Ajla Tomljanović: Just the Beginning - Issue #16

After more than a decade on the WTA tour, Ajla Tomljanović is finally ready to climb to the top.

Written by Dove Sallow

Ajla Tomljanović is one of the most underrated and seasoned veterans of the tour, who somehow managed to stay relatively under the radar for the first thirteen years of her career. She started out as one of the most promising young talents on tour - many believed she would be a top player and win grand slams one day. Her talent was stifled by injuries and a knack for choking against the upper echelon of the tour. 13 years since the start of her career and Ajla is finally making good on her early promise. Many know her as the woman who retired the great Serena Williams. But for those who’ve been paying attention to the Australian for the last 17 months, Ajla looks like she’s just getting started.

When we first saw her on the tour, she represented her home country, Croatia, before making the switch to represent Australia. For those who are unfamiliar with Ajla’s style of play, the best way to describe it is all-court tennis. When she initially emerged on tour, her game was mainly built on aggressive ground strokes. She could hit dazzling winners, but often made unforced errors in crucial moments of big matches. What we’ve seen from Ajla in the last two years has been quite a shift. She’s become incredibly steady from the back of the court and doesn’t go for too much, too early in rallies. The biggest difference in her game is the drastic improvement in her stamina and endurance. She’s incredibly quick and light on her feet these days, and can wear her opponents down. She still has the power that we saw from her as a young prospect, but she’s reeled it in and is now able to rally with her opponents until she’s ready to go for the higher risk shots. Ajla’s serve has also improved - she doesn’t hit over-powering serves, but she gets a lot of first serves in and goes for placement. In addition, she gets a lot of returns back in play and always makes her opponents play another ball. Her forehand and backhand are both consistent and powerful, but her backhand is the stronger wing. When watching her play, it’s clear and simple to see how comfortable she is on that side. To sum up this revamped Ajla Tomljanović we’ve been seeing the last few seasons, she does everything extremely well. She doesn’t have a major weapon, but she also doesn’t have a major weakness. Every shot she hits is a great strike.

For casual tennis fans, the first time they heard the name Ajla Tomljanović was when she retired the legendary Serena Williams. But heading into that match, Ajla had just made the quarterfinals of Wimbledon for a second year in a row (the first Australian to achieve this feat since Jelena Dokic did it 22 years ago). She was in tremendous form and would be a daunting task for Serena. As a die-hard Serena fan, that match was poignantly hard for me to watch. Given the vintage performance Serena put up in the previous round against the world #2 at the time, Anett Kontaveit, I really felt like Serena had a good shot against Ajla. Like many people, I was rooting for Serena on her final quest for the elusive #24. But every time Serena got up in the score line, Ajla fought back. Serena was up a break in the first set (5-3), but the Australian committed to not giving away any free points and took the set 7-5. When Serena won the second set 7-6(4), I’m pretty sure the entire stratosphere cheered and fist-pumped. But Tomljanović had different plans. She won the third set decidedly, 6-1. To be frank, Ajla broke our hearts. The dream was over and the hope had died. The legend of Serena Williams had finally come to an end, at the hands of an underrated and unsung hero. When Ajla took the microphone after Serena said a final goodbye, she won a lot of angry people over.

When being asked what she’d remember most from the match, Ajla responded:

“I’m feeling really sorry because I love Serena just as much as you guys do. And what she’s done for me, for the sport of tennis is incredible. I never thought I’d have a chance to play her in her last match when I remember watching her as a kid in all those finals, so this is a surreal moment for me. She’s the greatest of all time… period. I think she embodies that no dream is too big, no matter where you come from. I will definitely miss seeing her on the courts. It will not be the same.”

Let me be clear. Ajla was booed during this match. She faced thousands of angry fans in the middle of a historic match. The entire stadium was cheering against her - her winners were not applauded, and she was entirely on her own. The ability it took to overcome the circumstances of playing the G.O.A.T. on her home turf and in her final match was easily the most brilliant thing I saw in 2022. But the grace and composure Ajla displayed in that on-court interview was the pinnacle of what it means to be a tennis fan. She played the match of her life, but expressed that the moment was bittersweet because she was just as much of a Serena fan as everyone in the stands. Just like us, she has heroes and inspirations. The footprint that tennis legends, like Serena, have left on the sport is so deep that she ended her career competing against one of her greatest fans. That is a beautiful thing. Regardless of if people were angry that Ajla won that match, she tapped into the “little kid” in all of us when she gave that speech. In peak form and with a full-heart, Ajla Tomljanović graciously and unforgettably retired the most iconic female athlete of all time.

Ajla’s tennis has finally started to live up to the early promise she showed as a young talent. Over the past decade or so, I often wondered why she hadn’t climbed to the top of the rankings or gone deep in slams. But when watching her retire the greatest champion in women’s sports, only one quote came to mind.

In the words of the great Venus Williams, “Everyone has their moment in the sun”.

Ajla had spent more than a decade on tour, grinding tirelessly and often being forgotten. Through injuries and let-downs, Tomljanović did not back down. She persevered and kept pushing for her moment in the sun. Ajla pushed for more because she knew she deserved more. The life of a tennis player is not easy. They travel the world alone and often face their biggest obstacles on their own. Too many talented tennis players travel the globe each year and never get the opportunity to have their story told. But for the lucky ones, they are able to play a match like Ajla did against their hero in front of thousands of people. Under the blinding lights of New York, in the most-watched tennis match in ESPN history, Ajla’s story would finally begin to be told. After years of trials and tribulations, the sun is now shining brightly and deservingly on Ajla Tomljanović.