Often it has been suggested that having a family member competing in a professional sport has its advantages and disadvantages. Many well-documented cases include the Williams Sisters, Serena and Venus, and the Bryan Brothers, who have been at the top of the doubles game for fifteen years now, which is an astounding feat in itself.
Sara Tomic, despite only being 18 years of age, has had the limelight firmly on her from a very young age. Many well-respected journalists and avid tennis aficionados have waited for the arrival of the younger Tomic sibling, who is the younger sister of World No. 27 ATP player Bernard Tomic.
Bernard Tomic made a lot of noise during the 2011 Wimbledon Championships where he achieved his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, eventually losing to the winner Novak Djokovic in that quarterfinal. Some feel that he has underachieved at this stage in his career, but the unmistakable talent that he possesses have led to heightened expectation following him throughout the earlier phases of his career.
So does having it hinder or support a player when they have a family relative in the same profession as them? Sara Tomic’s insight was rather interesting as she weighed up the advantages and limitations that she has faced because Bernard Tomic is her brother.
It is hard for any tennis player that was born in a country with great tennis tradition, and with that tradition comes greater expectations. You have to remember that Australia has anticipated and been yearning for a regular Grand Slam winner since Evonne Goolagong in the 1970s. Samantha Stosur incredibly won a Grand Slam singles title in the 2011 US Open, but what Australian tennis fans are hoping for is the next tennis player that can dominate world tennis for a number of years. Sara Tomic has that expectation lingering over her shoulder because of the great history of Australian tennis and most certainly because of the success that her older brother has had on the Men’s tour.
It is not only increased expectation that makes or breaks players from a young age. A hard outlook that presents itself as a burden for many is the assumption that the younger sibling is being given everything rather than earning their way in the sport. Sara Tomic touched on this in commentary after her win at the Australian Open Wildcard Playoff. Every great moment that the up and coming tennis player experiences on court is sometimes labelled as the player simply being handed opportunity at opportunity. Sara Tomic wants to ensure that the outcomes in her tennis career is reflected through her hard work and focus on bettering herself as a player, and being the best she can be when she makes that transition to the WTA tour.
It is not easy. Many think that it’s a natural progression for every young girl to appear on the junior circuit and then start achieving results on the women’s tour–that can take years and years to accomplish. In addition to this, tennis is an individual sport and it can be a very lonely pace on court and on tour, Sara Tomic may be in regular contact with her brother, but when she gets out on court it is all on her shoulders to deliver great results upon great results.
In many ways having a brother that travels every week to a different event at different countries can have undeniable advantages for Sara Tomic. Yes, Bernard Tomic has not always applied himself to his tennis, and certainly does not always put tennis first, but his sister can learn from that and make sure she gets the very best out of her game. She is a grand slam junior semi-finalist in singles and has won a 10k event on the ITF circuit this year. Her potential is unbelievable. The young Australian surely has many things to improve, the physical side of the game, which will get better as she gets older.
It will be an interesting development to see just how high Sara Tomic rises in the rankings over the next few years. Her progress remains debatable, but what is for sure, is that she plans to put the hard work in to get to where she wants to be.
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