Francesca Schiavone On Winning Roland Garros, Friendship w/ Kim & More | Love All w/ Kim Clijsters

Summary

Podcast Summary: Served with Andy Roddick

Episode: Francesca Schiavone On Winning Roland Garros, Friendship w/ Kim & More | Love All w/ Kim Clijsters
Date: April 22, 2026

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Episode Theme & Purpose

This episode of "Love All" on the Served podcast network is hosted by former World No. 1 Kim Clijsters, with Blair and features guest Francesca Schiavone. The main focus is on Schiavone’s career highlights—especially her legendary win at Roland Garros—her life and philosophy as a coach, her enduring friendship with Kim Clijsters, and reflections on tennis culture then and now. The episode provides a rich mix of personal anecdotes, professional insights, and discussions on current and emerging tennis talent.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Unique Friendship Between Kim Clijsters & Francesca Schiavone

• Camaraderie on Tour:
  • Kim reminisces about their intense but supportive practice sessions:
    “Our practices were competitive, but we worked hard. We helped each other to get better in practice. And that was just so fun…” (04:13 - 05:30)
  • Francesca emphasizes the importance of enjoying practices and learning from peers:
    “That’s one thing very important that today a little bit miss... sometimes is your opponent, but you can learn with...” (05:30 - 06:29)
• Support System in a Tough Environment:
  • Both reflect on how rare such relationships are in today’s game and how they fueled each other's motivation, helping to stave off loneliness on tour.

2. Life on the Tour: Solitude and Growth

• Dealing with Solitude:
  • Kim explains learning to value alone time as a counterweight to the draining social elements of touring:
    “I just really needed to switch off my brain from not being around too many people because... that was very draining to me.” (07:59 - 09:09)
  • Francesca shares her journey from isolation to understanding the power of relationships and communication as personal growth elements. (09:09 - 10:21)
• Teaching the Next Generation:
  • Schiavone describes the importance of teaching young players to embrace downtime and meditation—to “grow in the silence”—amid social media distractions. (10:21 - 12:30)

3. Roland Garros 2010 Victory & Coaching Career

• Fulfilling a Lifelong Dream:
  • Francesca recounts meeting her mental coach at 18 and stating her two goals: winning Roland Garros and becoming Top 10. She achieved both, culminating in her “dream come true” moment in 2010.
    “When I was 18 years old... he asked me ‘what do you want to reach in your life?’ …I say, I want to win Roland Garros and I want to become top 10 in the world.” (12:44 - 14:04)
• Founding Schiavone Team Lab:
  • Schiavone’s academy started in Milan, now moved to Varese with 1,300 members, catering to all age groups and levels:
    “I’m building a club... from zero now we have a thousand three hundred people that comes around the club. ...I go in emotion...” (14:18 - 15:46)

4. Coaching Approach & Talent Development

• Working with Lily Taggart:
  • Schiavone coaches Lily Taggart, an 18-year-old with a one-handed backhand, believing she has the potential to win a Slam as the next such player since Schiavone herself.
    “She’s a thoroughbred horse... she absorbs a lot of information and she grows...” (16:58 - 21:21)
• Philosophy with Young Players:
  • Francesca prides herself on letting players retain their individuality:
    “It is important that they have their identity and we work for them, around them, inside them—not my position inside their head. That’s a big difference.” (11:45 - 12:30)

5. Female Grand Slam Champions as Coaches

• The Value of Experience:
  • Kim emphasizes the rarity and value of Grand Slam female champions coaching on tour, listing Schiavone among a few peers like Conchita Martinez and Lindsay Davenport. (24:21 - 25:25)

6. Career Memories & Matches

• Most Memorable Matches:
  • Schiavone recalls a marathon four-day match against Ai Sugiyama (26:09), and her record 4-hour-44-minute match versus Kuznetsova at the 2011 Australian Open:
    “That match was incredible. I went over the limits physically...” (27:58 - 29:00)
• Rivalries:
  • Kim and Francesca both name each other as tough opponents, with Schiavone adding Venus, Sharapova, and Russian "no-head" attackers. (41:42 - 42:50)

7. Overcoming Cancer (2019)

• Parallels to Tennis:
  • Schiavone details how discipline from tennis helped her cancer battle:
    “Sports helped me a lot with discipline, with believing what I was going to do. Yeah, tough.” (29:31 - 31:49)
• Importance of Family & Friendship:
  • Credits family and close friends (notably Flavia Pennetta) for emotional support during her recovery—“My mother saved my life, my dad saved my life, my wife saved my life.” (32:20 - 33:35)

8. Reflection on the Italian Tennis System

• Influence on the New Generation:
  • Schiavone and Clijsters discuss the Italian tennis renaissance, including the rise of Jannik Sinner and others, and how the abundance of home tournaments and club structures aid young players.
    “I saw Jannik when he was 15 years old and was impressed. Then I saw him again... he’s a bomb. He would be number one in the world.” (34:18 - 35:37)
• Systemic Pros & Cons:
  • Francesca notes the system’s advantages (numerous tournaments, support structure) but warns about too many coaches and needing quality over quantity. (36:12 - 39:01)

9. Rapid Fire Questions and Fun Moments

• Notable Quotes and Lighter Moments:
  • On favorite pasta: “Spaghetti.” (39:42)
  • On negativity after losses: “To be pissed... go against someone... taking out all the bad spirit I had inside when I was losing...” (40:01)
  • On borrowing shots:
    Francesca: “Your forehand on top of the ball.”
    Kim: “And I wanted your slice.” (39:29 - 39:34)

10. Current WTA/ATP Storylines & Kim’s Analysis (Henley's Headlines & Kimformation)

• Young Talent & Tournament Updates:
  • Reflections on Marta Kostyuk’s win, Ben Shelton’s success on clay, and Artur Fils’ breakthrough in Barcelona.
  • Kim praises Rybakina and ranks her among Roland Garros favorites, alongside Swiatek, Sabalenka, Gauff. (57:47 - 58:11)
• Analysis of Versatility on Clay:
  • Kim stresses the importance of variety (slice, drop shots) in women’s tennis to break the rhythm of hard hitters like Rybakina and Sabalenka. (55:51 - 59:36)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

On Tour Friendships:

• Kim Clijsters (04:13):
  “You were somebody whose energy I just wanted to be around... Our practices were competitive, but we worked hard. We helped each other to get better in practice. And that was just so fun.”

