Zizou Bergs is honest: he admits that being a tennis player’s partner is not easy at all
Because of the constant travel, the uncertainty, the financial instability when you are not yet full-time on the main tour and, above all, the narcissism required to be successful.
“I’m very well aware that it’s not easy. Everything has to be a little bit about me in the relationship. And a woman has to understand”, the Belgian tells CLAY in this in depth interview.
Bergs, 25, feels blessed with his partner, the social media and marketing strategist, Jirth Maesen. She also helps the tennis player with his social media platforms: “She has to make sure that what she’s doing is enough adaptable towards us. Also with her business”.
Zizou Bergs also described how tough it is to play against Rafael Nadal over clay, and criticized the way Nick Kyrgios reacts when he is the one receiving the criticisms.
Interview with Zizou Bergs
– You are named after Zinedine Zidane. Are you gonna keep the trend and name your kids after a famous athlete if you become a father?
– Oh! I don’t know, my girlfriend is very creative with names. I don’t know if I’m as creative, is but something I haven’t really thought about. My name is Zizou, my girlfriend is called Jirth, which is a very uncommon name as well, so we cannot just name our kids Eric or whatever, so it has to be something creative as well.
– Can you name the toughest thing about playing againts Rafael Nadal? Especially on clay!
– First of all you have the mental part, where you have to play an amazing champion. He’s been there since you grew up with tennis, you always saw him on TV. So, being competitive against him and truly believing you can win is a task in itself—something I really had to work on. Luckily, I succeeded. Then, you come on court and you find his forehand, his backhand. You could say, okay, just avoid a little bit that forehand because it’s really heavy and he will drag it into your backhand, which obviously any double-handed player doesn’t really like.
– And when you try to avoid the forehand, you will find a super tricky backhand.
– He can play it so heavy as well. Those are two aspects in the rally, which is relatively tough to compete with. So it was more like, okay, it has to be important to step in the court a lot. You have to give yourself a chance, being technically wise, you know, play a little bit deeper. With his forehand the ball gets loopy, but not with a great angle. But he had some flashes, obviously, during the match where he really showed that he’s the top of the top.
– Despite you didn’t play against him when he was at his prime, what diferences can you imagine between the 2024 version of Nadal?
– His average level is not the same as before. He’s also a little bit less fast.
– In the previa, when he does all his jumps, does his presence intimidate?
– Luckily the day we played in Rome it didn’t, because I was prepared, I saw him doing it with some other guys. Tennis players talk about it. This is something we attacked early, when we knew we had to play against Nadal. We visualized a lot about different scenarios. And in the beginning, it was just like, okay, I’m ready to beat my opponent. Even though he was doing his thing in the tunnel, you know. So I just took my time to be really focused on myself. And to really have this feeling like I’m going to win the match. Otherwise, would be impossible.
– You created the famous “where is the party” celebration at Roland Garros, interacting with the fans. We didn’t see you repeat it when you qualified for Wimbledon, or when you won in the first round of the US Open. Why not?
– I’ve got to say, the atmosphere in the French Open was ridiculous. It was so good from the first day of quallies until the last day I was playing there. Surreal. I was really grateful for that. Everything depends on how the atmosphere is going during the match. In Wimbledon, there’s a whole other vibe. It is different and unique. Less loud, more classic. It was quite funny, because after the French Open, every tournament I was playing I hear so many people shouting, ‘where is the party?’ Also in one on-court interview after a victory in s-Hertogenbosch the presentator asked me at the end ‘where is the party’. It’s a lot of fun that the fans are vibing with me.
– Nick Kyrgios didn’t approved the celebration. Did you see his comment in Twitter?
– No. What did he say?
– “Lame”, as “not cool”
– I barely know him, but I have to say I do really like him. On court he’s doing things a little bit differently. To say “lame” is a little bit less nice from him. He can criticize a lot, but when he gets criticized, he never takes it well. I’m not surprised that he’s saying this (laughs).
Lame
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) May 31, 2024
– Talking about the French crowd, your countryman David Goffin disagrees. He didn’t have the same amount of fun in the French Open with the fans. He said he was insulted for many hours, and that tennis was close to become like football, with hooligans and flares.
