Page 133 of Off Court Fix

“Good girl,” I whisper, ignoring Ted’s heavy sigh beside me.

SM:Speaking of relationships, how are things with your father?

MD:They’re great. He was just over for lunch.

SM:And professionally? How do you feel playing tennis this year when he can’t be at your matches because he’s been banned from all tennis events?

MD:I certainly feel sad over it. But I’m proud, and as a daughter, I can’t blame him for wanting to protect me by not coming forward and reporting the times he was approached regarding match fixing.

SM:Do you think it was too harsh to give him a lifetime ban from matches?

MD:I think he really is being made an example, so in that sense, no. But personally, it’s hard for me. I haven’t always had the perfect relationship with my father. But he’s never missed a match.

SM:And he still doesn’t, despite the ban.

MD:(laughs) This is true. And look, I think taking a closer eye on an issue like this across all sports—

SM:You’re referring to what happened this winter with Hunter Wembly and the NBA referee.

MD:I know as much about that as everyone else. Obviously, fixing happens in all sports, and I suppose in the case of Hunter Wembly, he... took it too far. But now that the authorities are involved, we can only live and learn, right?

Hunter did take it too far, trying to buy out referees for insider information on players and game plans all across the NBA. It didn’t take long into the basketball season for the feds to finally pull the trigger.

But I told Maxine before, greed, it’s a real son of a bitch. And Ted was right. Guys like Hunter, they always take a tumble—straight into prison.

SM:Do you think there’s a solution?

MD:If there is, I don’t know it. But maybe the reason why people were so surprised with my father’s report is that they didn’t expect it to be at this kind of scale. I mean, my father reported fifty-two times he was approached over several years. And I’m one player. I think this issue in tennis is a lot bigger than we might expect it to be. And it’s sad, really. It takes away from the class and integrity of this game, and to be honest, it’s disheartening as an athlete because I know how hard it is to grow in this sport.

SM: Why is it you think this is a topic just not talked about?

MD:I wish we didn’t live in a time when we fear the repercussions of talking about the problem more than the problem itself. I hope that changes regarding many things in and outside of tennis.

SM:Well, many people in the tennis community and beyond have commended you for speaking out about one issue in particular—addiction and substance abuse. I think a lot of us were shocked to learn you’ve really lost two family members to this disease.

MD:My mother died when I was very, very young, and at the time, my parents were separated because she was an alcoholic. My brother’s issues were never for me to address publicly in detail. But I could’ve definitely opened up about how I struggled to cope with his issues earlier in my life. Not necessarily during an interview (laughs), but... it took me a long time to come to terms with how sick my brother was, to accept that what he was going through wasn’t a choice. And I harbored a lot of resentment during that time. All that really did was hurt me and make me lose what would turn out to be precious time with him.

SM:We’ve seen your focus outside of tennis this year really center around this issue.

MD:Definitely. I’ve seen what too late looks like with my brother. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, so if I can be vocal about the importance of acknowledging addiction, about humanizing addicts, and if I can reach some people, either through foundations like the First Step Group, or others, that’s important. But... are we going to talk about tennis now?

I laugh and read through the rest of the interview in admiration. Here she is, Maxine “Silent Slayer” Draper, not holding back, not hiding. Right here, in black-and-white, Maxine has found her voice. And I’m damn proud she isn’t afraid to use it.

“Oh,” Ted says from beside me. “You should go.”

Returning the magazine to the backseat, I grab my pass from the cupholder. “See you after?” I’m asking the question, but the answer he gives is for Maxine.

“I’m not going anywhere,” Ted replies, reaching down to recline his seat. He holds up the phone. “See you after.”

Leaving the car, I jog through the parking lot, past lines of fans waiting to enter the Billie King National Tennis Center as I make my way to the entrance. I might not umpire anymore, but I’m lucky enough to sit in Maxine’s box which means I’m still able to skip lines.

“How is she?” I ask Jack minutes later when I take my seat.

“Ready.” Jack nods to himself. “Eager.”

I catch Maxine when she steps away from the bench, fiddling with the strings of her racket as she makes her way to the baseline to take her first serve.

Which is anace.

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