Tennis Channel to launch Best of Three with host Daniela Hantuchova

The former world No. 5 tests the golfing skills of tennis’ top stars, including Carlos Alcaraz, Belinda Bencic, and Casper Ruud.
By David Kane

Published Jun 16, 2022

Is grass really for golfers? Tennis Channel viewers will get to make a direct comparison with the forthcoming premiere of Best of Three, set to air throughout the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.

Best of Three is hosted and produced by former world No. 5 Daniela Hantuchova and will feature some of the game’s biggest stars in partnership with the greens of the Indian Wells Golf Course, courtesy of General Manager Sven Wiedenhaupt.

A lifelong golf enthusiast, Hantuchova brought the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Belinda Bencic, and Casper Ruud together for a rare combination of interview and athletic challenge—all on her turf.

“We’re trading one sport for another,” declares the Slovak star, who played some of her best tennis on grass with a Wimbledon mixed doubles victory and three singles finals on the specialty surface.

Ruud in particular may prove her greatest rival: the Roland Garros runner-up is a notoriously good golfer, frequently sharing his exploits on a separate Instagram account.

The six-episode series is set to air on Tennis Channel in late June; check out the action-packed trailer right here!

Daniela Hantuchova, Tommy Haas play for beers in latest “Best of Three”

Can the two-time BNP Paribas Open champion out-golf the Indian Wells tournament director? Check out the full episode on Tennis Channel International.
By David Kane

Published Jul 15, 2022

Daniela Hantuchova’s golf tour continues on “Best of Three” as she welcomes BNP Paribas Open tournament director Tommy Haas to the Indian Wells Golf Course for another episode of “Best of Three.”

While the two-time BNP Paribas Open champion danced through the premiere with doubles icon Sania Mirza, Hantuchova changed the up the stakes for the former world No. 2:

Haas retired from tennis in 2017 after a career that took him to four Grand Slam semifinals—three at the Australian Open, one at Wimbledon—but didn’t stray far from the sport, presiding over the Indian Wells Tennis Garden each year.

Who has to chug a pint after a tense golf challenge? Stream now at Tennis Channel International!

A Story of Progress > Daniela Hantuchová

"My recipe for success?
To be totally honest with myself in everything I do."

For a long time, Audi has set a high bar in the field of modern technology, top quality and driving comfort. The fully electric Audi e‑tron models represent a new milestone on the road to sustainability. Their task is to change the view of electromobility in the eyes of the customer, especially in terms of quality of processing, dynamics of driving characteristics and the use of the most modern technologies.

Cooperation with Daniela Hantuchová, former tennis player and current sports commentator, is a natural connection. It has not only tenacity and determination in common with the Audi brand. In her tennis career, Daniele managed to fight her way to the top of the world, and after it ended, she found herself facing a completely new challenge. Thanks to his will to take advantage of every opportunity and give only the best of himself, he is successfully progressing in this area as well. As a long-term leader, the Audi brand shares Daniela's philosophy and offers its customers a revolutionary change that will once again bring them a first-class experience by combining comfort, innovation and design.


" I'm glad that I managed to get so high. It was a lot of hard work, mistakes..."
Daniela Hantuchová
tennis player and sports commentator

"It's hard to suddenly quit and imagine that you can be equally good at something else."
Daniela Hantuchová
tennis player and sports commentator

Who is Daniela Hantuchová

A former Slovak tennis player whose name is probably not unknown to anyone. A native of Poprad, who conquered the whole world in tennis. Among her greatest achievements are the fifth place in the WTA world ranking in singles and victories in all four Grand Slam tournaments in mixed doubles. Daniela was introduced to tennis by her grandmother, who in the past belonged to the Czechoslovak elite. She started training in Matadorka from Petržalka. Her exceptional talent soon became apparent, and Daniela won her first tournament at the age of six. After the successes in the student category, international tournaments soon followed. When she was 18, she won her first prestigious tournament on the WTA circuit, the American Indian Wells.

From the beginning of her professional career until its end in 2017, she brought many world successes to Slovakia. However, she did not give up tennis even after leaving; she started working as a presenter and commentator of world tennis events. As Daniela herself mentions, the opportunity to comment on tournaments for the world's media came unexpectedly, but she took it with greater joy. As in tennis, she also tries to be the best and surpass herself when commentating.


"Tennis taught me that the offered chance should be used immediately."

