{"id":542468,"date":"2026-04-21T07:56:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T07:56:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/542468\/"},"modified":"2026-04-21T07:56:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T07:56:17","slug":"players-didnt-believe-i-was-volunteering-in-zanzibar-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/542468\/","title":{"rendered":"Players didn\u2019t believe I was volunteering in Zanzibar school"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many of the top tennis players in the world chose to spend their off-season in exclusive resorts in the Maldives last winter. Given the nature of a gruelling schedule that affords precious little time to rest, few could begrudge them that. <\/p>\n

Linda Noskova had earned that right, too, after a breakthrough year in which she reached her maiden WTA 1000 final in Beijing and rose to No13 in the world rankings before her 21st birthday. Yet, in December, while Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner posted pictures from pristine beaches, Noskova headed to the island of Zanzibar, off Tanzania, to spend a week volunteering at a school for underprivileged children. <\/p>\n

Far from being a photo opportunity, Noskova slept on a bunk bed with three other volunteers in a non-air-conditioned room. \u201c[Other players] were shocked. They didn\u2019t even believe me,\u201d she says. \u201cA week before I was going, a few girls texted me like, \u2018Is it happening or not?\u2019 I\u2019m like, \u2018Yes, I\u2019ve told you six or seven times, you don\u2019t believe me.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a crazy idea to some of them. It had always been on my bucket list to volunteer abroad so when I wanted to plan my vacation, I decided I wanted to tick this one off my list. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an incredible experience. I was helping with childcare and teaching. The kids were aged six to 11, there were around 300, and we just spent a lot of time together.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The accommodation was] pretty rough. Everybody thinks I was staying at a resort or something, but it was real conditions. I could\u2019ve gone wherever but then I would\u2019ve come back to the school where the kids don\u2019t have a lot, so that wouldn\u2019t feel fair. <\/p>\n

\u201c[Having] a different perspective helped me a lot through the last couple of weeks and months. Every time something doesn\u2019t work out, my mind would kind of go back to the kids and be like, \u2018OK, I have this rich lifestyle. What am I complaining about? I am healthy. I\u2019m in a great position in life. What else do I need?\u2019\u200a\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LindaNoskova reached the fourth round of Wimbledon last summerGLYN KIRK\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The pursuit of ranking points can feel like life and death inside the tennis bubble, but Noskova has benefited from having an exceptionally mature outlook. Raised in Bystricka, a small Czech village, her own background was \u201cnot privileged at all\u201d \u2014 Noskova\u2019s father worked for a train company and her mother ran a clothing shop \u2014 nor was a professional tennis career ever part of a grand masterplan in a country that has produced a remarkable number of top players. <\/p>\n

\u201c[My parents] never really played, only as amateurs, but I got on court and just tried to swing at some balls and they were like, \u2018OK, we\u2019re going to put you in a tennis school and get you some lessons,\u2019 so that\u2019s where it all started when I was around six,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Noskova was a natural talent and developed quickly in the national system, but it was only after she won the French Open girls\u2019 title in 2021 that she truly believed she could make it as a professional.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a big eye-opening moment for everybody, even for me,\u201d she says. The experience of coach Tomas Krupa was crucial in helping her navigate the transition from the junior ranks \u2014 his past clients include Radek Stepanek, Tomas Berdych, Jiri Vesely and Barbora Strycova. Noskova qualified for her main-draw debut at Roland Garros in 2022, aged 17, and briefly became the youngest player ranked inside the top 100. <\/p>\n

\"LindaNoskova after her comeback victory over Swiatek at the 2024 Australian OpenAndy Cheung\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

In 2024, Noskova claimed the biggest victory of her career over the world No1 at the time, Iga Swiatek<\/a>, en route to the Australian Open quarter-finals, while reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, where Noskova lost to eventual finalist Amanda Anisimova, proving that she can be a threat on every surface.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been kind of finding my path. It\u2019s never really been a huge breakthrough. I\u2019m just trying to stay as consistent and steady as possible and improve from there, and the goals are obvious: everybody wants to be [world] No1 and win a grand-slam, so those are there as well, but I just want to feel good on the court and the results will come,\u201d Noskova says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Will she still volunteer if she reaches those heights? \u201cFor sure,\u201d she says. \u201cI would definitely do it again. I think I will [go somewhere else], but I am planning to go back to Africa next year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tHer career at a glance\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Rank 13<\/p>\n

Best:12 (January 2026)<\/p>\n

Titles 1 (500 event in Monterrey)<\/p>\n

Grand-slam best Aus Open QF 2024<\/p>\n

Prize money $5.3million<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many of the top tennis players in the world chose to spend their off-season in exclusive resorts in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":542469,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[101,118,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-542468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-sports","tag-tennis","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=542468"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/542468\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/542469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=542468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=542468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=542468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}