Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on computer games

The Russian tennis player, Olympic champion in mixed doubles, runner-up of Roland Garros 2021 told the press service of Games of Future how she loved computer games in her childhood, how popular it is on the WTA-Tour and gave her appreciation of the format Games of Future.

— Anastasia, have you ever played computer games or with a game console? Do you have such experience?

I have a little experience in playing computer games and a game console. I played computer game a while ago when I was 6 and we lived in Samara. My dad and my brother would play from time to time and I got addicted to the game Doom. I remember pretty well how I was waiting every day for the permission to play 30-min – 1 hour in the evening to play that game. There were also different codes, one can choose different abilities and powers, for example, immortality. Since I hate losing, I always used this code for immortality. I also loved the race Need For Speed. I also had some experience with the game console. My brother plays it, the coach would bring along the console the tournaments because we spend much time in hotel rooms. I know that quite a few guys on the men’s circuit play. At training camps when you practice in a male environment, the guys would play football or some shooting games on a console. But, of course, I am not a computer game geek. Generally speaking, I like everything that is unusual and interesting, plus it helps to distract from your main activity.

— How is it all popular on the circuit?

— I guess, on the WTA-Tour computer games are not popular at all. As far as the ATP goes, I know that Daniil Medvedev is a passionate gamer who plays quite often, some foreign players would even take along their game consoles when travelling to tournament especially during the pandemic. I noticed that tournament organizers would often set up special zones for games consoles – for example, at Indian Wells there are gaming chairs with steering wheel. There was also a special zone at the Australian Open, we were thinking to play some games with my brother (Alexander) and Andrey Rublev.

 
 — What do you think of the format Games of Future which are to combine classic sport and technologies within one discipline?

— Speaking of the format Games of Future – I began paying more and more attention to the fact that eSports and games are rapidly developing. It seems to me that the young generation is really related to the on-line format big time. Digital-clothing, digital-fashion… So the future definitely belongs to it. I am intrigued and interested by everything, generally I always want to try something new. I believe we need to develop, to keep up with the times. 

 
— It is known that high technologies are used in some sports disciplines, including VR – for example, to improve the reaction speed. In tennis there are smart courts, there were special rackets with sensors, what did you come across during your training process and what technologies have a potential in tennis in your opinion?

— Rackets and courts keep changing constantly in tennis as well as the technologies of their manufacturing, therefore it is essential for us to keep making progress, too. As to the use of technologies in the training process, well, I worked with sensors, I wore a special vest with sensors which collected statistical data like the speed of court coverage etc.

In France where I train they use the smart court technology. After the rally you can come up to a special computer which is installed on the court and review the rally, evaluate the speed and the trajectory of the ball flight and whether the ball was in or out. There is also the well-known technology Hawk Eye in tennis when a player can have a challenge and ask for a video-replay to find out whether the ball was in or out to double-check the umpire’s call.