Everything’s Coming Up Sunshine
Everything’s Coming Up Sunshine
ALISHA SULLIVAN
Ididn’t mean to ghost this space after Australia.
The only exceptions are usually the Sunshine Double in March and the clay double in April/May because they’re back-to-back and it’s just easier to bundle them together.
But I forgot. I didn’t remember until we were in Charleston, and then I dithered over whether to double up then or pretend Sunshine didn’t happen. I dithered too long, and then Charleston passed, and we were back in London for a bit, and I still hadn’t addressed them, so I found myself a bit stuck.
So much of being a tennis player is trying not to spend too much time dwelling on what was and focusing on what’s next.
It’s something Naomi is very good at dealing with.
The looking ahead. It’s how she reached back-to-back finals in Indian Wells and Miami and got Lois back for beating her in the former by winning the latter.
Which meant trying to do a deep dive into anything from those tournaments seemed kind of pointless. The moments have passed. We celebrated both finals. We enjoyed Charleston for the whole week despite the early exit. Then we went home and learned that Logan is quite good at agility courses.
Now we’re celebrating something different.
Thirty-five years ago, two very important people decided they wanted to make things official and went on to have three children with varying degrees of athleticism.
The timing could not be worse. It’s a new Sullivan in-joke how bad the timing is.
Because we’re in Tuscany.
Not Madrid. You know, the infamous site of Naomi’s injury. The same city where this year’s Olympics are due to be held. It would’ve been ideal if she could get a test run on that particular breed of clay before she donned the Team GB uniform, but alas, that will not be the case.
Don’t worry about her, though. She’s drinking Aperol Spritzes (made by our dad) the way they are supposed to be enjoyed.
On a balcony, looking out at the sea as the sun sets.
Because if you’re going to have a holiday mid-season (one that was in the calendar months ago), then you might as well enjoy it and relax to your fullest capacity.
The same can’t quite be said for Wyatt because he’s got one eye on Madrid (so does our mum). I’ve learned how to make three new pasta sauces, which is always useful because nobody eats pasta quite like the elite athletes in my life, and I’ve gotta keep it interesting.
(And to confirm, Logan is living his best life with his newfound agility classes and living with a man who is truly awful at ignoring his little begging-for-treats face).
Until next time, from a Tuscan balcony, watching the sun set with one of those spritzes.