Noah Rubin’s “Behind The Racquet” • With • Timea Babos | Tennis 10sBalls

Editor’s note: 10sBalls thanks Noah Rubin for giving us permission to repost these great stories. We wish him and this endeavor the best of luck. Great seeing Noah wearing K-Swiss and playing Solinco Strings.

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“It’s obvious Hungary is not a tennis nation but I was lucky in two ways. My dad could actually coach me, so that didn’t cost the family anything. Also my sister, helped me through it all since she has been the tennis path before. My parents didn’t even want me to play tennis, they started me as a swimmer. I knew as a swimmer I would receive the right support from my country. I then started tennis when I was like nine or ten years old. In the beginning I just did it for fun and then my mom started traveling with me to some local tournaments. Out of nowhere I started winning, and she told my dad, ‘This girl really has talent, but just has no clue how to play’. I combined that with speed and fighting spirit on court and it led to success. My dad finally took me to a tournament and I begged him to start working with me when I was ten. My dad is still one of the best coaches in Hungary so it was a big deal for me. It’s not easy without the help of a federation and without having a single hardcourt to play on. We then decided that it was better for me to go abroad and try to practice in England. Sport, in general, has become huge in Hungary, and thankfully tennis as also grown, along with the help players receive. A lot is different since the days of practicing in this bubble clay court near my house. If I think about it, I was born in a town that has about 55,000 people. I don’t really give myself credit but I have this proudness that I came from those tennis courts to winning Grand Slams in doubles, being number one, or being top 25 in singles. It’s something I would have never imagined, and I’m proud to do it for my country as well. It was a long road to get here. I’m 26 now but I’m not an average 26-year-old. I am far more mature than I ever thought I would be because of how much I learned from being alone on tour. I thankfully love playing tennis, so for me, all the sacrifices cannot compete with my love. I always had this fighting spirit and stubbornness to get through tough moments and believe in my work. To have extreme discipline and belief, you can achieve things which you have never even dreamed of.”-Babos Tímea

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