Evergreen – Marika Lendl knew it would be difficult to follow in the footsteps of her father, tennis great Ivan Lendl. Make that next to impossible.
So Marika, 16, traded her racket for a set of golf clubs a few years ago. Younger sisters followed.
“Playing tennis, there was too much pressure trying to be as good as my dad,” said Marika, who is joined by her 14-year-old sister, Isabelle, in the field for the Rolex Tournament of Champions, an American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) national event that begins today at Hiwan Golf Club.
Ivan Lendl, a native of Czechoslovakia who became an American citizen in 1992, supported his daughters switching sports. He loves golf, having become a scratch player and a regular on the celebrity golf tour. And like any doting father, Lendl could almost feel the pain each time his daughters would suffer an injury on the tennis courts. Marika, who was once rated No. 3 nationally in her age group, suffered from several ailments, including pulled hamstrings and a strained stomach muscle.
“Marika could have been a very good tennis player, but those kinds of injuries can stay with you,” said Lendl, who has five daughters. “She was able to play only an hour of tennis, five days a week. There are kids in Europe who play 10 hours a day. You’re not going to be able to keep up.”
Isabelle was happy to give up tennis. “I was so clumsy, I’d trip over my own feet,” she said. Only one of the five siblings has chosen another sport. Isabelle’s twin sister is a budding equestrian star.
It’s no surprise that competitiveness runs through the veins of every Lendl offspring. Their dad won 94 singles titles, including eight Grand Slam championships. He was ranked No. 1 in the world for 270 consecutive weeks (Sept. 9, 1985, to Sept. 12, 1988), three weeks shy of Jimmy Connors’ all-time record.
Lendl will be visible as he hops between groups to keep track. Fortunately, Marika (12:27 p.m. tee time today) and Isabelle (12:36) were placed in consecutive threesomes.
To the girls, Ivan Lendl is just their dad, not a tennis hall of famer.
“I was 3 when Dad quit tennis,” Isabelle said, “so I didn’t grow up with it.”
“Kids don’t listen to their parents anyway, so it’s hard to see that he did so well in tennis tournaments,” Marika added with a grin.
Lendl tries not to be overbearing when offering advice. The girls grew up in Connecticut but the family has relocated to Bradenton, Fla., so Marika, Isabelle and Daniela (13) could enroll in the David Leadbetter Golf Academy.
“I don’t do anything with their swings anymore,” Lendl said. “I just try to get them in the right frame of mind for a tournament. I’m trying to teach them that if they want to have fun, that’s OK. But do it after working with their coach.”
Tim Sheredy, senior golf instructor for the Leadbetter academy, followed Isabelle for nine holes Wednesday during a practice round. Sheredy believes Marika and Isabelle have the potential to someday become LPGA Tour players. Both have an AJGA victory this season.
“Ivan Lendl was probably one of the hardest workers of any athlete ever,” Sheredy said. “He has taught them that.”
Competition promises to be strong today through Sunday at the Rolex Tournament of Champions, a 72-hole event with an international field. The girls division features nine players who competed last week in the U.S. Women’s Open. The boys division includes 15-year-old Tadd Fujikawa, the youngest competitor in the 2006 U.S. Open, and Kevin Tway, son of PGA Tour player Bob Tway and winner of the 2005 U.S. Junior Amateur.
Staff writer Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-820-5456 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
