At just 18 years old, Marina Stakusic had already participated in the Billie Jean King Cup many times… in her mind.
“In the past, I always visualized myself in these situations. So when I got there, it was as if I had already been there 100 times before,” explained the young athlete in a videoconference with Canadian media on Wednesday.
It’s been 10 days since the Canadian women’s tennis team was crowned world champions for the first time in the tournament’s 60-year history. A triumph partly achieved thanks to the performances of Stakusic, a great discovery of this competition.
Stakusic had just won three ITF tournaments in less than three months when she arrived in Spain for the BJK Cup. She was ranked 258th in the WTA. In the semi-finals and finals, she was trusted to be the first to take action in the Canadian clan; Leylah Annie Fernandez followed in the second match.
If she stumbled in front of the Czech Barbara Krejčíková, 10th in the world, in two quick rounds in the semi-final, Stakusic was sensational against the Italian Martina Trevisan, 43rd in the world, in the final. She was impeccable defensively, explosive, fast.
Above all, she was confident. A quality that must be highlighted given his age and, let us mention, his lack of experience in events of this scale. Stakusic owes this confidence to visualization, her recent victories and training, she summarized.
“I believe in everything I work on. It also comes from my victories. In the last few months, I have won a lot of victories and that increases my confidence. »
Stakusic hasn’t exactly had an easy season. It began with a major knee injury that kept her away from the court for six months, from January to July. During his rehabilitation, competing in the Billie Jean King Cup wasn’t even a possibility. “Honestly, it hasn’t crossed my mind once,” the young woman says.
“I didn’t want to let this injury slow me down. I wanted to come back stronger than I was when I left, so I did a lot of visualization. I had no idea [I would take part in the Billie Jean King Cup]. And I had no idea that we would win, obviously. It’s still crazy to me. »
Nearly two weeks after the Canadian triumph, Stakusic is beginning to realize everything she has experienced in a few months. Shock gives way to pride.
“It happened super fast, but it’s the most incredible end to the season I’ve had. I’m so happy I got to be a part of history. It’s extremely cool and special,” she said.
Another cool thing? Félix [Auger-Aliassime] and Vasek [Pospisil] started following her on Instagram, she noted with a smile, betraying her age.
When a journalist asked her if she followed them back, the young woman smiled again: “I was already following them! “, she said.
Stakusic is back home; she needs to heal a “small abdominal injury” before starting her preseason in Florida. For the next season, his objectives are clear and can be summed up in one sentence: to make his place at Roland-Garros and enter the world’s top 100.
If she was already confident on the Spanish court, the young athlete will be, it goes without saying, even more so after all her most recent results.
“Facing these excellent players allows me to know what I need to improve to reach the highest level. For example, against [Barbara] Krejčíková, it was another level of tennis and I’m proud to have been able to experience that to know where I need to go, where I want to go. »
Obviously, the young athlete doesn’t want to “rush” anything, even if her performances at the Billie Jean King Cup are more than encouraging for the future. She intends to respect the process.
“I just want to take my time, keep working, keep getting better. There are several things I want to work on with my team.
“My goal is to have a very long career, to stay at the top for as long as possible. »
