By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
The world of leisure management’s loss is the tennis world’s gain.
Leisure management is what the Latvian pro tennis player Anastasija Sevastova studied when she first retired from tennis three years ago. However, after almost two years off the tour, she abandoned her studies in Austria to once again pursue her pro tennis dreams that she is now realizing by advancing into the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open.
Sevatsova, ranked No. 48, followed her win second-round upset win over No. 3 seed Garbine Muguruza with a fourth-round upset of No. 13 seed Jo Konta of Great Britain 6-4, 7-5.
“It was some accounting, some management, marketing,” said Sevastova of her leisure management studies, where she said she attended class two days a week. “It was actually interesting.”
The 26-year-old Sevastova said she had designs on working at a resort or in sports management.
Earlier this year, after losing at the Miami Open, she spent 10 days at the prestigious Windsor Club in Vero Beach, Florida. Her coach and boyfriend Robert Schmidt is a friend with the club’s assistant professional Johny Leitenbauer.
“I learned that they always bring you water!” Sevastova said asked what she learned about leisure management while at Windsor, where Ivan Lendl is among the residents and members and Tom Fish, the father of Mardy Fish, is the head tennis professional.
“They had amazing facilities there,” said Sevastsova of Windsor. “Great clay courts. Practicing there was very nice. I learned a lot about leisure management there.”
Sevastova is the first Latvian woman to make the final eight at a Grand Slam tournament since Larisa Savchenko Neiland at Wimbledon in 1994.
“I still cannot believe it,” she said. “Mentally I’m spent. Totally spent. But it’s amazing.”
She will next face in the quarterfinals former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, also age 26 and unseeded with a ranking of No. 51.