On Roland Garros Win:

• Francesca Schiavone (12:44):
  “I want to win Roland Garros and I want to become top 10 in the world. So in 2010 I reached the peak of my career. I made it and I am very proud.”

On Coaching Philosophy:

• Francesca Schiavone (11:45):
  “It is important that they have their identity and we work for them, around them, inside them—not my position inside their head.”

On Surviving Illness:

• Francesca Schiavone (32:20):
  “My mother saved my life, my dad saved my life, my wife saved my life. So it is important with who you are and the love that you receive.”

On One-Handed Backhand:

• Francesca Schiavone (16:52):
  “I am very happy and lucky to coach... Lily Taggart. She has a great potential, she has a one hand backhand and she's growing in a good step…”

On Facing Physical Limits:

• Francesca Schiavone (27:58):
  “That match was incredible. Was tough. I don’t have exact memories, but I know that I went over the limits physically ... when we finish, I say, I wanna play, play, play. Shut up and play.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Early Tour Friendship Reflections: 01:53 – 06:29
• On Solitude + Player Wellbeing: 07:14 – 10:21
• Coaching New Generation / Technology Distraction: 10:21 – 12:30
• Roland Garros Memories: 12:44 – 14:04
• The Academy Story: 14:18 – 15:46
• On Coaching Lily Taggart & One-handed Backhand: 16:52 – 21:21
• Women Grand Slam Champions as Coaches: 24:21 – 25:25
• Longest & Most Memorable Matches: 26:09 – 29:00
• Cancer Battle & Support System: 29:31 – 33:35
• Italian Tennis System and Jannik Sinner: 34:18 – 36:12
• Rapid Fire (Fun Q’s): 39:01 – 41:42
• Current Tennis Headlines & ‘Kimformation’: 45:17 – 59:56

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Tone & Atmosphere

The episode is warm, nostalgic, playful, and honest. Francesca and Kim foster a spirit of respect and camaraderie, balancing reflections on the hardships of pro tennis with humor and deep appreciation for supportive relationships. There is frequent laughter, tangible mutual respect, and genuine affection throughout the conversation.

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Conclusion

This episode is a joyful, insightful journey through Francesca Schiavone’s career and current coaching life, offering unique windows into the values she and Kim Clijsters bring to tennis—both as fierce competitors and as nurturing mentors off the court. The discussion weaves past and present, blending stories about legendary achievements, personal resilience, and the evolving culture of women’s tennis.

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Transcript

[Blair]

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[Kim Clijsters]

craft mayo and dressing. Toss green salads with delicious ranch dressing or zesty Italian. Serve smooth, craveably creamy potato salads with mayo. We all know it's not a cookout without Kraft. Hi, everyone. Welcome back to Love All. I'm really excited for today. I get to talk to my friend Francesca Schiavone, who is now the coach, a coach on the WTA Tour. Coaches Lily Taggar is also the owner of a tennis academy, and so she's going to explain everything about her life from back in the day on tour and what she's doing now. So, really, really excited for today. Blair.

[Blair]

I am excited as well. And as someone who has already experienced this interview that you all are about to experience, I can tell that as much laughing as there was during the actual interview that is aired, I can guarantee there was much more laughter and giggling prior to said interview. So just even seeing you guys interact was a lot of fun and I think was a good window into, you know, what it was like for you in an era where there were fewer friendships on tour, right?

[Kim Clijsters]

There was. There was. And it was. She was definitely a player that I loved her energy around. I practiced with her as much as I could. Just. We just had really, really strong kind of practices. And we didn't shy away from the practices being super physical. We would do a lot of hard drills where we would push each other and we could work hard and we would play points and there would be a winner and a loser, but it would still be the same and we'd still help each other out. And I think that's, I think, rare. I know that now that that's rare. Um, but she, yeah, she's always been great. And I think that's why the laughter was there at the start, because we don't get to see each other that often. But, you know, we're still cheering for each other all the time.

[Blair]

Yep. So we're gonna have Henley's headlines and confirmation after the interview. But first, she's been ranked as high as four in the world. She's won eight career titles, the biggest coming at Roland Garros in 2010. She also helped her country to three Billie Jean King cup titles. She is, of course, from Italy. Our interview with Francesca Schiavone coming up next.

[Kim Clijsters]

Sciavo, it's really, really good to see you. Very good to have you on the Lovel podcast. I'm. I wore red today because I feel like this is going to be a passionate conversation. And I don't know, I just gravitated towards red in my closet this morning. So there you go. This is for you.

[Francesca Schiavone]

A good Christmas Day.

[Kim Clijsters]

Oh, that's what it looks. I listen. I'm actually wearing green pants, so it's

[Francesca Schiavone]

definitely Christmas, you see, is the happiest day.

[Kim Clijsters]

Yes.

[Francesca Schiavone]

Thanks to invite me. I'm very excited to receive some question to give you some of my or advice or enjoying or experience is great. Thank you.

[Blair]

Well, I am so excited for a number of reasons. But I, Kim, would love for you to start and just explain your relationship with Sky Giavo or Francesca and how you guys came to know each other on tour and you've told me she was one of your favorite players to practice with, to be around, to hang out with, to laugh with. So can you elaborate more on that?

