Lindsay Davenport reveals the big fear she felt before each Grand Slam final

Kevin Palmer
Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport

Lindsay Davenport won three Grand Slam singles finals and claimed an Olympic Gold medal for the United States, but her fear that she would humiliate herself on court was an ongoing concern in her career.

In a compelling interview on the latest Served with Andy Roddick podcast, the USA’s Billie Jean King Cup captain opened up on a range of issues as she looked back over her career and gave her thoughts on the modern game.

Yet it was her enduring lack of self-confidence that shone through when the subject of Grand Slam finals was raised by Roddick, with Davenport making an unexpected confession.

“Totally insecure,” said Davenport, as she reflected on her feelings before each of her major finals.

“I played in, I think it’s seven singles from the Slam Finals and felt like that way every single time. Like, I think I always had this fear of like being embarrassed.

“And so I remember saying it to Jon (husband an ex-tennis player Leach), like early on in our relationship, like before I went out on some big match, like, oh, not everybody always O&O. And he was like, what, what? He’s like, sure, rank one or two or whatever.

“I always was like fearing the worst out there. Playing in front of a lot of people did not give me joy and I was always super envious of people that went out there and to like be relaxed and make it look like a show.”

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Davenport’s wins at the 1998 US Open, 1999 Wimbledon Championships and 2000 Australian Open came amid an era where she was battling some of the greatest players in the history of the tennis, with Steffi Graf and the Williams sisters of Venus and Serena making their mark in the game.

Her Olympic gold medal came in the 1996 Games and she was also year-end world No 1, but it is clear that Davenport was never convinced by her own abilities.

“Players are getting a lot more help and willing to talk about it, which I think probably has to help the other players. I felt like I was the only one who was like wanting to throw up in the locker room before most matches,” she added.

“It’s weird. I felt like I was going to throw up, but I would have hated it because I would have felt like I’m not good. Mine wasn’t like, it sounds like, you knew the tennis was there, you just didn’t like the other stuff surrounding.

“I could have cared less if there were 12 people in the stands or 40,000 people in the stands. Mine was like, I was insecure about my ability.

“I wanted to vomit because I felt like I had to execute so perfectly just to lose closely, but it’s just so strange that you kind of share emotions, but the reasoning behind it is just different.

“I was good at being embarrassed. I do it to myself all the time. That wasn’t an issue.

“It was like, I was always kind of fighting myself. Obviously, there’s opponents where you’re like, you better be all in or it’s gonna be a tough day.

“Steffi, Serena… obviously the great players, but more often than not, I felt like I was like battling myself, like even more on most occasions.”

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