feature-image
feature-image

26-year-old Mikaela Shiffrin has been impressing the world in the Alpine Skiing event since she was just 15. Notably, she holds the record of youngest slalom champion in Olympic alpine skiing history.

Watch What’s Trending Now!

The American Winter Olympic star has won three Olympic medals in her two Winter Games appearances. Interestingly, she revealed how playing tennis has benefitted her career.

ADVERTISEMENT

Mikaela Shiffrin has a heartwarming yet strategic reason for adding tennis to her routine

Mikaela Shiffrin was an infant when she first picked up the tennis racket. It was under the influence of her mother that she first started playing tennis, while it has now become a mother-daughter thing they do often.

Mikaela revealed she requested her coach to add tennis sessions to her routine to spend time with mom, as well as work on her speed and reflexes. She said, “One thing I requested from my coach was to include some tennis sessions whenever he saw fit, so I play as often as possible with mom. I enjoy the way it works my quickness and agility, also my focus to be able to move around the court and still have precision hitting the ball.” 

She further added, “That is probably the most challenging thing for me, but also the most satisfying—getting through a tough rally knowing that you didn’t sacrifice power or precision of your stroke because of fatigue.”

Tennis star Iga Swiatek considers Mikaela a ‘Role Model’

World No. 8, tennis star Iga Swiatek considers the Winter Olympic champion as a role model. Iga had revealed, after competing at the Tokyo Olympics 2022, she gained respect for Mikaela, who had appeared in two mega games herself.

article-image

USA Today via Reuters

US Star, Mikaela, had also praised the young tennis star for working hard and achieving success in the sport. Shiffrin hopes someday the two can face off in a friendly match on the tennis court.

On the business end, Shiffrin will now head to Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Are you backing her for another medal next month?

Read More: Megan Rapinoe and Becky Sauerbrunn Make Huge Announcement on First-Ever US Women’s Paralympic Soccer Team

Share this with a friend:

Link Copied!

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Written by

author-image

Shreya Verma

609 Articles

Shreya Verma is a US Sports Content Strategist at EssentiallySports, with a focus on Olympic sports and athlete storytelling, covering beats like tennis, gymnastics, basketball, track and field, wrestling, and more. A qualified National Level air pistol shooter, she brings the unique perspective of both an athlete and a journalist to her work. Over the past four years at EssentiallySports, she has covered some of the biggest sporting stages, from managing the Olympic Sports desk during the Winter Olympics 2022 to spearheading the Know more

ADVERTISEMENT