[Kim Clijsters]

Yes. So, you know what I've noticed since I started the. Since we started the podcast is that you think back about when you have a guest on and especially like somebody like Schiavone or, you know, like we have today. To me, it's so fun to think back about the relationship for so many years. Right. And I don't remember exactly the moment when it was that I first met you, but what sticks out to me the most is like you were somebody whose energy I just wanted to be around on the tour. Right. Like there's like, you can. I can play against you. And then no matter what happened, we could talk about the match, we could have a conversation. We would go into the locker room and get out of the showers and still talk about it and laugh and joke and tease and that's so rare that you can do that. And you were definitely one of those players. Our practices were competitive, but we worked hard. We helped each other to get better in practice. And that was just so fun. And I think the older I get, even the more you appreciate those kind of relationships and how rare that was to have during those. Yeah. Those years that we were on tour. So I'm. Yeah. Just grateful to have you here.

[Francesca Schiavone]

The same for me. And I remember exactly when we were practicing that I was running so much against you and not giving you one meter. Otherwise you were inside the court. We often say you have to stay back and run with me. We were enjoying. That's one thing very important that today a little bit miss. And this is very important. That could be a good message to the other players to enjoy with someone sometimes is your opponent, but you can learn with you. I was learning something all the time and we could manage together some different emotion or. Kim, what do you do when you are in this moment or in another moment? So it's very important to have a good relationship with the. With the other girls in the tour.

[Kim Clijsters]

Definitely. Also for yourself, it's important, right, like, because it's hopefully like if you have a long career, if you can have relationships where you can have those moments, like, they just fuel you, right. Like they just give you more energy and they charge your batteries and like, yeah, I would just always walk off court from practice with you and like, like tired. But like, let's go. I want to do this again. Like, that was so much fun. So I think that's exactly what you say. Like, I am not around on tour enough to see what a lot of the practices are like, but it's. It would be very boring if it was not, you know, if you can't have those kind of relationships and practice sessions with opponents who you can, yeah. Be practicing as if you were practicing at home and at the same time still prepare for, you know, a big tournament coming up.

[Francesca Schiavone]

So shin your limits. I was pushing your. You were pushing mine. So that's. That's a big part. And in the same time you enjoy because the challenge is what we. We born for. Big challenge, big attitude, great results, tough moment, individual moment, because that life was tough. I don't know if you felt alone and how many times you felt alone when you were the tour, not in the court, outside of the court, you were going to the hotel. Did you ever felt alone and tough, tough life outside of the court?

[Kim Clijsters]

I would say sometimes I did. But then I also think to me, being at the tennis, it was very, at times very draining, right. Because there's so many people around and you practice, you have your team with you. Like, you're always surrounded by a lot of people. And so for me, being alone and I still have that now even. Right. I also now enjoy my alone time, I think in the hotel. I also at times I just really enjoyed just having a quiet hotel room and not. And not do anything and just do some stretching or whatever. Like, I just really needed to switch off My. My brain from not being around too many people because I just. That was also very draining to me. So I think as I got older, I learned to kind of balance, you know, knowing when I want the interaction and when I feel like going out to dinner with the team or. But also be able to communicate and say, listen, I just want to be in the hotel and just be by myself and just relax and. And I think that just became, you know, as I got older, you know, more of a message that I had to kind of learn to express.

[Francesca Schiavone]

Yeah, I was a little bit different when I was very young. Not empathic. I was hating everybody. I was coming from a family. That was okay. Those are the rules you have to respect. Let's go. Think about yourself and go forward. And then with the time, I could understand much more the good feeling to say with the people with the relationship to find someone like Kimo, other girls smart that you can speak with. So I did alone a part of this career, alone and individual. And then another part with communication and good relation. I think it is good to balance, to find always a good balance to grow in the silence. That's what very tough now to teach to the young player, to stay quiet, to go to rest, to enjoy your time. Like Kim was saying, just switch off echo now. They run the young players, the young people run a lot.

[Kim Clijsters]

Do you see that in your coaching job too? Like that you have to. You know, we didn't have social media right when we were playing. Is there like. Do you notice that that's part of your teaching as well, that you have to say, like, listen, put the phone away. Like you have a match tonight. I want you to be, you know, a few hours in the afternoon without your phone. Or is it hard to control that from. From your side?

[Francesca Schiavone]

Not because I have some players very smart and very good. They understand when there is a time to have the phone and play with the social media and connection and communication and. But another part. They need input all the time. Organize something, going there, doing that one. No meditation is part of this job, is part of the life. Take your time, take a seat and enjoy a moment. That is now. Many of the players now are speaking about this, but it's true because someone say, are you crazy? You do yoga? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I want to enjoy this moment. I am with you guys and I'm happy and I want to be concentrate now in this moment. Enjoying is the same for. For the young. And this one cost a lot of them for them. Yes. And we have to find A way to, to move there over there not to to be very rude with them say no, you have to do it this. No, no, no, no, no. I teach you what is, what is this? What is relax and take your time and then in your way you learn. That's another step very important for young kids and young players is important that they have them identity and we work for them around them, inside them, not my position inside them head. That's big difference.

[Blair]

Yeah, I, I know we're going to come back to. We have many coaching questions for you Francesca but it's also we're coming up on the 16th anniversary of you winning Roland Garros. Does it seem like that long ago?

[Francesca Schiavone]

Oh yes. Oh was long ago and was the dream came true because when I was 18 years old I went to my mental coach and and he was asking me for the first time what is a mental coach? I don't know is a what can he give me a pill? No, he just made me this question and he asked me what do you want to reach in your life? The tennis court. And I say I want to win Roland Garros and I want to become top 10 in the world. So in 2010 I reach it my the peak of my career. I made it and I am very proud. And this one brings me a lot of believe in myself a lot of power and energy and experience to be able today to be happy, healthy and teaching something for others players.

[Kim Clijsters]

You know you told us before that you were in the academy, right? So when did you. When did you. Where is it? First of all, when did you start it? Explain me a little bit about the whole. The details.

