I can still remember in the mid-90s, a few months before the Australian Open, Mary asked me to start coaching her again.
Before saying yes, I wrote her a letter and explained my thoughts. Mary came to me the next morning with her eyes full of tears and blurted out, “Why did you write I was overweight and close to being fat?”
My answer was, “Because you are overweight.” Without hesitation, she said, “I will do exactly what you ask of me.”
Her traveling coach was Sven Groeneveld, who is the very vest in the coaching arena and for the past several years, coach to Maria Sharapova.
Our team worked a total of 6-8 hours per day on the court, in the gym, and at night with Sven watching her eat and keeping her from hiding dessert under her bed.
Believe me, she paid the price in so many ways in order to be fit again.