“You can’t change your genes,” Agnieszka Radwanska says on a rainy morning, recalling how the older players used to crack jokes about her slender frame when she was growing up. “I was always the smallest one, the thinnest one. They were laughing at me, thinking that if it was windy it would just blow me away.”
The softly spoken Pole laughs. Appearances can be deceiving and her build has not stopped her from rising to world No3, reaching the Wimbledon final in 2012 and winning the prestigious WTA Tour Finals in Singapore last year. Radwanska has used her size to her advantage, crafting an aesthetically pleasing style that allows her to counter the heavy hitting she encounters on a regular basis.
“I will never be able to serve to 100mph like other girls so I have to figure out other ways to beat those players,” she says. “I didn’t think I could ever be a big hitter. I go to the gym, work on my fitness a lot and use weights, but if I do a bit too much I might lose a bit of speed or feeling or touch. I’m trying to get stronger, but I’m never going to look like others. My father always taught me smart tennis.”
Radwanska called it a sad day for tennis when Maria Sharapova revealed her failed drugs test for the recently banned drug meldonium in March. The International Tennis Federation handed the Russian a two-year ban this month, with the court of arbitration for sport scheduled to issue a ruling on Sharapova’s appeal against the length of her suspension by 18 July.
“I’m not a judge,” Radwanska says. “We kind of expected that [length of ban]. The federation is doing everything to avoid that kind of situation in the future. I don’t think there’s any mercy given here. That’s why I am not surprised she got so much. It doesn’t matter who you are, it’s the same thing, she was taking something she shouldn’t have.
“The testing is random, sometimes I have more of them, sometimes not, sometimes after I win, sometimes after I lose. There are no rules for that. Sometimes before the tournament, sometimes at home, sometimes out of the tournament. It’s good that it’s random and we don’t expect it.”
Radwanska insists that she has never had cause to suspect an opponent of doping but says: “Sport should be clean. That’s the way we all want it to be. Tennis is a sport where you need a lot of things to win the match. Taking something, it doesn’t matter what, it’s going to help you in a three-hour match. That’s unfair.”
At 5ft 8in, Radwanska is not as small as she might look on television. She is taller than two players in the top 10, the 5ft 6in world No5, Simona Halep, and the 5ft 4in Roberta Vinci and an inch shorter than Serena Williams. But there is a crucial difference. According to the Women’s Tennis Association, Williams is 14kg heavier than Radwasnka, who is the lightest player in the top 10 at 56kg. Angelique Kerber, the world No4, is also 5ft 8in but the Australian Open champion weighs 68kg. The 6ft world No2 and French Open champion, Garbiñe Muguruza, is 22 years old, weighs 73kg and could dominate the sport for years.
In a heavyweight environment, Radwanska namechecks Belinda Bencic, Elina Svitolina and Caroline Wozniacki as players with cerebral games but her variety stands out. To say that she is a breath of fresh air would be unfair to others – there was nothing monotonous about Muguruza’s explosive performance against Williams in the Roland Garros final – but she is different, chipping and charging and attacking the net.
Seeing Radwanska up close, what stands out most are the matchstick thin legs that enhance her elasticity. Although she does not have a big serve, her signature squat shot is how she deals with a rasping return, crouching into a surprise half-volley.
Radwanska, who faces Kateryna Kozlova, the world No97, in the first round of Wimbledon, lost 4-6, 7-6, 6-3 to Dominika Cibulkova in the quarter-final of the Aegon International on Friday, but watching her absorb Eugenie Bouchard’s power and dismantle the Canadian with some deft touches in the third round on Wednesday was fascinating. Bouchard played well but the Canadian’s head must have been swimming by the end.
While Radwanska welcomes the compliments, something is missing. She is 27 and has not been in the final of a grand slam since Williams beat her in three sets at Wimbledon four years ago. Grass is her favourite surface – she won the junior title at SW19 in 2005 – and she wants to scratch that itch, starting against Kozlova. “All the awards like favourite player of the year or best shot of the month that I won so many times, that’s something that can compensate for not winning a grand slam,” Radwanska says. “But it’s not the same.”
Agnieszka Radwanska is a Rado brand ambassador. Rado is the official timekeeper of the Aegon International in Eastbourne