[Francesca Schiavone]

So four years ago we started in Milano and now we moved in Varese that is just close to Malpenza is a fantastic experience. Tough my white hair run a lot. But I can say that we from zero now we have a thousand three hundred people that comes around the club. We are. I'm building a club, I'm doing with the other we starting four now we are 17. I'm so proud. I go in emotion when. When I say oh wow, I did it. We did all together. Of course I couldn't reach it without them. But I can say that we are ready for a different level from kids 5 to 10, 10 to 12, 12 to 18, 18 full time professional adults. How to approach any kind of different people and level. So I'm very happy and I wanna, I wanna more if I have the time to do it.

[Kim Clijsters]

What's the name of the academy? Schiavone team lab. Okay, good. We have to Blair, I, I, we have to go.

[Blair]

I mean sign me up, Kim. I need zero convincing

[Kim Clijsters]

as well. She played college tennis. Yes.

[Francesca Schiavone]

Oh, a good exhibition in September when I will enjoy when I will do a big party for all the city. So you come with Flavia. We, we organize something nice.

[Kim Clijsters]

Yes. All right. I'll book my ticket.

[Francesca Schiavone]

No, I take you.

[Blair]

Well, I would love though to see the, the one hander in action. I also have a one handed backhand and so I love obviously seeing when I was growing up, you were the last, if I hope my source is correct, the last WTA player to win a slam with a one hander. I believe. Correct. Do you think there's going to be another?

[Francesca Schiavone]

Yes.

[Blair]

Who do you think that might be

[Francesca Schiavone]

now very soon? I don't know the time, I don't know. But I can say that there is a girl that I'm very happy and lucky to coach. Her name is Lily Taggart. She's 18 years old. She has a great potential. She has a one hand backhand and she's growing in a good step with a good time to be there in the moment, in the correct moment.

[Kim Clijsters]

So how many years have you been working with her now?

[Francesca Schiavone]

Two years and a half. When she came here, I could see that she was. And she's a poor breed horse, like you said in English. Yeah, she was, when she arrives, she was easygoing, very disciplined, very clean shots. Then I spend some weeks with her and I say, let's see if she can handle some pressure, how to approach points. So I took her and I say, let's go to, to play some tournaments. You know that there are horses for practice and also sport. Yes, yes. And I understood that she was ready to be a race competitor. And after one year that she spent to work a lot with all of us, not just with me, all of us, I understood that she was ready to handle the professional part. So I start one to one with all the team, not anymore with the others and Art and the second. Second here. Yeah. Three years now. Yeah.

[Kim Clijsters]

Did she show up to your academy because she wanted to work with you? Or it was, how did that come about? Like how did you start the, or how did she approach? Like how did that happen? Like that stage where she came to you and asked like, hey, can you be my coach? Or was she, does she live in the area? Or how did that happen?

[Francesca Schiavone]

No, she, you know Alex Vitor? Yeah, yeah, she came with him and he was very clear and say, I have this girl. What do you think, do you want to try to. To spend some days together? And you tell me what you, what you see, what you think. And I say to him, it's very interesting, but I want to know her more because then this life is tough. So it's different to invest the time, the intention for a project and to just play tennis. That's two different way. So we went to some tournaments to see how she could react in the. Under the pressure. And then I say, I'm happy to start with her. And she said, yes, I'm very happy to start with you and all your. Your team. That was very simple.

[Kim Clijsters]

You know, you've seen more and more like how parents are very involved and they want to be a part of it and control everything. And, you know, you met my dad right back in the day, and my dad traveled with me a lot, but he wasn't like, he wasn't telling me what to do on the tennis court and he wasn't, you know, he just was making sure that I was doing okay and kept an eye out on everything else around it. But it's not easy, I feel like these days in the tennis circuit, because a lot of parents want to keep the control. And that's why I was so interested, because it's not easy for parents to let go of a player and to trust them over to, you know, an external person. Right. But you. Yeah, I feel like that, that balance between the two of you is so, is so nice. And how many weeks do you travel with her? Do you travel full time with her or do, you

[Francesca Schiavone]

know, a lot of. Until she needs. Because she's growing. Really. She was very young, she's still very young. So it's fantastic to work with her because she's, she's a sponges. She absorbs a lot of information and she grows. Like one day you teach something and the other day you say, oh, wow, she did. Or maybe past four, five days. And there is a step. So that's a quality, special quality mentally and physically and who she is. And in the same time, from this point of view, I say, wow, the, the work is. Is growing and I like it. And we put all this energy together and I can travel with her easily. And there is another coach with me that teach her in particularly the technical part, that I'm a little bit back because I'm studying and I'm doing all that part. But he's very good. And we put together this figure. She's doing good work, really.

[Kim Clijsters]

And what's your next tournament with her?

[Francesca Schiavone]

125k summer and then Roma Qualification.

[Kim Clijsters]

Nice.

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[Kim Clijsters]

A few years ago, when, you know, you started traveling more like a former Grand Slam champion, a woman on the tour, coaching, I think we don't have that many. Right. We have Conchita. Lindsay Davenport, coached with Madison Keys. And then. Is there more? I don't think. Yeah. Yep. But there's not many female Grand Slam champions that are actually coaching. And so it's really, really nice to, you know, there's nobody that understands what it takes. Right. There's coaches. And you say that like we don't know what it's like to properly teach the technique and how to explain that. But it takes the experience of knowing what it takes mentally. The ups and the downs to win the Grand Slam and all the steps in between and the failures and pushing through and it's, it's. Yeah, I feel like it can. You can only bring the message across if you've experienced it yourself. And, and so I'm really exciting that you're doing this and that you're happy.

