ITF

ITF World Spring 2021 13 am here, I have new ones. "Life is like this. You work hard to achieve something and when you do, you look forward to new things." The next challenge for Podoroska is the role of her nation's leading lady as Argentina face Kazakhstan on the clay on the Cordoba Lawn Tennis Club in the Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Play-offs, which take place on 16-17 April. For the winners, a place in next year's Qualifiers awaits, but for Podoroska it is also something of a homecoming and her first slice of competitive action on home soil since her Roland Garros exploits. Not since April 2015, meanwhile, have Argentina hosted Billie Jean King Cup action, when Podoroska contested the doubles during her side's defeat to Spain in a World Group II Play-off in Buenos Aires. She has assumed a more prominent position in the team in recent years but will return to Argentina with a very different status and standing – these days she is very much the star turn. "It will be an incredible experience, it will be my first time playing in Argentina being one of the best players," said Podoroska, who, when discussing the competition's rebrand, describes Billie Jean King as an "icon". "I played a few years ago but I just played the doubles. I am really looking forward to playing, it will be very special for me to play at home. It will be an honour and very special. "Where I am now, my position now, is different to when I was younger. But when I was in that position, I really enjoyed that moment, learning from the other girls and watching how they play and how they prepared for the matches. "Now I am here in another position, I want to do the same. Above all, I want to play and hopefully I will play to my best." By virtue of winning gold in the women's singles at the 2019 Pan-American Games in Peru's capital city Lima, Podoroska went some considerable distance to securing her place at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Postponed until this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Olympics are very much within Podoroska's thoughts and provide the opportunity for her to follow in the footsteps of her heroine Sabatini, who won silver at the 1988 Games in Seoul. It would also allow Argentinian and indeed South American tennis to gain greater exposure, with Podoroska the only woman from the continent currently ranked within the top 100 – incidentally, at No. 180, Paraguay's Veronica Cepede Royg is next in line. "It would be very special and I'd be very proud to continue the Argentina story," added Podoroska. "For me, representing my country is so special because there aren't many players. "Hopefully we will have more players in the coming years and more tournaments also. I really want to change the situation in Argentina so there are more opportunities and it becomes easier to be a professional tennis player. "You can have talent and motivation, but you also need money and possibilities. It is tough and expensive for a girl from Argentina being in Europe to play tournaments for four or five months. "It would be nice to have more tournaments in Argentina and have more top female players and players among the best 100, which of course would also help the Billie Jean King Cup team." Podoroska clearly has wider ambitions, but the immediate hurdle is whether one top 100 player will be enough for Argentina to take a significant stride on the global stage when Kazakhstan come calling. n "It's just a tennis court, there's nothing special about it, just play tennis and don't think about it." Above Podoroska became the first Argen nian woman to reach a Grand Slam semi- final since 2004

• Cover