– First of all, in France I have a little bit of an advantage with my name Zizou. So I guess somewhere if you behave well the people will be nice with you, and that’s a little bit what happened in my game against a French player, in the Suzanne Lenglen with an insane atmosphere. People were cheering for him, and not against me, so that was great. You can imagine, if you’re playing a French guy late in the evening, a lot of people have been drinking… it can go over the top, so I’m not surprised that happened (to Goffin), especially with alcohol. You have to be nice, and hope to play a match not too late in the day.
– How’s your tik toker career going? Your girlfriend —a social media expert— has been very supportive with you…
– It started a little bit with my friends saying hey, I think this is a great opportunity for you to go into it. I think it was in 2020. So I jumped on it and I was enjoying it. I did it for 2-3 years, but then at the end of last year, I wasn’t feeling it anymore. I felt like I needed a break even though it was booming like crazy. Just a little bit time consuming, energy consuming. I didn’t quit, I just seeing when I’ll start again.
– Do you edit the videos yourself, or someone does it for you?
– There was a company giving me a lot of ideas, scripts. I had to film. Sometimes they made the videos, other times I did. My girlfriend, who is also doing marketing now, was helping me, so it was less time consuming. It’s not as easy to do a consistent TikTok, because TikTok is a different platform You need to post frequently in order to stay in that algorithm So it’s not as Instagram You just post sometimes and it’s going well You really need to post every week consistently So it’s different
@zizoubergs Episode 2 anyone? #tennisplayer #tennistiktok #lifeasanathlete #tennismemes #tennisvideo #tennisplayersbelike #sportmemes ♬ original sound – Jim
– There’s a funny video about what it’s like dating a tennis player, with a lot of jokes. But in the reallity, how is it like to date a tennis player?
– I’m very well aware that it’s not easy. Everything has to be a little bit about me in the relationship. And a woman has to understand. I’m very blessed with my girlfriend, who is fully involved with what we’re doing. She’s fully behind it as well. She also really wants to see us win. For example, the other day I was between Halle or Queens. I didn’t know if I was going to play and where, so at the very last minute I said ‘fuck, we need to go to the airport right now’. She left everything behind. She went with us to the airport. She has to make sure that what she’s doing It’s enough adaptable towards us. Also with her business. She decided to start it on her own, doing it a little bit more part-time together with studies, so there’s not too much stress on her job. It’s not like she can take any job with us in order to have a healthy relationship. So, not easy to be with us (laughs).
– What’s the first thing you do when you get a big prize money?
– Honestly, I don’t do anything with it. I remember the first big check (USD 130.ooo) I took was in Dubai, in the Tie Break Tens exhibition. We were like… what now? I chat also straight away with financial advisors, and it turns out that it’s not smart to buy anything there in Dubai. I just like my lifestyle as it was and obviously the more money you get the more you will upgrade the restaurants, the hotels. But that’s it. Investing more in the team of course, to make the team grow around you. To get a better and healthier body with a better mentally.
– Your grandpa was important to you. You dedicated videos on Tik Tok to him. He was a great source of inspiration. How was that relationship?
– He was very supportive with tennis and obviously when you see your grandkid doing well in a certain sport you start to become very proud. We had a different relationship comparing to my other cousins. We were more intense. We shared the same values and interests. We were both interested in bussiness management, so we were talking a lot about it. Every time I got in a difficult period or needed life advice, or coaching stuff, he was there for me with a clear advice.
– He was super involved in your career.
– In juniors and in first years of pro he was travelling with me to some tournaments. We would share the room and he would take us out for dinner many times. I remember going out and if the Chinese restaurant was closing, he would tell the owner ‘it’s better to stay open because we’re gonna eat a lot’. He would send me a lot of details about the opponent. After the match he loved to do analysis. I always hoped that if he passed away that he would keep advising me. And surprisingly, I felt certain signs, like stupid things, like dreams. So it’s crazy how it is the relationship because the connection is still there.
If you enjoyed this interview with Zizou Bergs, don’t miss in this link to our site, many other interviews with the great tennis stars.
