The University of Mississippi Athletics
Tennis Runs in the Family for Natalie Suk
4/12/2017 | Women's Tennis
By Dylan Edwards, OleMissSports.com
It's not unusual for children to travel with a parent to sporting events while growing up. Ole Miss women's tennis junior Natalie Suk did just that. Except, it was to watch her dad play - and win - at the highest levels of tennis.
Tennis just runs in the family. Her dad, Cyril, won five Grand Slam doubles titles, ranked as high as seventh in the world in men's doubles, and collected numerous titles in his lengthy professional career. It's obvious he was well respected, as he was selected as the captain of the Czech Republic's Davis Cup team in 2003.
"There are times when we are in the Czech Republic and people don't know (he was a great tennis player)," Suk said. "Then they're googling him. He never talks about it. It was never the main part. It was his job, and he wanted us to grow up normally and not in his shadow."
Three of Suk's father's Grand Slam doubles titles came in mixed doubles while partnering with his sister Helena. Suk's aunt won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles while finishing runner-up at a Grand Slam four times. Needless to say, it's a very talented family.
"His trophy room is ridiculous, and my aunt's is even more ridiculous," Suk said. "She has a whole floor on her apartment. When we were smaller, we weren't allowed in my aunt's trophy room so we wouldn't break anything. It's really cool, but until I was about 12, I didn't realize it was something that wasn't normal."
It was normal for Suk because that was her life for the first 10 or so years of her life. She would travel around the world with her dad and watch him play tennis.
"You don't realize when you're a kid," Suk said. "You think it's just normal. You have a badge. You go everywhere. The golf cart takes you wherever you want to. You think it's completely normal. Once I got older, I started to realize it wasn't really a normal life."
For an outsider though, it's a surreal experience. A place like Wimbledon is hallowed ground for even the most casual tennis observer. She's been there when her dad won a title on that grass.
"There's a player's lounge and a school for players' kids if they're going to practice," Suk said. "I'm there on the walls because I basically grew up there."
While Wimbledon is cool for obvious reasons, sometimes the destinations she went to with her dad had more perks than just the tennis. After all, what kid doesn't like an amusement park?
"Cincinnati (was one of my favorites)," Suk said. "There's King's Island, which has roller coasters and a water park that we would always go to that I loved."
An amusement park seems trivial, but it does show how her dad wasn't all tennis, all the time.
"My dad never wanted me to play a lot," Suk said. "I was traveling with him. After his match or practice, I would have a racquet in his bag, and we would practice for 20 minutes. It wasn't like other kids that were practicing every single day since they were small."
With such exposure to the game, it's no surprise she grew to love tennis. However, that was a decision she came to on her own. When she did, she had a ready-made coach in the form of her accomplished father.
"My dad taught me everything I know," Suk said "He's very laid back. Since he's played the sport, he understands the stress you're under. He understands how it is to be playing. If I do anything stupid on the court, my mom is like, 'How can you do that?' And then my dad is completely fine.
"When I play here after every single match, I'm always calling him. Now that we have the live cameras, he's telling me after the match that I need to do this or that. He's always a great sport."
