Gabriela Sabatini admits to deliberately losing matches to avoid media glare

Sabatini pictured during the Sony Ericsson open in 2009

Ex-Tennis ace Gabriela Sabatani recently told La Nacion that during her youth, she had a fear of the media and deliberately threw away matches in order to stay out of the spotlight, Tennis.com reports.

“When I was younger and thought that I had to talk after winning a tournament, I often lost in the semifinals so I did not have to. It was that bad!” Sabatini said. “I was very introverted. I had some issues at school because I was very inward-looking.”

The Argentina national stated that the disadvantages of being famous caught up with her during her glory days. Sabarani managed to achieve a No.3 ranking but the top seed always eluded her.

“I think my fame and my public profile had something to do with the fact that I did not become No. 1,” she said. “To be so famous would also have been a problem if I had been No. 1.”

The 43-year-old had an illustrious career in tennis, winning 5 French Opens, one US Open, along with a Wimbledon championship in 1991.