[Francesca Schiavone]

I speak always, not often with, with Lily, and say we have to learn from everybody. You have to listen all the time what you want to take and what not. And we have to do selection how to grow, what to do. So for sure, Kim, I will knock

[Kim Clijsters]

to your door and I will open the door.

[Blair]

Francesca, do you have a favorite career memory other than lifting the trophy at Roland Garros? Is there something that sticks out to you?

[Francesca Schiavone]

See, I have a strange history. When I was playing with Tsujiyama. Do you remember, Kim?

[Kim Clijsters]

Yes.

[Francesca Schiavone]

Can you imagine how much we run? Okay. We spend four year. Four days. Sorry, four days to finish a match. Because we start, we tried to go to the court 32 times for four days running. Raining, raining and then stop and raining. And at the end, I won six one in the third. And in that moment, I felt that was a special day for me. And after three hours, I play against Capriati. Lost 6, 2, 6, 2.

[Kim Clijsters]

Where was this

[Francesca Schiavone]

Open. But I have a good man.

[Blair]

I'm not gonna lie. I did not see that story coming. I. I'm thinking, like, it's Fed Cup. I'm thinking, you know, you another, you know, reaching the final at roland garros in 2011. Nope. Sugiyama.

[Kim Clijsters]

So, Blair, listen, when, you know, when you play Schiavo, like, if you knew that she was in your side of the draw, like, you knew you had to, like, put your feet up whenever you could because you were going to play long matches. Like, it was going to be a battle, you know, physically, like, to a point where, yeah, you knew that you have to, like, save every drop of energy because you were going to have to use it against her. So it's. What about the match against Kuznetsova? How long? That one was super long at the Australian open too, right?

[Francesca Schiavone]

4 hours, 44 minutes. And you won that one in that day. After that match, I become four in the world. Oh, incredible. Foreign. Yeah, that. That match was. Was incredible. Was tough. It was. I don't have exact memories, but I know that I went over the limits physically, that when we finish, I say, I wanna. I wanna play. Play, play. Shut up and play. You know what to do. And go. Go. Keep going until the last point. And when we went to the. To the net to shake the hands, she pushed me a little bit more. And I was. And I was going back, slow down, please. You are a double of me. But we enjoy so much that match.

[Blair]

Yeah. Longest women's singles match ever at a Grand Slam history.

[Kim Clijsters]

Francesca, in 2019, which was a shock for me, you had a cancer battle. How much did tennis and your lifestyle of tennis help you to fight through it. Like to come back and to put in the work and to fight through it. Explain a little bit to me how tennis has had an impact when in life you were struggling with your health,

[Francesca Schiavone]

Kim, for sure, the discipline when I went there and they say, Francesca, let's start a program. You have to follow for me was very tough, but I knew that that one was the way it's like tennis. When you start, you know what you are going to do and the direction that you have tennis tough every day because you have to manage a different feeling, a different healthiness that there is not anymore. So you have to find some moments and some minutes or maybe some hours to enjoy the life in healthy part. Otherwise to struggle with not feeling good. Some vomits, some tough days and night the muscle doesn't respond to your feedback. So we've been tough. Tough moment. But I can say that I found many, many people much stronger than me. Much stronger. When I was going to the hospital, I say, hey, I have to help myself and help the others, but they were helping me much more than me of them to them. But sports helped me a lot with discipline, with believing what I was going to do. Yeah, tough. But I hope that messages arrived. Everybody have to. To go in the direction that the doctor give to you. And you have to be. To do it also. Sometimes when you are not connected and you say, no, I don't do it. You have to do it anyway.

[Kim Clijsters]

And the support from the other fellow Italian tennis players. And you guys were always close, right? Like, you always had good relationships. I see it now when we play the Legends tournaments and stuff, like with Flavia and all the. The girls like, you always were very. Yeah, you always were very close. I feel like the Italians are such a close group of people that. Yeah, and it's. It was always really nice to see that, you know, the support must have been also there, right?

[Francesca Schiavone]

Very important. Family. Family. My mother saved my life, my dad saved my life. My wife saved my life. So is important with who you. You are and the love that you receive. That's fantastic. Really. I have to say thanks to them forever. And then. What can I say? After a while I spoke with. Because at the start I didn't say anything. Then after a while I spoke with Flavia and they say, hey, listen, you are pregnant. I'm gonna vomit every day. So we feel good together and find a way to support each other. So I went to her some days and we were crying, we were vomiting, we were chatting, eating something together. And yes, she support me and I will remember this forever. And now, unfortunately, she lives close to me, so I have to see her every. Not every day, now a little bit less, because I am in Varese. But as soon as I can, I go to visit her and she comes to me.

[Blair]

Are you auntie Francesca to her kids?

[Francesca Schiavone]

See, see A little bit. Because I don't have a lot of patience. I say, hey, you have to do this. We don't go to the bicycle.

[Blair]

Yeah, no. I was curious too with the. The current Italian players. Obviously, I think you guys were the blueprint. You and Flavia and Roberta and Sara. I feel like you guys really set the tone for what we're seeing now in Italian tennis. Do you have relationships with the current players? How much did you see them when they were young? Did you know that you had a Jannik sinner coming up the pipeline? Can you tell us a little bit about that?

[Francesca Schiavone]

But with Sara, of course, she's still working and playing tennis. So we have great relationships. Flavia and me. We already finished. So we spoke a lot some years ago, like four, five years ago, about Janik, about the new generation start to manage very good. With Jannik, of course. I saw him when he was 15 years old and was impressed, impressed. Then I saw him again in the next gen and I say, wow, he's a bomb. He would be number one in the world. Then I saw Alcaraz and I I the. The year after. And I say the same. So all this part a big champions push. The rest of the guys on the bottom two, believe that they can do it and is happening like this. The system starts to work and from outside, me, Flavia, Roberta, Sarah, we say yes, we did something for this. And now the system create amazing opportunity for everybody that.

