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Angela Haynes
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By Joshua Rey, special to USTA.com
Angela Haynes reached a career-high ranking of No. 95 in singles in 2005 and No. 86 in doubles in 2008. The 25-year-old Californian has won nine USTA Pro Circuit titles (two singles, seven doubles) and also reached the main-draw third round of the BNP Paribas Open last year after receiving a qualifying wild card. Off-court, the left-handed Haynes is the proud owner of five Yorkies: Bully, Chucky, Jasmine, Nibbles and Chilli.
USTA.com caught up with Haynes earlier this month at the Dow Corning Tennis Classic in Midland, Mich., where she was presented with the Carl Yorimoto Sportsmanship Award.
USTA.com: Your WTA bio says that you started playing tennis with a racquet bought at Toys “R” Us. What do you remember about that?
Angela Haynes: That was a huge day for me. I was so excited. Of course, it had rainbow strings and everything. I was three years old, and I started the same day. My dad took me out with my brother and sister; I’m the youngest. And the rest is history, pretty much, after like eight hours a day every day.
USTA.com: What would you do if you weren’t a professional tennis player?
Angela Haynes: I wanted to study the stars – astronomy. But actually I want to go into psychology. I’m always trying to figure out my brain. If I did, I’d probably be top 5 right now. But my brother went into psychology, and it interests me. That’s what I want to do now – change my major. I’m actually trying to get into Kaplan University. I’m going through that whole process.
USTA.com: You reached the third round at the US Open in 2004 and took a set from Serena Williams at Wimbledon in 2005. Which would you say was the bigger thrill?
Angela Haynes: I would say the Serena match. Even though I lost that, it’s a huge highlight in my career. Just being able to play the No. 1 player – although she wasn’t at the time – Serena is still the best, hands down, to me. It showed me what I’m capable of and always will. Even though I’m not where I should be right now, that match, I can always go back to. I learned a lot, and I had the privilege of playing Serena.
USTA.com: What was it like to win the first set, 14-12, in a tiebreak?
Angela Haynes: Incredible because I kind of went in there bragging, putting words out there like, ‘She better bring her A-game.’ So I had to bring mine, too, and I was very nervous going into the match, but I had to step up. It was intense, winning that tiebreaker, and I couldn’t believe I did it. It was a great feeling.
USTA.com: What’s changed since then, and what’s keeping you from getting back into the main draws of the majors?
Angela Haynes: It’s so mental. Tennis is all mental and about being motivated. That’s the main thing. If your confidence is down, that’s the hardest thing to get and the easiest thing to lose. Mental and confidence together is rough. It’s a grind, just wanting to be out here and starting from the beginning, almost, at Challengers – playing all these matches and not really getting any points.
USTA.com: The lifestyle is not always as it looks when you’re playing Serena at Wimbledon on ESPN2, is it?
Angela Haynes: It’s really tough. The tour has gotten tougher. They’ve cut a lot of the draws so that they are smaller. Last year, I was [ranked] 130 and couldn’t get into Indian Wells – 150 used to be able to get you into everything qualies. I was still like 20 out. I ended up getting a wild card, and I did well, but it’s not what you see on TV, definitely. The top 150 girls still are playing Challengers – now even more. You go from a Slam to playing smaller events, having to play more matches and getting fewer points, less money. It’s definitely a grind, and that’s where the motivation comes in. If you can’t get up to play the smaller events, you won’t be in the big ones.
USTA.com: What goals do you have for 2010?
Angela Haynes: Definitely to be in main draw of the US Open this year, on my own. Getting my ranking up – I need to move up like 70 spots. That’s maybe 200 points. It’s doable for sure.