TAMARINE TANASUGARN: THE THAI GIRL THAT COULD

Tamarine Tanasugarn with Paul Dale during the 1995 SEA Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand

The first time I noticed Tamarine Tanasugarn she was on a court with her father practicing early one morning before school.  Her father, Veerachai, would feed her balls to hit from an old bag placed on the ground beside him. There was an intensity about her then at 9 years old that she retains even today. I saw more of her 2 years later when I did a tennis camp in Bangkok for Thailand’s top juniors, and it was obvious to all that she was extremely talented.

There was one funny incident at that camp that could only happen in Thailand.  One morning during the warm-up I called for everyone to organize themselves into single-file and “leapfrog” their way from the back of the line towards the front.  In my innocence I thought that this would be a fun way to warm-up and would be a change from the usual jog around the courts.  There seemed to be a problem however as all the players, “Tammy” included, would all fall off the side of the person in front instead of leap frogging directly over their head. After I stopped them several times to demand more effort and to ask that it be done properly, the players still continued to fall off to the side of the player in front.

Only after some time, and seeing how frustrated I was getting, did an assistant Thai coach explain to me that because all Thai people wore sacred Buddha amulets around their necks, the players were uncomfortable passing themselves over top of a Buddha image.  In Thai culture your feet and lower extremities should never be higher than a Buddha image!

Tammy went on to enjoy an amazing career, reaching a world ranking high of 19 in May of 2002. What has been remarkable is that she has done all this with a game that is built on using the pace of her opponent and reflecting the ball into the corners. With this unique style Tammy has beaten many of the world’s top players including reaching the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in 2008.  Several players have gone on record as saying she is an extremely tricky opponent, particularly on her favorite surface of grass.  During Tammy’s best years Thailand also witnessed the rise of Paradon Srichaphan who became the darling of Thailand for his exploits on the men’s ATP Tour.  This was a great pity as her accomplishments were probably slightly over-looked by the Thai public during that time.

Tammy is now ranked around 100 on the WTA ranking list and will probably retire from professional tennis within the next few years.  She has represented Thailand around the world and been a fine example of the best characteristics of Thailand and its people.  Always smiling, gracious in defeat and never taking herself too seriously, Tammy can be proud of what she has achieved in her tennis career.