[Kim Clijsters]

Are you. Are you guys involved with the federation, the Italian Federation at all? Or it's separate? No, zero when you talk about the system. Because a lot of countries are looking at the Italian system as a blueprint to say, okay, let's start following what they're doing. Is it a system? Is it a little bit of luck too that there is individuals? With me and Justine, it was the same. We had very different systems growing up, but we came up at the same time. How is that for like in Italian tennis?

[Francesca Schiavone]

I think the big project grow not with the system. Yannick grow by himself with his team and working hard and with big talent that he's still working a lot on it. Then what did good. The federation was and is still number of tournaments, a lot of tournaments. In Italy. So you have a opportunity that maybe in other country. No, you take a car, you go, you. You play. Now is very expensive sport. So you have this opportunity. Instead of flying from Argentina to here, find way to stay here one month. No, we have a lot of tournaments young then professional. This is a step very important. Then they create for young. So the school, when you start a system, they say. I can say very separate one to another one. And then give the opportunity to send you someone to check what you are doing and to prove that that part. If you have a girl or a boy work good 12 years old. There is one coach that in your region can help the. The coach that stay in that club. So like body are growing. I'm not a great supporter about this, because depends where is coming the help and the system. But there are some other problems. For example, there are so many coaches that we don't need so many coaches. It's important that every kids are in good hands. That's very important. Otherwise we are doing something bad for the young guys and girls. So it's a knife. It depends where you take it. But everybody speak about this. Good.

[Kim Clijsters]

I wanted to get you to speak a little bit of Italian, but I want you to say your favorite quote in Italian. There we go. That's what I needed from her. Thank you so much. What shot would you have wanted to steal from another player when you were still on tour?

[Francesca Schiavone]

Your forehand on top of the ball

[Kim Clijsters]

and I wanted your slice. What's your favorite pasta?

[Francesca Schiavone]

Spaghetti.

[Kim Clijsters]

What was your go to kind of move to go over the emotions of losing or the anger or the frustration? Like, what did you do to kind of get out of it? Did you want to talk to people or did you were like, leave me alone.

[Francesca Schiavone]

Sitting in the bicycle, drinking a good. A good drink to recover and then speak about the match. The most important thing that was was going good. So something positive. I love it. And then some other part that I could improve because it was not going good. And then to be pissed, to be pissed to go against someone, a coach or someone say bad things. And taking out all the bad spirit that I had inside when I was losing, when I was winning was different.

[Kim Clijsters]

Who was your toughest opponent to play? Or the player where you felt like, oh, like I have to, you know, hit harder, move faster. Like. Like if you played. If. Did you have a moment like that where you played somebody? Like, for me, it was Serena when I played her early on, where I was like, oh, man. Like she hits the ball so hard, she Moves well, like I have to be able to, to, to step up on every level for myself to, to be able to ever, you know, beat again to, to beat her. Right, Because I didn't have the variety that you had, right, where you could do the drop shot, you could do the slides, you could make the angles on the whole court. So I really had a very big moment in my career when I played Serena where I was like, okay, I have to really get better and become stronger and faster and be more aggressive with my ground strokes.

[Francesca Schiavone]

That's very interesting. A very good example for other players, I think Venus, you and Sharapova, because you were always on top of me and I was not supporting that part. I was hating to feel under depression all the time, but was a correct tactic to play against me and to find always a solution to go from defense to attacker was not easy. Much better on clay because I could create time to attack you or to use the angle and use a different spin. But you were the, the worst for me. Some Russian players with no head, that was attacking with no reason, that kind of things I didn't like. But then like you say, every, every time that you go out from the court, you learn something to be a little bit better the. The match after or against the same opponent.

[Kim Clijsters]

Well, Schiavo, thank you so much for taking your time. I feel like we can talk for, for a long time about all the other things in Tendas too. But I really, really appreciate you coming on and it was really nice to see you.

[Francesca Schiavone]

And Grazia, where do you come? Roland Garros?

[Kim Clijsters]

Are you coming, May? It's going to be close. It's right when the kids have the exams in school, so it's always a tough time. But are you doing Wimbledon at all or.

[Francesca Schiavone]

No, I'm going with Lily.

[Kim Clijsters]

Okay, so I'm gonna be there. Hopefully I'm gonna be there later in the, in the. Later in the first week or maybe beginning of second week. So I hope I see you. All right. Thanks so much.

[Francesca Schiavone]

Bye.

[Kim Clijsters]

Take care.

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[Blair]

That was so much fun. And Kim, if you are reunited with Schiavo at Wimbledon, we need pictures, video and a tick tock, please and thank you.

[Kim Clijsters]

Tick tock. The last. Maybe pushing it, but all the, the, the first two. Yes, no problem.

[Blair]

Okay, sounds good.

[Kim Clijsters]

I also don't think she's a tick tocker, to be honest.

[Blair]

It's fair.

[Francesca Schiavone]

That's.

[Blair]

That's a fair point. All right, time for some Henley's headlines as we are about to start two weeks in Madrid, which I don't know that we've ever talked about. The two week Masters. Kim, that's a, that's a conversation for another day. I would love to hear your uncensored thoughts on that. But we are coming off a week where there was a lot of action on both the men's and women's side. Marta Kostyak defeated her countrywoman Veronica Podres in Ruoff. It was the first all Ukrainian final in WTA history. Special for both of those players. Costiuk's second title. Podros was playing in her very first WTA Tour level event as a qualifier reaches the final at just 19 years old. That was an incredible story. You liked her game, Kim?

