SAN JOSE, Calif. — It did not take long for Elizabeth Mandlik to learn her mother, four-time major champion Hana Mandlikova, was kind of a big deal. After all, not many players on the Hologic WTA Tour can say they know their way around the inside of the daycare center at Wimbledon.
“She brought me everywhere,” Mandlik told WTA Insider at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic. “So I would go when she would play Legends she’d take me. At the Grand Slams there was a daycare and I was with other kids and they were all talking like, ‘Oh, so who’s your mom?’ I remember that.”
Ranked No.240, Mandlik earned her first main-draw win Monday night at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic, defeating Alison Riske-Amritraj 6-3, 6-3 in the first round. The 21-year-old Floridian came to San Jose unsure she would even get into the qualifying event. Ten minutes before the draw, she learned she had received a qualifying wild card. A winner of three ITF 25K events this season, Mandlik proceeded to tally wins against Madrid semifinalist Jil Teichmann and Fernanda Contreras Gomez to earn her spot in the draw.
It’s been a wild week for Mandlik. She was ranked just inside the Top 500 at the start of the year and had never even hit with a Top 100 player until this week.
“I’ve never really had an opportunity to play with these high-level players and to just be around them,” Mandlik said. “To know that you can be there and be able to actually beat them, you create such a high belief in yourself and that you belong here.
“The belief was always there, but of course, it’s questionable because I never even had the chance to practice with them. Now I’m actually playing a match and beating them.”
Mandlik spoke to WTA Insider after her tour debut to shed light on her path to the pros and what it’s like to chase her mother’s shadow.
WTA Insider: How did you start playing tennis?
Mandlik: I started when I was 7 or 8. My mom didn’t want to put me in tennis too early, to not get sick of it too fast. So I was put in tennis, soccer and gymnastics. My brother was as well.
I’m more of a competitive person by myself. I don’t want to rely on a team and gymnastics just wasn’t for me. So I just chose tennis. I’m a really competitive person so I think that’s why, too.
WTA Insider: Was it super serious right away?
Mandlik: Not really. It was a fun thing. It was like an hour a day, three times a week, something like that. And then when I was 13 or 14…