Path to victory has challenges
A week after Michael Venus won New Zealand’s first medal in the men’s tennis doubles, his wife has opened up about the difficulties of balancing a family life with chasing an Olympic dream.
Michael Venus said goodbye to his baby daughter, Georgia, about a fortnight after she was born to compete in the Tokyo games, going on to win bronze last Friday.
Sally Trafford, who is married to Venus, says she is ‘‘thrilled’’ by his success, but admits the path to victory has come with challenges.
Venus won the bronze medal in the tennis men’s doubles event with his partner Marcus Daniell after beating an American pair in straight sets.
Trafford has been married to Venus since January 2020. She has been living in Auckland with her parents, and the couple’s two children Lila, 2, and newborn Georgia since he left for the Games in April.
Trafford said she was ‘‘very proud’’ to see her husband clinch the bronze medal.
‘‘We were all up watching together – the kids had actually gone to bed by that point because I think it had got quite late,’’ she said. ‘‘We were all just absolutely thrilled, it’s so well deserved. He works incredibly hard, it was just a fantastic moment to see how happy he was.’’
Venus left two weeks after Georgia was born, and Trafford said the time since has been tough on the whole family.
‘‘He’s been gone for just over three months now, which has obviously been very difficult. Difficult for both of us because he’s missing so much of both Georgia’s and Lila’s lives,’’ she said. ‘‘But also obviously difficult for me, and the kids back here missing him, so it’s been challenging.’’
Venus is now in Washington DC competing on the ATP Tour, which does not conclude until mid-November.
Trafford said before the Covid-19 pandemic it was much easier for Venus to have a ‘‘worklife balance’’, and the family would often travel with him. They were living just outside of London before the pandemic, and returned to New Zealand in March 2020 in response to the outbreak.
‘‘Since then it’s been either career or family for him, because there’s not a huge amount of tennis activity in New Zealand, especially now the ASB Classic has been cancelled,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s gotten infinitely harder with Covid, and with the border restrictions, and all sorts of travel issues. It was challenging before, but it’s become sort of impossible now, really.’’
Trafford said she was unsure when her husband would be able to return because he had been unable to secure an MIQ voucher.
‘‘If we could get a voucher for November that would be ideal, but there doesn’t seem to be anything available,’’ she said. ‘‘We’re just sort of waiting and hoping that we might be able to grab something in December when those dates come out.’’