[Kim Clijsters]

I did, very much so. I just loved, you know, I guess when you're young and it's your first time, right, you, you feel that kind of free flowing ground strokes. But I just felt like her arm was nice and light. She was accelerating well through the ball. I think she, she was a good mover. She was able to show some variety out there with drop shots, with slices. But I think. But Marta was just the overall better player, just a little bit more consistent, a better serve, was able to go for the winner a little bit faster. But a really, you know, really inspiring and motivational week for her and she, yeah, this is something that if you can have this early on in your career, you just take so much confidence away from it. And for her to now go to her next tournament, no matter where that's going to be, she's going to have that belief of I've beaten some really good players at the Ruana tournament and now I can build from there. And it's a little bit also what Francesca and I were talking about. What do you take away from these losses? Right? What will she take away from the loss against. Against Marta and where will she try to implement getting better and how will she do that? So I think that's really a new name for us to kind of follow as well and excited to see what she will do in these next few weeks because Sometimes you can also see the opposite. You can see a player having a good week and then maybe having a few slower weeks ahead. So really interesting time for us to. To follow her too.

[Blair]

Elena rbakina won her 13th title in Stuttgart, getting the better of Carolina Mohova in the final one. Her second Porsche in three years. Good news, Kim. She did not have her driver's license when she won her first two years ago. She does now, so she can drive her. I believe the color was like Cartagena yellow.

[Kim Clijsters]

Yeah.

[Blair]

Porsche. Should she so desire. I mean, what a problem to have.

[Kim Clijsters]

Did you ever win a car? I did. I did my first ever tournament that I won. WTA tournament. I actually won a car and I didn't have a driver's license. It was in Luxembourg and it was a Seat. It was a Seat Ibiza. It was like this.

[Blair]

Oh, my gosh, I need to Google.

[Kim Clijsters]

Yeah, it was a smaller car, but it was like a very sporty, trendy car that people were, you know, driving in Europe and, and yeah, but usually, you know, they have the winner drive and like, do a little tour, like a little circle on the court. But I obviously was not allowed to do that yet because it would have been too dangerous. Maybe with the license. It would have been dangerous anyway. My dad would be very funny at, you know, when I won my. He's like, me, maybe we should need to look for a tournament where they give a hummer to the champions because it would have been better.

[Blair]

Safer.

[Kim Clijsters]

Safer for everybody involved. But, you know, again, Rybakina. I never played in the Stuttgart tournament, so I never got to experience what that's like. But I went to visit there as a former player and great venue. The food was incredible. Like, they, they, the catering is, is really, really top level. And so the players, yeah, they, you know, you feel that they're really putting everything into the tournament. So exciting for Rybakina to now, you know, not just on the hardcores, but also a few weeks later, already win her first title in clay as well.

[Blair]

And also notable for Mohova, she got her first win over Coco in seven tries en route to the final there, which I would think has got to be a mental boost for her because if it gets, if we get past six, that starts getting in the danger zone.

[Kim Clijsters]

I think after four, it starts getting in the danger zone already. But I think, I mean, I also think Sven has, has. Is having a very, very big impact on her. And I think it's not so much with changing her game style around. I think it's more with the consistency of the work, putting in, setting goals, having the proper kind of work balance, just putting some structure behind it. And I think that was maybe lacking a little bit in the past with her. So a great effort from her and her team to have some really good results now already as well. Yes.

[Blair]

Ben Groenefeld of course, coaching Carolina Mohova and then Ben Shelton defeated Flavio Caboli. In other German action in Munich, he became the first American man to win a title on clay above an ATP 250 since Andre Agassi won Rome in Drumroll 2002. And so that's, that's big for Ben and I know it has been so much fun watching Brian Shelton, Ben's dad and coach, watching his mentality and the way that he's passed that on to Ben and the way that Ben has bought in to the big picture mentality. His YouTube channel or his YouTube series is actually called the Long Game. And that is really how they've approached everything about his tennis. And there has been plenty of pressure and plenty of opinions from the outside being like, you should do it this way, you should do it that way. He should be hitting his big bomb serve every time. But watching him, it's funny. Gil Gross actually did a great breakdown of Ben Shelton serve in Munich. He was actually going for the big bomb serve more often. But watching Ben play in Houston, I've never seen so much variety on, on a serve in my life. Not only is he mixing the kick, the slice, the hard flower flat first serve, but he's also varying where he serves from on almost every serve. So he just is giving the opponent a different look every time. And nice to see it paying off

[Kim Clijsters]

for Ben to have that extra weapon of the serve that is a big weapon on any surface, but on clay it takes it away from you a little bit. Right? Like Andy had a great serve that was super effective on, on a hardcore, but it just did not have the same effect on, on, on, on the clay courts. And so the fact that he's able to with power, but also the variety just over time just, just plays a big role. But the fact that he was able to just get a lot more free points on clay is super, super helpful. Especially when you get to Paris and you have to play, you know, could play five set matches like you get a lot of free points is, is definitely very, very helpful.

[Blair]

And Arthur Feast beat Andre Rublev in Barcelona, excuse me, Artur Feast. Depending on who you're talking to, depending on if you're talking there you go, I'm letting you pronounce that from now on. You've got that one for me, Kim. So he won in Barcelona. He did the pool jump, which is great. I do just want to mention that Houston, Houston has also done a pool jump for a really long time. I know it's not as big of a tournament as Barcelona, but y' all people are acting like it. It's, what a great celebration. I'm like, you could have just seen that a week ago anyway. But well, well done to Houston for also doing a pretty great full jump.

[Kim Clijsters]

It was nice to see some of the images though from Barcelona, seeing him with like his mom and dad and you can see that, you know, there has been so much expectation on him, right, of winning and having, you know, beating the best players players and having some of these like, you know, big results already. And so for him to win his first ATP event is, is exciting to see and he seems very, you know, down to earth and I've never met him in person. Like I've seen him around but it's, it's really nice to see him, him do well and, and again like it's super exciting times now with the French Open coming up, especially for a guy like him. Like I just was watching the news at home and just to see the effect that somebody like that has on, on the local, you know, not just the media but the crowd in general like it. I, I think we're going to see something at the French Open that we haven't seen in a long time and, and we've seen, you know, Mon Fils be supported and, and, and Tsonga see like supported like by the French crowd. But with Ar Fils, yeah, we're going to see a different level.

