How old were you when you discovered tennis? Did you love it immediately?
I discovered tennis at the age of four or five because my family played doubles, and I am one of three children. I’m the youngest so had to pick up the balls but if I did a good job with that I got to play for 10 minutes at the end with my mum. She was my first ever tennis coach. I loved it straight away and stuck with it, so it was a no-brainer.
Where is home, and what do you love most about your neighbourhood?
Home is in Battersea. What I love most about my neighbourhood is the parks and the green open spaces, with so many areas to walk the dog in, whether it’s Wandsworth Common, Battersea Park or runs by the river. I feel like I’m connected everywhere but still have that lovely local feel about my neighbourhood.
How do you relax?
I relax by going to Pilates and yoga. I’m starting to pick up more yoga as my flexibility is shocking, so I’m adding more of that to my workouts. Dog walks are also very relaxing with a coffee along the way, taking my time, my dog, Winnie, who loves a two hour walk so everyone is happy.
Can you describe your perfect weekend?
A countryside weekend I think, maybe out to the Cotswolds or further afield if I feel like driving. Weirdly, my dog doesn’t like drives – I do, but she doesn’t. When Winnie is there, we have a great weekend, we eat well, have loads of sleep, enjoy reading – a very wholesome time, living the dream.
What’s been your proudest moment career-wise so far?
My proudest moment career-wise, I think, would be rather than doing a tennis-related one, I’d say the progress I’ve made on the TV work, it’s a lot of hard work at the beginning to get the opportunities that I have now and to see it all come together now. Then definitely on the tournament director side, the last two years at Nottingham have been very rewarding, it’s a year-round job of hard work preparing and then the two-week period of the actual event.
We hear you’ve been using Lingo to track your glucose levels while training! Can you tell us what this is and how you incorporate it into your health and wellbeing regime?
Using Lingo to track my glucose levels while training has been a game changer. Lingo is a continuous glucose monitor that tracks your body’s glucose levels. The biosensor sits on your arm and essentially streams data to the Lingo app, so it’s really quick and easy to see results – it’s definitely been an easy adaptation into my health and wellbeing regime! It’s also been interesting to see how keeping active can help to reduce glucose spikes and increase my energy throughout the day, and using Lingo has helped me make decisions on when to exercise, as well as when and what to eat and drink.
Do you follow a strict health and fitness protocol?
I don’t follow a strict health and fitness protocol, but I do love to stay active and get myself moving and get out. I think one of the biggest changes I’ve made since I stopped competing is not feeling the need to go for a savage interval workout to feel like I’m getting benefits. I can go and do a walk and a stretch and that might be what my body needs on that day, as opposed to going all out every time. So that’s been a bit of a change, but I feel like I benefit more from it.
What makes you happy?
Dog, family, friends and tennis. Fairly simple.
Where is your favourite place in the world, and why?
Melbourne because my parents are there, my sister is there, my niece and nephew are there, so getting over for Christmas and getting to stay out there for work in January is one of my favourite times of the year because even across the 5/6 weeks I’m there I can see my niece and nephew grow and change and see their little personalities come to life. It’s great being Auntie Laura when I’m there.
If you hadn’t gone into tennis, what do you think you might have done instead?
If I hadn’t gone into tennis, what would I have done, you know, maybe being on the events side doing that, or maybe in TV? Something along the lines of what I’m doing right now because I do really like it.
Who do you most admire, and why?
I would say my sporting icon was always Steffi Graff. She is my absolute hero. She’s the hardest worker ever, cool as a cucumber on the court, and never got too emotional out there. It was business all the time, and I think you’ve got to have that as an athlete.
What is your earliest London memory?
Probably going on the London Eye. My parents and I moved here when I was six, so one of the first things we did was all the tourist stuff. I specifically remember the London Eye because it was so much lower than I thought. But in one day, we saw Big Ben, the London Eye, the Aquarium, Westminster, and Buckingham Palace – literally all out-tourist mode. We have loads of pictures of me on my dad’s shoulders in the London Eye having a look!
Lingo by Abbott is a biosensor, app and coaching programme that is designed to empower people to better understand their body’s glucose levels, helping people pursue better sleep, mood, focus, energy, and unpredictable cravings, ultimately creating healthier and long-lasting habits.
