In an interview with the “New Balls, Please” podcast, published Monday evening, Beatriz Haddad Maia “put her hand in the fire” for Iga Swiatek, suspended for doping, and revealed that she “feels ready” to win a Grand Slam.
The Brazilian number one (currently 17th player in the world) said she “convinced” to be able to win a major tournament during his career. “I don't know if I'm going to win, because I can't read the future, but today I feel ready, I feel that I have the qualities and that I am doing what the game needsshe said. I am more alive as a player, I learned to win matches by playing badly“.
Uncomfortable outside the Top 10
Haddad Maia also told the former Tennis player's podcast Fernando Meligeni that she was “unfortunate” not to be ranked in the Top 10 at the moment.
“Being number 15 bothers me. Today I am not satisfied. I'm happy, I've had a good year, but I'm not happy with what I've done, I'm bored and I can't wait to train and arrive in Australia in the best shape possible.”she revealed.
New coach
During the conversation, Haddad Maia opened up about hiring a second coach for her team. The French Maxime Tchoutakian will train the Brazilian alongside her current coach, Rafael Paciaroni.
“We have not yet defined the role or function of each. The difference with Max is that he's a guy who has experienced more on the professional circuit, so he has this experience that Rafa, who comes from an academic background, doesn't have.he explained. He's young, he's ambitious, he's a guy who dreams like us, we dream of winning a Grand Slam.”
A decisive turning point
The Brazilian also told us what had changed between the first and second half. After poor results in the first half, Bia went on a string of victories after the Paris Olympics.
“One Bia was looking for a reason to be wrong and the other Bia was looking for a reason to behave well“, she summarizes.
“When I'm relaxed, when I'm really convinced or I believe in the winning moment, everything flows naturally. When we think more negatively, I'm a little more stuck and actually I'm slower, it seems I'm definitely tougher on the pitch, but it depends a lot on how I'm thinking at the time, so I think that's the biggest difference this year, to sum it up.”she analyzed.
Death threats
The left-hander from São Paulo told the podcast that she still doesn't read comments on social media: “Today when the criticism comes and people want to affect me, it says a lot about the frustration of the person, it’s not about me.”
Bia also revealed that she had received death threats. “I don't read them, but I know I received them because I already read them. Today, I still receive them, but from people who not only criticize my team, but threaten my family of death, say that my plane is going to crash, that I am going to become a quadriplegic, that they know where my grandmother plays tennis in the morning and that they are going to kidnap her“.
“If I really have to continue reading and believing this, I won't leave my house,” said the tennis player, who added that the criticism “shakes me to no end.”
“My choice is not to listen, just like I don’t want to hear that I am the best tennis player in Latin America”she concluded.
Innocent Iga and the “madness” of doping
During the show, “Bia” did not drink the water offered to her. She had her own bottle.
“I don't accept water from anyone. JI am very careful on a daily basis.”she confides. “When we go to China, Colombia or Mexico we cannot eat red meat because the animals eat anabolic agents during their development, we eat their meat and the anabolic agent is proven in our test“.
Bia believes that the anti-doping system is unfair. She “buy twice as many things” to be able to justify any change in his urine test to the anti-doping agency. “Not everyone can (buy double products), because it’s expensive”she stressed.
Regarding the recent doping case of the world number two Iga Swiatekthe Brazilian said to herself “saddened” by the news.
“I'm sure Iga would never take anything to improve her performance. Not only do I know her, I know her character and her values, but her team is extremely professional”she said.
However, Bia pointed out that the Polish player received a much more lenient sanction than her. “They treat each case differently, it's very sad because it's very unequal. It took me 11 months to prove my innocence and I was suspended for 11 months.”she said.
“Why did I wait so many months to prove my innocence? And I came back as number 1,300 in the rankings”she complained.
Finally, Beatriz Haddad Maia explained that the constant presence of anti-doping agencies and the fear of being contaminated also affect the personal lives of athletes.
“It's an absurd mental stress every day because we have to be available to be tested every day, including December 25 and every day of my life. They have control over us, that's why I I put my hand in the fire for Iga”she declared, she who was tested 30 times in 2024.
WTA and ATP tennis players have an app on their phones where they reveal their daily whereabouts, so agents can find them for testing during and outside of tournaments.
“Every day, for one hour of your day, you must be available. Throughout the year you cannot have three absences, so you must have your phone on. I'm suffering a lot at the moment because there are a lot of prank calls. My sleep is sometimes disturbed because people play pranks on me and the prankster could be WADA (the World Anti-Doping Agency).”she concluded.
When will Bia return to the courts?
Bia Haddad will play her first tournament of the season later this month. She will defend Brazil at the 2025 United Cup in Australia.
She will begin by facing China's Qinwen Zheng on December 27, before facing Germany's Laura Siegemund in the second round.
