I was, since early beginning when we started really thinking about playing some tournaments, I was sure I want to make this trip.

I mean, for me, surprised that the rest of the girls, maybe not all of them -- I know maybe for some it's tough to make it, but I think some of the countries, I think they possibly could make it. But it's a decision on them. So maybe they don't feel that safe. I actually feel quite safe.

I think everybody here is doing great job just to make this, everything possible, this all happen. I feel actually safe. It's not that nothing can happen. Of course it's always, even if I stay home, something can happen.

But I always knew I want to go play tournaments when they start to be happening. So it was quite easy. I was not really thinking about it.

Q. We haven't seen obviously most of the players play any official match in many months. Do you have a sense who is playing well? If you're playing well? In terms of what to expect, who can be the contenders here? Who can win these tournaments?

KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I have no idea, and I think it will be tough to tell. In normal season, it's tough to tell. And especially now, I think there can be so many surprises, so many strange results.

I don't know what the rest of the girls were doing. I know about some of them but not about, I mean, most of the girls. And I know almost nobody -- I mean, somebody played these clay tournaments but almost nobody has some matches in the last couple of months. I was lucky enough I had couple actually in my country, but I guess nothing to compare to play these events.

I mean, let's see. I think it's really tough to say even where my level is, because I'm not sure how I will be playing because I didn't play anything for five months, and I never had this break before. So I was never kind of, like, injured. So let's see.

Q. With a lot of withdrawals in the women's draw in Cincinnati and US Open, how do you see it as a player? The fans from the outside, they say, Oh, half the field is not there, or this or that. But for you personally, do you see much of a difference? Do you think these absences will affect you, increase your chances, have no effect at all?

KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Was the question the people they will not be here?

Q. That are not here. Do you want me to repeat it?

KAROLINA PLISKOVA: No. I mean, really for me, it's tough to say. I'm here three days. I feel quite like -- of course the people around, there is nobody really around except the teams and the coaches.

It's really tough to say if you're going to walk on Arthur Ashe Stadium and play a match there how you're going to feel. It's still a match, so there should not be any difference.

You still want to win, I guess, right? You still want to play matches and still want to play the tennis and the best tennis you can do.

I think the people, of course maybe sometimes the match really goes couple levels up because of the people because they really push you, but in the end here, you just need to push by yourself.

So I think we should just, you know, do our best no matter how strange or different it feels, but I think we should be just happy that we have the opportunity to play these tournaments now and that we finally could leave home. At least I'm happy with that (smiling).

Q. In terms of just the high number of withdrawals in the women's draw, a lot of Top 10 players not there, does that affect you at all? Does it increase your chances, not affect you at all? How do you see it?

KAROLINA PLISKOVA: No, I think right now no matter who is playing, no matter who stayed at home, I think you just always you start from zero. So there can be players who are really practicing five months and they will be at such a good level, and there could be players maybe they didn't do anything because it's really tough to say.

So I think I'm not thinking about winning or if I had the chance. Of course I'm first seeded here, but I think now that doesn't really count. Everybody starts from zero, and I guess everybody doesn't really know how they're going to play or how they're going to feel.

So I think we just have to go through couple of matches and then we can talk about it.

Q. What's it like having your sister be a part of everything, being part of quarantine, shutdown, someone experiencing it similar to you in a way?

KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Of course it was a big help, but it's all my life somehow and all my career. No matter, these months, they didn't really make any difference, but of course it's easier because, especially in the beginning when I had, like, really nobody to play and the people there are scared, so I could always go and practice with her, so it was big help.

I mean, then we just had our teams to come back and just to do what we do in normal season. And plus she has a boyfriend, I'm married, so we don't spend that much time as we used to do before.

But of course we can always share the thoughts and the experiences which we have about this season, which maybe I would not talk to every player about it. So of course it's good to have her.

Q. I think you spent some time in your tennis academy with Kristyna. When did you think of the idea to have your own tennis academy?

KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I really enjoyed it to be around kids. And it was not the first experience. Of course like all the tournaments we do some kids clinics. So I feel I'm around kids quite a lot.

And we start to do this about two years ago. We did our tennis camps, and we just repeat every year. And this year we just thought, okay, there is plenty of time to do maybe some other stuff and to build something for future when I'm not professional tennis player anymore. So I can really have, I mean, some job or something to do.

I think that's why we just started now because there was really like so much time. Also we did these camps four times normally, we do one per year, so it was nice. I like the kids. So many kids I know already because they come back every year, and it was just something different.

