We sat down with some of the biggest stars in Racketlon in their preparation for the 2024 FIR Racketlon World Championships! It’s safe to say everyone is ready to go.
How has your season been so far?
Koen: “I haven’t played as much as I would like, I’ve only played two tournaments so far, in Poland I played decent but couldn’t bring my level in the final and I won the French Open which was a good result.
Nathalie: “Compared to other seasons i haven’t been active a lot. Besides playing in the Swiss national league and German Open I’ve put my main WC focus for the last three weeks.”
Anna-Klara: “The season has been really good this far! Have won 4 singles titles and 2 golds at the world championship! So could not have asked for better!”
Jesper: “It’s been tough. Started my comeback some months ago, and it was really hard to recover after every training. Had to take it easy, but still there was signs of overuse.”
What are your goals for the Championships?
Koen: “I’ve won silver and bronze so far so I have to say it’s my goal to win the gold medal. However, I’ve just checked my draw and that would mean I would have to beat Ratzer, Luke and Ternon so I will have to play well and see if I can challenge those guys and make it a very hard and tough match against Ratzer.”
Nathalie: “As the defending Champion I will try retain my title. Having four WC Titel would mean a lot to me. But it’s not only about winning the titles. It’s also about showing my kids, that training pays off and that patiently waiting for me during training sessions was worth it.”
Anna-Klara: “I’m definitely going for the medals as my goal for the World Championship”
Jesper: My goal is to win 🙂
What is your biggest improvement this season?
Koen: “My main improvements this season have been squash and my physicality.”
Nathalie: ” Since I started playing Racketlon I trained a lot and it felt like I improved every time I’ve been on court. Now it’s more about reactivating the things I’ve learned so many years ago:-).”
Anna-Klara: “I have become much stronger mentally this season. I believe in myself and it comes a lot from winning matches even if I don´t play that well. That I trust my game.”
Jesper: “I’ve gotten more power in my backhand in squash, and simplified my forehand swing. Also improved my cross nicks and low kills. In tennis I have “found” my forehand swing again (it’s been missing for years 😉 ) and improved my service swing. In TT my no spin/underspin har become more deceptive.”
How have you prepared for next week?
Koen: “I’ve tried to play all sports more frequently leading up to the Championships”.
Nathalie: “My main preparation started three weeks ago by practicing with other Racketlon athletes. Before that, I competed in every sport, but not with Racketlon on my mind.”
Anna-Klara: “I took a break after WC Denmark to recover, but since 1 month back I have been practicing a lot. I have combined strength training and racketsports to get in good shape and be ready for some tough matches.”
Jesper: “I’ve trained quite a lot of squash, some TT and these days also a bit of tennis.”
What are you looking forward to wilst visiting Rotterdam?
Koen: “The thing I look forward to the most is to see everyone, and my family will be there because it’s at home. I also just look forward to play some Racketlon, I’m slightly injured at the moment so I just want to play and I’ll be happy”.
Nathalie: “It’s always a great pleasure meeting the racketlon community from all around the world and watching them compete on the highest level. The venue is absolutely great and it’s so much fun to play at these kind of conditions.Besides playing Racketlon I’m looking forward to taking a few days off and breathe the sea air.”
Anna-Klara: “Seeing all players again! It´s always a special feeling at a World Championship when everyone is there!”
Jesper: “I’m not here for the travel experience haha”
