Noah Rubin’s “Behind The Racquet” with Aleksander Barkov • Tennis | 10sBalls

Editor’s note: 10sBalls thanks Noah Rubin for giving us permission to repost these great stories.

#CelebrityBTR– “I’m from Southern Finland and my parents are Russian. My dad moved from Russia to Finland before I was born. I’m the only Finnish guy in our family. My older brother started playing tennis at a young age so I got into tennis too. As a family, we love the sport and always follow Grand Slams. I live in Florida so I go to the Delray Beach Open and Miami Open. It is so much fun to be in the stands. Back in Finland, we had a challenger event in my hometown every summer. It was unreal. I was a ball boy at the tournament for six years. I was a ball boy for my brother’s match once. He played challengers for years but it was tough for him to become a good player and live in Finland. Finland is more into hockey than tennis.

I started playing tennis at the same time I started hockey. I was four years old and played both sports as hobbies. At 13, I started having more hockey practices. Hockey was the number one sport in our family because my dad played professionally. But if I had not chosen hockey, I would have pursued tennis. I try to play tennis here in Florida. I think I’m good. I’m above average so I need a good partner. A couple guys on the Florida Panthers play, but they do not have a background in tennis. I played for ten years so I know the technique. Tennis is one of those luxury sports where you can relax and play with friends. It’s very satisfying. If I ever have kids, I will put them in tennis.”

Aleksander Barkov (@barkovsasha)