Daniela Hantuchová
tennis player and sports commentator

@ google translate

Australian Open 2023: Linda and Brenda Fruhvirtova are among the next generation of tennis stars – and have earned impressive reviews
New year, new generation. LINDA PEARCE looks at some of the impressive teenagers to have made their mark at Melbourne Park this year.
Linda Pearce

There are shades, just maybe, of Venus and Serena Williams in the closely connected and precociously talented Fruhvirtova sisters, the latest products of the remarkable Czech women’s tennis production line.
Not least because the word is that – yes, I know, you’ve heard it before, many times – the younger sibling could even be the better of the two.
And that would make Brenda Fruhvirtova, 15, something extra special, given that Linda Fruhvirtova, 17, has been so exceptional on her Australian Open debut.

...

And so, given that the sisters both train regularly at the Mouratoglou Academy in Nice, no wonder Serena comparisons are being made, with whispers Brenda will be the top Fruhvirtova in the end.
“Yeah, yeah, we’ll see,’’ smiles former Australian Open semi-finalist Daniela Hantuchova. “It’s still a long way, so I’m always careful with the predictions, but obviously they’re on the right track.
“They’ve got such natural movement around the court, wonderful athletes as well, anyone from the Czech Republic, they are willing to put the hard work in, so that’s one of their biggest strengths, too.’’
“And it’s just amazing the Czech tennis, what they’ve been able to produce over the past few years.’’...

Former world No. 5 Hantuchova, from the neighbouring Slovak Republic, has no doubt that both sisters will excel.
“I already saw Linda two years ago, three years ago, and I thought ‘Yeah, obviously they are both very special. They remind me, especially Linda, a little bit of Martina Hingis.
“As far as her shot selection goes, at such a young age, she’s so smart; as far as big points, she played the right way, which is unusual at her age.
“Normally, if I remember myself, I would hit the fence or just make too many unforced errors, where she’s very mature for her age and I think that’s one of her strengths.’’

Daniela Hantuchová: I am gradually opening up to offers to train
Andrej Bučko

today 09:00 |

After years of searching, but also due to pandemic restrictions, this year the tournament of legends returned to the Australian Open in full splendor. True, rather the younger ones, since Stefan Edberg, Ivan Lendl, John Newcomb, Boris Becker or Martina Navrátilová can no longer be seen with a racket like they used to. However, names such as Bob and Mike Bryan, Agnieszka Radwanská, Radek Štěpánek, Tommy Haas and Slovak Daniela Hantuchová enjoy popularity.

No one knows what they are playing for and in what format, but they entertain and attract fans. Daniela Hantuchová is now almost a regular part of these events and fully deserved. She was not only the world number five, the winner of the Federation Cup and a semi-finalist in Melbourne, but also a four-time Grand Slam champion and at the same time the holder of the career Grand Slam in mixed doubles. At the Australian Open, she is now paired with Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska.

Since the end of her active career, Daniela has fully adapted herself to the role of television commentator. "I have been commentating for four or five seasons, I found myself in this position. I know exactly what I can expect from it, I am grateful for it," our former representative told us. At the same time, she admitted that the beginnings in front of the camera were not easy.

"It's more difficult to make a mark in it than as a player on the court. There are not many commentator positions, and commentating from Slovakia for American, British or Australian stations is in some ways a greater success than winning tennis matches. It requires much more focus, effort, studies and discipline. I greatly appreciate that this part of my life is also with tennis and that this career is also working out for me," she does not hide his enthusiasm.

The Poprad native doesn't show up at home many times even during her retirement. "I often travel like in the old days as a player. I do all the biggest WTA tournaments for Amazon TV. In the meantime, when I have free time, I am mostly in Slovakia and not far around Europe. Anywhere good golf is played. I hardly pick up the racquet until a few days before I go to play so it's not such a big shame. In October, I played a slightly more serious singles match in Luxembourg, so I prepared a little longer there. It is not so necessary for Grand Slam doubles."

We also asked Daniela about activities in Slovakia and coaching offers. "Commenting with traveling exhausts me quite a bit, to which must be added sponsorship obligations. I only go home to relax and spend time with my family and friends. I get a huge number of offers for coaching work from everywhere. I am gradually starting to open up to this as well. We'll see... So far it's still early on, that it's fresh since I finished, but it's fading and it's pulling me to the courtroom," Hantuchová hinted at her possible next activity.

Agnieszka Radwanská was world number two and before the Australian Open she was also the captain of the Polish team in the United Cup. The Melbourne courts suited her and she reached the quarter-finals in 2008 and the semi-finals in 2014. However, Slovak women always stood in her way. She was first eliminated by Hantuchová 6:2, 6:2, then six years later by Dominika Cibulková 6:1, 6:2.

"They were great players, every match against them was difficult. I was looking forward to the fights with them, although I knew what was waiting for me... I don't remember it in a bad way. Now it's nice that Daniela and I play together on the same side of the net and we only remember the former rivalry. We were just talking about her other memorable match in the 2008 semi-finals, when she had Ana Ivanovic on her racket. She led 6:0, 2:0 and lost in three sets. She was within reach of the final, but tennis is a difficult sport. Sometimes it brings tears, sometimes joy, and it's always difficult to get up after a painful loss," Radwanská shared her experience with our newspaper.

