Former pro player Annabel Taylor (nee Ellwood) reflects on her tennis journey and shares her passion for coaching.
Brisbane, Australia, 15 May 2024 | Leigh Rogers
Annabel Taylor (then known by her maiden name Ellwood) was once Australia’s top-ranked woman, peaking at a career-high singles ranking of world No.57 in 1997.
This followed a successful junior career, where she was a girls’ singles finalist at both the Australian Open and the US Open in 1995.
The Canberra-born talent was also a world-class doubles player, achieving a career-high ranking of world No.60 in 1997.
But at the age of 24, she called time on her playing career.
“There were many reasons,” she explained of why she made that decision.
“The travel got to me, my ranking had dropped and I didn’t feel I had it in me anymore.
“I never went into tennis thinking it was going to be a career, I just wanted to play.
“That also meant I was looking to see what else was out there. I wanted to get a degree, I wanted to see what life was like on the other side.”
Taylor achieved her dream to study, completing a risk management degree. She later worked at the Australian Bureau of Statistics, focusing on social and children studies.
She also became a mother, having two children of her own.
Yet throughout these off-court adventures, tennis continued to play an important part in Taylor’s life.
“I still wanted to stay in the sport, so coaching was probably the obvious option,” the 46-year-old said. “I’ve been coaching on-and-off now longer than I played.”
Annabel Taylor (pictured with microphone) shared advice during a Women and Girls’ breakfast at the Billie Jean King Cup Qualifier in Brisbane last month. Picture: Tennis Australia
Following a stint at Tennis Australia’s National Tennis Academy in Brisbane, Taylor is now guiding Queensland’s most promising juniors as a National Development Squad coach.
“I always love the experience with the players, that’s what I enjoy the most,” she said.
“I’m very aware of the responsibility that you have as a coach, because the players trust you, the parents trust you and they’ve spent a lot of money and time on this, so I always remember that. I think the care factor is very important.”
Not long after Taylor retired, she recalled overhearing another coach declare ‘you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink’ while talking about a player at a tournament.
“That…
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