NEW YORK – They were days of emotional contrasts for Beatriz Haddad Maia in New York: sporting success and grief over a loss.
The Brazilian achieved one of the best results of her career at the US Open 2024 by reaching the quarter-finals. On the other hand, the death of one of her physiotherapist Paulo Cerutti’s sons shortly after birth hit her hard.
Cerutti and his wife were expecting twins. For this reason, the Brazilian did not travel to the North American swing and stayed in Brazil to attend the birth. After the match that Haddad Maia won against Caroline Wozniacki in the round of 16, the tennis player herself revealed the news she had just received: one of the babies survived, the other did not.
“My mind is a bit crazy, because I just got the news that my physio lost his son. It’s a hard moment for me, but I’m still happy about the victory. The only thing I’m thinking about now is that I’m going to fight until the end and leave everything on the court for him,’ he said after his passage to the quarter-finals.
Although she struggled with the pain, the next round was not successful. She lost 6-1, 6-4 to Karolina Muchova on a court that never suited her. In her first experience on Arthur Ashe, Haddad Maia was not only outclassed by her opponent, but also by the vastness and noise of the world’s largest tennis stadium.
“On my side it was more emotional. Sometimes we have some things on and off the court that can bother us, but yes, today it was my fault. I couldn’t concentrate. It was me against myself, it was my ghosts inside my mind. It was my first time on Ashe. It’s different. It’s huge. It’s loud,’ she confessed.
Her run to the quarter-finals made her the first Brazilian woman in that round since Maria Esther Bueno. The Brazilian legend was a four-time champion when the event was played over the grass of Forest Hills (1959, 1963, 1964 and 1966).
“I feel I am leaving a legacy and opening doors for more tournaments, for more people in Brazil to follow tennis, for more people to support women’s tennis. This fills me with motivation. It’s what drives me to continue, it means a lot to me,’ she told CLAY.
“My life in Brazil is something different now, people stop me in the street or in restaurants, there is always someone who wants a photo, or who reminds me of a match. Some people tell me that their children started playing tennis thanks to me. That makes me proud,’ said the 28-year-old, who will return to the WTA top 20 on Monday thanks to what she did at Flushing Meadows.
Haddad-Maia is very close to her staff. She considers the members of her team as family.
“I always share my thoughts and feelings,” she revealed.
“I can talk 100% about what I feel, express my fears so I can let go of my ghosts. Sharing the deepest part of me makes me much stronger. The most important thing is to have good people and a good environment around me so that whatever happens outside doesn’t affect me so much when I’m on the court,” the Brazilian told CLAY with a good level of Spanish, a language that tennis gave her.
“Pressure? Tennis players deal with good pressure, because our work is a form of entertainment for people. The pressure is harder for things of life and death, and that’s what I’m trying to learn to handle the matches better,” she said.