[Blair]

I think the Laureus Awards were also a couple of nights ago and Arena Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz won sportswoman and sportsman of the year. There were lots of tennis players there because this took place in Madrid where players are this week. Novak Djokovic was the co host with Eileen Goo. And news that was broken to me this morning is I am sitting here talking to my very own Laurus Award winner Kim in 2020 10.

[Kim Clijsters]

Yeah, I think I won the comeback Laureus Award in 2010 which was super exciting but because it was, I think around the Indian Wells time that I couldn't, couldn't actually be there. And so they came to the house and you know, did my hair and makeup and I got the whole, the whole spiel. So it was, yeah, a nice moment. And it's funny because I have a lot of, you know, the trophy is not in my home now, but it's when. When I had it at the house, it was a lot of the Americans would be very. It's basically like the Sporting Grammy or a Sporting Oscar. Right. So it was just nice to see. Yeah. That a lot of. I could entertain a lot of people at the house by holding a Lauria's trophy party.

[Blair]

Unrelatable party tricks. File that under that's right. All right, that brings us to Kim Formation, my favorite few minutes of our recording time, mostly just because I get to say confirmation and then learn from Kim Kleisters. But, Kim, we're going to keep it relatively short today. I want to talk about Elena Rbachina on clay because I think most people who watch tennis casually, they envision a game style like IGA Witek or Rafa Nadal as the type of game that works well on clay. And then you see a player like Elena Rina, who's now won Stuttgart twice. She. Is her game just good enough to do well on any surface? Was she benefited by the fact that Stuttgart is indoors? Is there room for many game styles to be good on clay?

[Kim Clijsters]

I think all the above is. Is true, but I do think the biggest factor or advantage that she has on any surface is the ability of her first and second shot being so deadly. Right. Like, she is able to. I think if I would have played her on clay or on any surface, my goal would have been to try to make her move as quickly as possible. I wouldn't try to hit three balls in the same corner of the court because I wanted to keep her on the run. But you have to be able to do that. When she hits the ball as deep and as flat as she does, it is really hard to, you know, stay very low. And we've seen Sabalenka be able to do it, but it's really hard to do that point after point for, you know, hours upon time. And I think even on clay, you can say, okay, I'm going to move back a little bit. I do think she's. She's moving a little bit better as well. She's moved better on staying a little bit closer to her baseline and getting that. That wide, wide forehand kind of on the run to hit that a little bit better. So I do see definitely that she's worked a lot on her stability. I feel like when she's being pushed out into the tram lines, but it's just so hard. You have so much Pressure on you when you're playing against her because she serves so well, so you hardly get an opportunity to get break points. And then that automatically gives you a lot more pressure on your own service game. She's a great returner as well. So from the moment that she sees a second serve, she's going to step in and she's really going to be blast a return into the corner. So you're starting to defend all the time. So it's. Yeah, she's just doing those first two shots of the rally, like really, really well. And at the end of the day, the surface at that point doesn't matter because you can't get to use the advantage of clay against her when she's playing at her best.

[Blair]

I was just looking it up. She has reached the quarterfinals twice at Roland Garros. Would you consider her a favorite for the title?

[Kim Clijsters]

Yes.

[Blair]

Yep, you heard it here. I love that. All right, who would you think is the.

[Kim Clijsters]

Who's the number one?

[Blair]

Oh, gosh.

[Kim Clijsters]

Do you put Coco in there?

[Blair]

Those three? Yes, I put Coco in there. Yeah. So who, who you. Well, we, I think we just listed four.

[Kim Clijsters]

Right. And I put Giga in there. No matter. Yeah, no matter what.

[Blair]

Gosh, who knows? I love it though. I love, I love that we have no idea.

[Kim Clijsters]

And I like even talking to Francesca today. She's a kind of player that she didn't have the harder shots, right. But if there's a player developing today or a junior, if you can have the power, but at the same time still develop your net game and get the slice and the drop shot under control. I think the variety is going to have to be used to try and beat these hard hitters where you can compete with them at a level when you know, strength wise and power wise, but still be able to throw some slices in there. Because you see Sabalenka do it when she's playing against Rybakina, right. Like on hardcore, a drop shot, a slice here and there, just to try and break the rhythm up a little bit and just to try to get into their head of like, oh, do I step in, do I, you know, stay a little bit further back? So that is going to be so important. And it's not just hit the ball hard, hit the ball hard, but really try and use the variety that you can, whether it's with a slice backhand or throwing up a higher forehand once in a while. And it's that combination that's going to be needed to try and break some of these opponents players. Down when they're playing and hitting the ball so hard and without. Without a lot of unfairs.

[Blair]

Man, that was a great confirmation today. I love. I loved that breakdown. What a. What a way to tie things in. A nice little bow for us today, Kim. This has been such a fun episode. And for those who love our recommendations, and I know there are at least three of you, we will get back to those eventually.

[Kim Clijsters]

Right next to me.

[Francesca Schiavone]

Do you.

[Blair]

Do we have. I don't know if we have time.

[Kim Clijsters]

We can keep it till next week.

[Blair]

Okay, we'll. We'll keep it to next week. We went a little long this week, but we're getting back to our regularly scheduled programming thanks to Kim. We've just had so many amazing guests that we have wanted to give them as much of our time as possible. But it's been fun hanging out with all of you. As usual, new episodes every Wednesday. Make sure to like and subscribe on YouTube. Also on our Love all podcast, YouTube, we'd appreciate a like and subscrib subscribe there as well. Make sure to follow us on all of our social channels@loveallpodcast. And hey, I'm just trying to talk him into TikTok number two. One day it's gonna happen. You're gonna want to follow us now for all of that. We'll see you next time.

[Kim Clijsters]

Bye. See you next week.