MIDDLETON — When Lindsay Davenport left the WTA tour in 2008 after becoming pregnant with her second child, it didn’t exactly mean she was retiring from tennis.
In fact, Davenport simply found other channels to stay in the game. It is a life the former world No. 1 seems to have found an easy comfort level with after playing on the tour.
Davenport, who played with the Orange County Breakers last night in their 24-19 win against the Boston Lobsters at the Ferncroft Country Club’s Joan Norton Stadium, competed in both women’s and mixed doubles in the World TeamTennis match. She combined with Anna-Lena Groenefeld at women’s doubles for a 5-4 win, then paired with Travis Parrott and John-Patrick Smith, who replaced Parrott midway through the set, for a 5-4 win at mixed doubles.
Davenport’s easygoing nature was evident throughout the match. At one point in the mixed doubles set, the Lobsters’ Eric Butorac hit a shot that smacked directly against Davenport’s torso.
“Sorry, Linds!” said Butorac, clearly worried he’d stung the future Hall of Famer.
But Davenport simply laughed it off.
“That’s OK!” Davenport said with a hand raised.
As a WTA player, there was very little that the California native did not accomplish. Davenport won singles titles at the U.S. Open, Wimbledon and Australian Open, and finished with 55 career singles titles and 37 doubles crowns on the tour. She won a gold medal at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
“It’s amazing and it’s really hard to think back on all of it,” Davenport said when asked to reflect on her career. “I played my first event in 1991. It’s so crazy. I became an official pro in the beginning of ’93. I’m really proud of the longevity of my career, how long I was able to last and be a force and be a contender at major tournaments. And also the way I was able to carry myself and keep mostly sane.”
Now, Davenport remains in tune with the game by serving as a broadcaster on the Tennis Channel.
“It’s great,” she said. “I still feel like I know a lot of these players and know how they’ve played. I’ve played against maybe 50 percent of the players that still play. So I feel like I have a unique perspective in some aspects. Like these players (on the Lobsters and Breakers), I think they’re great ladies that have a lot of fun. It’s fun to go out on the court with people you like and respect. I enjoy commentating. I enjoy going back to the tournaments and enjoy not having the stress of having to compete in a really large space.”
She’s also active on the court with her play in World TeamTennis, where she has a long and accomplished history.
This marks Davenport’s 10th season in the league. She helped the Sacramento Capitals win league titles in 1997, ’98 and 2007, and was the league’s female MVP in both 2007 and in ’10 with the St. Louis Aces.
“It’s much more fun now,” she said. “I don’t play much throughout the year. I just had another baby in January, so I just started hitting a little bit in, like, April, May. So it’s sometimes frustrating because I’m very far from where I used to be and I’m also much older. But it’s fun to try and work with my teammates and we’ve had a really fun time. It’s a really, really great group with me, not with me, but on my team. But it’s fun to try and be competitive and see what I’m capable of. But it seems like each day, like, I wake up and, ‘What hurts today?’ It’s always something new, it feels like.”
With the London Games right around the corner, Davenport is looking forward to seeing how the current crop of American women fare against the world’s best.
“I think they’ve got a great chance with Serena Williams playing (singles,) doubles and mixed doubles,” she said. “They’re always gold medal contenders, especially on grass, moreso than on any other surface. I’m excited to watch it. I’m excited to see how it all folds out.”
