Clearer thinking and strides in fitness have Ajla Tomljanovic believing her best is yet to come

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif—On this first day of November, a Tuesday afternoon inside Dogpound WeHo—a West Hollywood fitness center—Ajla Tomljanovic is reflecting on how she’s improved. The day before, Tomljanovic had attained a career-high ranking of 33 in the world. Prior to 2021 Wimbledon, she’d played 26 majors and only once reached the round of 16. But since then, Tomljanovic has three times made it to the quarters—the last two years at Wimbledon and in 2022 at the US Open.

“In prior years I would give into the feeling too much and the occasion and let the excitement take over,” says Tomljanovic. But more recently, she’s found tranquility. “I’m able to think clearly and execute way better instead of panicking or getting too excited.”

In the typical kind of airport-heavy sequence that defines the life of a professional tennis player, Tomljanovic flew west from New York to Los Angeles on a Saturday. Seventy-two hours later, she headed from LA to Glasgow to represent Australia in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. Tomljanovic’s quite used to these lengthy treks. Tomljanovic gets nervous if she’s in one place for too long, has learned to sleep on planes and savors those airborne moments when she can be by herself to read novels and motivational books, write in her journal and watch movies. When it comes to films, Tomljanovic tastes range from comedies like The Hangover to transformational tales such as The Blind Side.

Tomljanovic has come to LA to attend a promotional event for Omorpho, a maker of weighted training vests. Joined on a panel by Olympic heptathlete Annie Kunz and Minnesota Vikings running back Alexander Mattison, Tomljanovic cites Omorpho’s Gravity Sportswear as a key factor in her ability to stay exceptionally fit. “It’s made a big difference in the last year and a half,” she says. “I feel like throughout my career, I’ve always been fit, but it’s improved this year. . . I could do all my workouts the same way and just with added weight. That’s very subtle, but makes a difference in the long run.”

Fitness likely made a difference this summer, when a pair of dramatic and arduous three-setters provided the bookends to Tomljanovic’s quarterfinal runs at Wimbledon and the US Open. In the round of 16, at the All England Club, she fought back from a set down to beat one of the WTA’s trickier tacticians, Alizé Cornet, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. “Maybe halfway through the second set,” Tomljanovic said following that win, “I just completely stopped giving any negative or positive emotion, and just tried to be really measured.” Looking back on it nearly four months later, Tomljanovic says, “that match meant a lot because it solidified me in the last eight at Wimbledon. And I think doing that back-to-back is something pretty great. . . I didn’t really expect it.”

In prior years I would give into the feeling too much and the occasion and let the excitement take over. I’m able to think clearly and execute way better instead of panicking or getting too excited. —Ajla Tomljanovic

In New York, Tomljanovic faced Serena Williams on a Friday evening in the third round. Tomljanovic’s 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-1 victory appears to be the last match of Williams’ career. “There was just so much outside noise that was happening,” says Tomljanovic. “It was kind of a whole show and something I’ll probably never experience again.”

Tomljanovic credits her parents for both instruction about competition and tremendous support. Her father, Ratko, was a professional handball player. Her mother, Emina, played tennis. “I was always the one that was pushing my parents to give me more, more hours on the court, more coaching, more everything,” says Tomljanovic. “And I think that it never goes away if that's truly your passion. So that's why I can see myself doing this for a long time.” That inner motivation might well be one reason why Tomljanovic is playing so well at the age of 29 and believes her best tennis is ahead of her.

If not a tennis player, Tomljanovic imagines herself working in media. Over the course of 2021 and 2022, she’s starred in Tennis Channel’s “My Tennis Life.” “It’s been fun,” she says. “I stay pretty private, but over the years, I’ve wanted to show people what we do . . . with social media, there’s so much hate that happens and I feel like if you give people more insight, maybe they can understand more what we do.” Tomljanovic is proud that she’s revealed not just the highs, but also some of the lows that comprise life as a professional athlete.

And as Tomljanovic points out to her fellow athletes, tennis has one unique demand she finds particularly challenging: uncertain start times, entry to the court often delayed due to a prior match suddenly being extended to another set. “If you don't know your schedule,” she says, “it can be a really long day. So you have to think about ‘did I eat enough, did I sleep enough?’”

Then there are the moments Tomljanovic savors. “The winning feeling is what I kind of crave,” she says. “It's such a short amount of time after you win that you feel that high, that we have as competitors. Just want to taste that all the time.”

Having played the best tennis of her career in 2022, one wonders how much more Tomljanovic will experience that in the years to come.