Magda Linette is 34, and she is not interested in taking the credit for being a veteran on the tour. When asked if players in their 30s are defining a new standard for when a tennis career reaches its zenith, the Pole responded with a smile and referred to the players who got there first. 

In conversation with EssentiallySports at the ongoing WTA 250 Chennai Open, we asked Linette whether she and others of her generation are changing the perception that players peak in their early or mid-twenties.

“No, not at all,” she said. “You put me like my age, I’m like 34. I know I’m older, but I’m not 70. I think we’re not at all, because the people before us did it for us. I think Serena did it before, Venus did it way before. Roger did it before, Novak.” 

Serena Williams won her last major at 35, and Roger Federer continued to win Grand Slams at 36, and Djokovic is still fighting with the best of the players on the tour at 39. Linette felt the door opened way longer before she walked through. 

Moving ahead in the conversation, Linette said the influence she is actively trying to have is on raising awareness of the WTA’s maternity fund. 

“I think what I’m having a big influence on, and I’m trying to have an influence on, is just putting out there that there is the maternity fund, and that you can still be smart and keep playing,” she said. 

Her point was that players should not feel forced into a choice between family and career. 

“Whenever we feel that we can have this opportunity in the family a bit later and it’s okay, it keeps us open to just keep playing, because physically, people proved it way before us that it’s possible.”

The programme she is talking about is still new. Launched in March 2025 and funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the WTA scheme offers eligible players up to 12 months of paid maternity leave, along with grants for fertility treatment. At launch, it embraced over 320 players and is paired with special rankings that allow mothers to return at their former level for up to three years after birth. 

She wasn’t afraid to be honest about the other side of the tour that fans don’t see. When asked about what people don’t understand about life on the WTA Tour, she said that it’s not just the tennis that’s a part of the day. 

“You have so much logistics behind what you have to do. You go on flights, you go to hotels, you travel, you go by train, and then you do it all yourself,” Linette said. “It’s not a given that you just go in on a private jet. You fly economy, you go on a bus whenever you have to.” 

The list kept growing as she spoke, from visas to coordinating a team spread across different countries. “It’s just a lot of logistics, and it’s tiring every single night. So I think tennis is just quite a small part of the day compared to other stuff.” 

That grind has been especially hard to absorb in a season that tested her more than most.

Magda Linette on her slump, Agnieszka Radwanska and Chennai memories

Linette has had a difficult few months. She came into Chennai with a 21-23 win-loss record, having suffered a string of early exits in at least 10 tournaments after making it to the last four in Libema, and she admitted the slide had crept up on her.

“It’s just sports as well. Coming from losses, you lose a bit of your self-confidence, and then you lose so many points, and it just sometimes spirals down. You don’t even know when it happened,” she said. Her answer was to keep showing up, even when it hurt. 

“You get a lot of criticism, and it’s not easy to go out there and try to work on things, and again fail and fail again. But I just decided this year to do it, to go through with it, because it’s necessary in sports.” She said she is glad to be “slowly rewarded” for that patience.

Despite the 23 losses, the 2026 season has still produced highlights. Linette beat Iga Swiatek in Miami in March and reached the semifinals on grass in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. She also reached the third round at both the Australian Open and Roland Garros. 

She reached World No. 19 in March 2023, two months after reaching the Australian Open semifinal, her best Grand Slam appearance. The counterpuncher is currently ranked No. 68 and has three singles titles to her credit: the Bronx Open in 2019, Hua Hin in 2020 and Prague in 2024.

Chennai is helping her get that feeling back. She was runner-up here in 2022, losing a three-set final to Linda Fruhvirtova, a few months before her run to the Australian Open semifinals.  

“I feel like I had a little bit of a worse time recently, and I started getting my moves back, which is great,” she said. “Definitely, it brings back good memories.” 

The third seed took three hours and 33 minutes to defeat Aliona Falei in the longest WTA main draw game ever played this season. She then beat Moyuka Uchijima 7-6(5), 6-0 to reach the quarterfinals. 

“It was a very tough first set, which I kind of expected,” she said, adding that she stayed strong after clawing back the early break.

Former world No. 2 and support player for the Pole, Agnieszka Radwanska, has also become a member of Linette’s staff prior to the 2025 season and is currently a consultant to Linette. The 34-year-old explained that Radwanska spends around 10 to 12 weeks a year with her, usually at the Grand Slams and WTA 1000 events, and that she fills the gaps with other coaches around her compatriot’s own commitments. Radwanska was with her in Beijing, and the pair will reunite in the pre-season.

When asked what separates players who succeed once from those who keep succeeding, Linette’s answer reflected her own year. The depth on tour, she said, is ruthless. 

“It doesn’t matter if they are top 100, top 200, they all know how to play, they all know how to win matches,” she said. The difference, in her view, is timing. “Good players can sense that moment, and they can deliver at those moments.” 

Linette faces Japan’s Mai Hontama in the quarterfinals on Friday, against a player who leads their head-to-head 1-0. After a season of fighting her way back, she has given herself exactly the kind of moment she was describing.