Interview
Sarah Beth Grey on bouncing back to her best, doubles delight and her 2024 bucket list
Sarah Beth Grey has kick-started the new season with the biggest title of her career - setting the stage for what could be a standout year for the British tennis star.
Like many tennis players, Grey has faced her fair share of challenges, with the most notable coming back in 2022 when she was forced to undergo a heart procedure after a routine ECG picked up an abnormality in her heart rhythm.
Fast forward to 2023 and Grey well and truly bounced back stronger than ever, with the Brit having the most decorated year of her career having picked up five doubles titles on the ITF Tour. With the new season underway, it’s safe to say the 28-year-old has picked up where she left off last year - already hitting a new milestone by picking up her biggest title to date at the W75+H Porto event.
We caught up with Grey who reflected on last season’s accomplishments, her winning week in Porto and what she’s most looking forward to in the upcoming year both on and off the court.
You won five ITF titles last year in your first full season back after having heart surgery in 2022 – how much motivation has that given you to keep pushing on and to compete?
I feel motivated as ever right now. I’m working on generating momentum and resilience, in matches and throughout tournaments. Following successful heart surgery, I had to refocus my mindset to highlight why I chose this sport and how far I’ve come since I started, and then develop my own rehabilitation program to get me back to where I wanted to be. I’m open to experiences and know I can rise to any challenge and each time this makes me stronger.
You had a great end to last season, and you’ve just won your career best title in Porto – how are you feeling in your game at the moment?
I’m feeling really confident with where my game is at right now. I’ve been fully fit and healthy since the end of last summer. My main focus has been to play as many tournaments as I can whilst taking direction from my coaching team regarding scheduling and rebalancing needs. As a result, I’m starting to feel some momentum again.
Porto was a great week; Olivia (Nicholls) and I have a lot of past experience with playing together. We started our careers playing doubles together so that was really nice to team up again years later and have such a successful week against a lot of strong teams. We’re looking to team up again soon.
What learnings have you taken from 2023 that you hope will help you improve this year?
My learnings from 2023 are to let go of the time pressures we feel as athletes, everyone is on their own path and journey. We’ve seen that with Rohan Bopanna becoming the oldest world No.1 in the men’s doubles and Arina Rodionova becoming the oldest woman to break into the world’s top 100 in the singles.
You’ve played with Olivia Nicholls, Lissey Barnett and Eden Silva recently – do you see any of those as a potential long-term doubles partnership going forward?
I’ve played with a lot of different partners in the last year. It definitely helps having a set partner for long travel stints, but equally it’s good to keep things fresh with partnerships so they don’t become stale.
How much do you enjoy having the opportunity to play more events on home soil now, like the recent events in Loughborough and Sunderland? How important is that for players?
Yes, it’s great that we have had a lot more events on in the last few years. I think the benefits of that have shown massively with rankings improving across the board for the men and women. Travel costs are one of the biggest roadblocks for self-funded pro players, so having weeks at home in the UK helps negate those costs massively.
You’re juggling both singles and doubles draws at the moment – do you see yourself potentially leaning more one way or the other in the future?
Right now, my rankings are in a place where I have to play an ITF schedule. I’m still fully focused on both singles and doubles. I feel as though I’m fit enough to compete on both the singles and doubles tours, and I also feel as though they both benefit each other. I think I’ll cross that bridge if and when it presents itself.
Have you set yourself any goals or aspirations this year? Are there any bucket list achievements you’d like to check off this year on and off the court?
My biggest goal is to continue to compete consistently, staying healthy and injury free. After the last few years of health and injury challenges it feels amazing to be back fitter than ever and improving my game. I feel if I can take care of those areas as best I can then I’ll continue to see my ranking creeping in the right direction. I’m really into my running, and I would love to do a half marathon this year.
Off court, I’ve started to get into photography. The weeks on tour can feel quite repetitious. Plane, hotel, gym, tennis courts. I want to try and spice that up a little and take some cool pics of my weeks on tour throughout the year. I had the idea as I love looking back at old family pictures, I feel as though they hold so many core memories and stories to share. I’m also quite creative, so I’ve been spending a decent chunk of my downtime designing on my iPad.