A tough two years for the grass court tournament in Nottingham has been aided by Laura Robson’s relaxed nature.
When Laura Robson took over as the tournament director for the Rothesay Open last year, the Brit didn’t know what to expect.
However the last two years have seen thunder striking on finals day last year, deaths impacting the Nottingham community last year and this year saw multiple rain delays.
Speaking on last year’s tragic events where three people were killed in a street stabbing, Robson was determined to acknowledge last year’s tragedy as the tournament paid its respects this year, “We wanted to make sure we were really respectful of the situation,” Robson told the WTA website.
“The tennis continued, but everyone that day was aware what was going on and we were getting updates from the police. We were worried that all the players would suddenly be nervous to be out and about in Nottingham, which in my experience has always been very, very safe.
“You get these horrific incidents in all parts of the world, unfortunately. But in the end everyone understood the situation.”
This year Robson had to overcome multiple rain delays in order to just about complete the tournament on time.
However the relaxed nature of the 30 year-old aided the tournament in finishing on time and Robson spoke about the keys to running a successful tournament, “We all become weather experts. But the less I look at the forecast, the better. I can’t control it and there’s no reason to stress,” Robson explained.
“If it helps them play well on court then you want to try to facilitate that. Some are definitely harder than others, but it’s a complaint or a request for a reason. And it’s not that there’s difficult people, it’s just a difficult world — it’s a very individual journey and you’ve always got to look out for yourself. I understand, because when I was playing I’d have wanted the same things.
“It really is the same. Honestly, it goes so quickly when you’re in it. You spend so much time building up to the event that especially in the first few days it can feel a lot. But honestly, it’s just so much fun to see it all come together and to see the players actually on the court.”
Now Robson can focus on continuing her role as commentator and pundit for Sky Sports and Eurosport before preparing for next year’s tournament.
