“Gaming opportunities are at the forefront”

The number one player in Finnish women’s tennis Anastasia Kulikova moves accustomed to the Tallinn Tennis Center in Helsinki when he comes for an interview. Three years ago, Kulikova said that she had been in Tali almost all the time after coming to Finland.

In recent years, the situation has changed when Kulikova has lived in Milan, but the fields and corridors of Tali are still familiar.

Kulikovan, 22, is progressing in the wind. His ranking on the rankings has risen from the worst of 500 to close to 200 since the beginning of last year. The rise may have been expected earlier, but was slowed by a break in tournaments caused by a corona pandemic, among other things.

During the corona break in 2020, Kulikova had time to improve her physique with the HVS physics coach Nikola Zujicin with. Last year, especially in the second half of the year, Kulikova recorded good results, entered even tougher tournaments and raised her rankings.

Kulikova’s strengths have always been clear. He hits the ball really hard with both his basic punches and his passes. In that respect, he doesn’t lag behind even the world’s top players. The reasons for the recent rise are clear.

– Above all, I developed on the mental side so that I could play more than 1-2 matches well, Kulikova said.

Those who followed Kulikova’s career more closely may have noticed a special phenomenon early last year. Kulikova played as many as ten consecutive tournaments between January and May on the same pitches in Monastir, Tunisia. The reason for this is related to the exceptional times of recent years.

– I lived in Italy and from the beginning of 2021 I could not travel from there to other European countries, only to Africa, due to quarantines. I am thankful that this happened because I played a lot of matches that gave me confidence.

Of the Monastir tournaments, the balance was one race win and two final places. In a few other races there, he went a long way. Since then, towards the end of the year, Kulikova has played in tournaments that are a degree or two bigger and has done well in many of them.

One notable tournament was played in the Czech Republic, where there was a specially behaving plastic platform that favored the turns of left-handed players, according to Kulikova. Their lower threads were almost impossible to restore.

Kulikova is left-handed and he practiced another left-hander before the tournament, the British Sarah Beth Gray with. The players joked that they were going to the finals on this field – and so it was. Gray won Kulikova in the final.

Kulikova’s last year culminated in a WTA125-level tournament played in Seoul on Christmas week, where she advanced to the semifinals.

WTA125 tournaments, despite their name, are a kind of intermediate form between smaller ITF tournaments and top-level WTA tour tournaments. In any case, it was Kulikova’s biggest tournament to date and it went well.

– It was an opportunity to see if I could compete at the level I deserve to play there. I think the answer was yes. The only problem is that you should play at that level more often.

Korea was only played at a temperature of four degrees and as a result, Kulikova’s early season has been broken due to illness.

– From January to March, I was mostly sore, Kulikova said.

Now the ailments are over and the games continue towards bigger tournaments. Kulikova knows what things need to be developed next.

– The most important thing to improve is balance and evenness. Those are the only things I lack on a harder level.

In balance, Kulikova means finding the right relationship between aggression and safe play. Finding that balance is always important in tennis.

Kulikova’s coaching patterns are in a phase of change. Italian Stefano Luoni coached him for two and a half years and Kulikova’s base between tournaments was in Milan. However, the cooperation ended at the end of February. New patterns are taking shape.

Physics coach Zujic and physiotherapist Mikko Pehkonen continue on the team, but the name of the tennis coach is not yet clear. In recent weeks, Kulikova has hit the ball Jarkko Nieminen with and Emil Rose Mountain coach Federico Ricci has also been instrumental in helping.

Before Luon, captain of the Finnish national team and an all-time female player Emma Laine served as Kulikova’s personal coach. The duo still have very warm gaps.

– I’ve learned so much from Emma. I don’t have as good friends on tour as Emma. The most important thing he taught me when I was 17-18 years old was “do everything for yourself and from the heart, if you miss an exercise, it will only hurt you.” Since then, I haven’t missed a single workout in between, Kulikova said.

Laine also talks warmly about Kulikova.

– He is a wonderful person and a close friend of mine. He is a flashy person, lively, energetic and positive.

Laine believes Kulikova has high potential.

– I don’t see any boundaries in Nastia. Ranking has gone in a better direction all the time. The gaming possibilities are at the forefront. Of course you have to stay healthy and develop the game all the time. I will follow with interest and help with any part.

Kulikova moved to Finland from Russia at the age of 13 when a junior at the top of Europe came to train at the Jarkko Nieminen Academy. Kulikova enjoyed her in Finland and gained Finnish citizenship in 2019. You can read more about Kulikova’s story in this story published in 2019.

The basically positive and happy Kulikova gets serious when it comes to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It has been a difficult time for Kulikova, whose grandfather is from Ukraine and his grandmother from Belarus.

– I can only say that I am sad that people are suffering. I understand suffering better than most people because I have relatives on both sides. It is a very painful situation.

Speaking of happier things, Kulikova will most likely get into the French Open and Wimbledon qualifiers. For Wimbledon in particular, playing for Kulikova would be a dream come true.

They would also be the first time that a Finnish player will be seen in the Grand Slam tournament in the women’s series, even in the qualifiers since Laine’s peak times. Laine last played at that level in 2007.

A few days after the interview, it emerged that Kulikova’s cut-out hand in October began to excite in practice as the national team prepared for the Billie Jean King Cup tournament in Vierumäki. The tournament was missed by Kulikova, but the goal is to return to the fields by the end of April.