She also returned to the final from Melbourne 2014, in which Dominika Cibulková lost to Na Li 6:7, 0:6: "Cibulková had less chances of success in that match because it was the Chinese woman's favorite court. She used her strong serves and hard forehand, she was unstoppable at the time."

Radwanská has a great successor in Iga Swiatek, who dominated both Roland Garros and the US Open last year and already has three Grand Slam titles to her credit. However, the world number one was already eliminated in the round of 16 with Jelena Rybakinová at this year's Australian Open.

"Tennis is an individual sport where the head is extremely important. You have to learn to accept losses and move on. Iga ran into the Wimbledon winner Rybakin very soon. Everyone has sad days and hard losses in their career, the art is to bounce back from them. Fortunately, we have another Pole in the game - Magda Linette. The whole tournament has nothing to lose. She is a very experienced thirtysomething, she believes in her game. She knocked out several strong opponents, and even if Sobolenko will be a big favorite in the semi-finals, Magda will definitely enjoy it," concluded Agnieszka Radwanská.

@ google translate

Laura Robson and former world No.5 Daniela Hantuchova break down the barriers for young girls in tennis

08/03/23 • 3 MINUTE READ

The latest data shows that tennis participation amongst kids is on the rise – great news right?

But, when you drill down into the numbers, as kids start to get older, the gender split in players starts to widen quite significantly, with less girls continuing in the sport.

What’s more, we also know that once playing frequency increases – i.e. shifting from playing once a month to once a week – this gap becomes even greater.

So, what’s causing this growing divide amongst young players?

As girls reach their teenage years, they start to have competing interests and demands on their time, which can often take away from time playing sport. Insights show that during these teenage years gender stereotypes become more defined and they become increasingly self-aware, which can lead to a fall in confidence when it comes to playing sports.

Even in the professional game, challenges and barriers faced by women’s players only continue to develop throughout their careers – as former British No.1 Laura Robson and former world No.5 Daniela Hantuchova know all too well.

‘Weak’, ‘Too emotional’, ‘Afraid’ are just few of the many words and criticisms that thousands of female tennis stars face daily, often receiving critique for factors outside their actual play and performance.

“It makes you angry,’ Robson said at one of our recent coach training days for the new Prime Video LTA Youth Girls programme, designed specifically to get more girls playing and enjoying tennis.

“The women in tennis are some of the strongest people I’ve ever met. It’s about reminding yourself why you started and not caring what you look like on court, because it doesn’t matter.

“I was playing at a really tough time and before me as well, where people would just say things that you wouldn’t get away with these days. It’s about changing those stereotypes.”
If these negative perceptions and language exist at the top of the game then what does that say to young girls looking to get into the sport?

Until you can identify the problem, you don’t stand a chance of creating a solution. The question remains then, what can we do to encourage more young girls to pick up a racket and get involved in tennis?

Research suggests it ultimately comes down to several factors – creating the right environment for girls to enjoy the sport regularly, a focus on fun and developing skills, introducing competition in an appropriate way and the presence of female role models. All of which have been the focus in the design of our new all-girls programme, Prime Video LTA Youth Girls.

Launched in partnership with Prime Video off the back of Emma Raducanu’s historic win at the US Open in 2021, the programme will introduce thousands of girls across Great Britain to tennis, who will then hopefully want to stay playing and competing in the sport.

“It’s important for me to have more girls involved in tennis because I genuinely believe it is the most wonderful sport to be part of at any level,” said Hantuchova, reflecting on the potential impact of the programme.

“I think the less stress, less pressure there is, the more you can enjoy it, so step by step, they start to feel that competitiveness within themselves. You’re going to feel a little more comfortable (participating in Prime Video LTA Youth Girls sessions) and you’re going to be with a group of girls all going through the same issues.”

Following the recent coach training days in London, Bristol, Nottingham and Leeds, over 250 LTA Accredited coaches are now ready to run sessions for young girls in their communities.

“Having more female role models, both at an elite level, but also just female coaches involved in the game as well,” said Dr Stacey Edmonds, Reader in Sports Performance at Leeds Beckett University.

“To get girls involved in sport it’s got to be fun, it’s got to be enjoyable and it can’t just be about winning. I think if increasing participation is the goal, then girls only sessions can be really beneficial.”

Continuing on the theme of female role models, Alex Willis, Trustee at Greenhouse Sports and former Director of Communications at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, added, “It genuinely is that, if you can see it, you can be it. Women who are openly talking about having a sport that they love, having a career that they love and having a family that they love; (its) really powerful.”