I was happy I could put my energy in something like this, and if I was not having tournaments and matches, then it was nice change for me.

Q. You were splitting your time between Monaco and Czech, I guess, during the quarantine? So how did that all work for you? I have no insight into how travel within Europe was like, especially early in the pandemic, but I feel like Czech was quite strict right off the bat with the borders and stuff. How much were you able to kind of get back home to see your parents and then back to where you needed to be to train?

KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I mean, of course when the first month or month and a half because the borders were closed so just staying at home, I mean in Prague and to be around my parents and my husband, my sisters, small one, big one, and I still managed somehow to practice, do some gym and stuff like that.

After, I went to Monaco twice I think for some, like, tennis blocks, you know, so that's what we did there. All my team came.

But after, I feel like we had really tough two months in Czech where everything was closed. We could not really, I mean, go out. But after, it was quite easy, I have to say. I think they did a good job. They closed everything quite early. So after they could, like, open the shops and open the borders so we could somehow, like, travel.

And it was nice, especially just to change. Like I said before, I'm not the person who wants to be five months in one place, so I was struggling a little bit with that. So it was nice that I could move somewhere to be different place, as well.

Q. You're a player who at least historically you have come out of the blocks really well. Like you usually have shown that you play like that first tournament after a shutdown pretty well. What do you chalk that up to? What are your expectations going into Cincinnati and New York, given you have had this long break? Physically everything should be fit, game fit, all that sort of stuff?

KAROLINA PLISKOVA: No, of course I hope everything, all of this is there, because I feel like I practiced quite a lot in the last five months.

But I think it's something different if you practice and if you play matches. And I think I'm the type which I need to play matches, and I always played so many matches every season.

No matter of course you always have a break in the end of the season, but because I was playing Masters like couple years now in a row, so I think my break was not so big maybe, so I was just maybe like a month or maximum two months without a match.

So I don't know really how this will affect my game or my start now. I think we are going to know more after Sunday maybe.

No, but anyway, I think there is no expectations right now. I think it's more like I'm happy that I'm here. Happy that the tournaments are happening. And if something doesn't go well like the first week, it's not going to be -- I'm not going to be panicking, because I'm just super excited just to play no matter how it's going to be and how it's going to look. There is always something to improve.

So hopefully there is going to be much more tournaments this year and then normal next year.

Q. This is a totally new world. We have never had an experience like that. Changing the tour, just stopping on a dime, so to speak. Is there anything you think you have learned about yourself or the world around you from this incredible experience?

KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Definitely things I have learned, actually. I think was really good just to stop for a while and just to see everything like from different perspective, coming from the outside. Because if you travel and you just play tournament by tournament, you play match by match, then you lose, everybody's disappointed. You win, everybody is happy. So it's like around.

I think it's not really four or five months, but for a while I think it was good, at least for me because I have been in this circle like for quite a while now, and especially, I mean, just playing these big tournaments and having this kind of pressure for a couple of years now.

So I think I rested mentally, I have to say. So no matter how I play now, maybe you're not going to see, but I felt quite fresh and just happy, not that there is no tournaments but just that I, you know, stopped. I was thinking about all my career, I was actually thinking and enjoying my time, how the time after my career will be, because now was quite long time, I mean, without tennis.

So I got these questions like how the life without tennis would be, and actually it was fine. I was surprised by this. I was not like panicking and there is no tournaments. I can still have quite good life.

I think it just helped me to rest mentally and maybe is going to help me. Let's see.

Q. Was there anything in particular, any small thing about the tournaments, the travel, just being out in the world that you miss, maybe a small thing, something along those lines?

KAROLINA PLISKOVA: What I miss about tournaments?

Q. Yes.

KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I miss everything about tournaments. I miss to be in tournaments, miss to be in my hotel room. Actually, I love this life.

For me was on one side I said, Okay, I had great time to be with my family, great time to be at home, but I was just like, it was enough. So I was just ready to fly somewhere, no matter where, just to play some tournament.

I love my hotel room right now. I think this life was made for me. I love to travel. I sleep in the plane. I rest in the plane. And then I just get my time in the room, so it's not so busy. I feel like there is not so many things which I do normally in tournaments as I do at home.

I think I can just somehow rest a little bit more when I'm in the tournaments and of course practice that much. There is not so many friends which they want to see you, so many family, they always want to be with you.

I think it's somehow easier to be on tournaments, for me at least.