# @behindtheracquet on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CVal0dMgLE4
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/158826-behindtheracquet-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/96b3f2f24d.jpg
- **Posted:** 2021-10-24T14:55:28.000+00:00

## Caption

“I started to play tennis at the age of six. My father was a tennis coach. He brought me on the court when I was young, and he coached me until I was 17 years old. 

My family didn't have a lot of money, so I didn't have a lot of opportunities because I was in a small-town, nothing else to look for — I was always playing tennis. I had just one dream to be a good tennis player. 

When I started to travel, I couldn't take my father as a coach. It was a lot of pressure because I knew I had to play well, otherwise all the sacrifices that my parents made when I was young, it was for nothing. When Kazakhstan came with a proposal to play for them, it was a good step forward for me. I got help behind my back, I got support, and I was finally able to concentrate on my tennis.

I had one situation in 2018 — I got divorced that year. It was a really tough time for me, a lot of fights and a lot of conversation with lawyers. Some days, weeks I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat. I remember I went to the ATP and entered a grass court without any preparation. 

I remember before, my manager was like, "Okay, whatever. I don't care about the result." I was happy that there was something that could help me for a couple hours to forget about the problems. At the end of that year, I had one of my best results. For once, it was a tough period of my life. I had a lot of good results because I went through a couple hours to forget about all my problems. 

Practice and playing matches were different. When I played matches at that time, you concentrate on the tennis. I really liked playing matches at that time because you forget all these problems, but at the same time, practicing was also not easy because it still remembered all these problems.

In the end, I believe, when I see that I was still struggling mentally at that time and I had a lot of good results,  these kinds of things really helped me afterwards. I started to believe more in myself that I still resolve these problems, I'm still a good player.” @kukushkin_mikhail #BTR

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 623
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 12

## Credits

These are the roles credited on Gondola. Credits may be incomplete.
A brand, account owner, or featured person is not necessarily the creator.

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Behind The Racquet | @BehindTRacquet | https://gondola.cc/BehindTRacquet | Brand |
| Sarah Campbell | @SarahCampbs | https://gondola.cc/SarahCampbs | Copywriter |

## Tags

btr

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