To order your copy of Australian Tennis Magazine, visit tennismag.com.au.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Australian Tennis Magazine, Australia's only tennis magazine.
When Alan Trengove and John Brown founded the publication in 1976, Australian tennis was thriving – that year Evonne Goolagong Cawley reached world No.1 – and the sport was enjoying an international boom.
The first issue, featuring John Newcombe on the cover, also served as the official program of the Australian Open that year.
Suzi Petkovski first became involved with Australian Tennis Magazine as a teenager while studying at university. She was initially an editorial assistant before progressing into the role of editor by the age of 25.
On this week’s episode of The Sit-Down podcast, Petkovski shared what drove her when she held the position of editor from 1992 to 1995.
“I thought that we should reflect Australian tennis and our great traditions in the game, but also Australia standing as a world power in tennis as one of the Grand Slam nations,” she said.
"Few nations have a heavier legacy than Australia in the game, so I was always conscious of projecting our legacy, our standing in the game, our love for the game, the way Australians have pushed the game forward.
“But also not being uncritical of the direction of the game, because the fans own the game, so you’re doing it to inform the fans, inspire the fans and take them with you.”
Petkovski’s first issue at the helm of the magazine was the Australian Open-themed edition released in February 1992.
“It was a pretty good one. I had the piece with Jim Courier in it. Monica Seles won the tournament, and we had a very rare one-on-one with Andre Agassi in the days when he just did not do one-on-ones,” she reflected.
“It was a happy memory”.
In her time as editor, the magazine evolved. One change that stood out to Petkovski was a more streamlined cover design.
"I remember the redesigned cover we did, where we changed the 70s styling, which was a big move, and we went with a more streamlined sort of look in '93," Petkovski recalled, "and it was an overhead shot of Steffi Graf on a hard court.
"That was one of my favourite covers.”
Petkovski’s decade-long tenure on staff at Australian Tennis Magazine coincided with the Andre Agassi-Pete Sampras rivalry and the changing face of Australian junior tennis as children of migrants – including Mark Philippoussis and Jelena Dokic – began to make their mark.
Now a freelance tennis writer and historian, Petkovski says a major change she’s observed in the sport is the openness with which players discuss their mental health.
“The awareness of mental health [nowadays] is huge,” she said. “[Previously] that was just not talked about. It was seen as a weakness and you didn’t talk about your weakness. That’s just giving ammunition to your opponents.
“I’m glad to say Ash Barty really rewrote that guidebook. She listened to herself and took herself out of the game [in 2014]. Then she totally rewrote the mental landscape.
“When she came back [in 2016], it was not pressure or expectation to win. It was another opportunity to compete at a game she loved in a beautiful stadium. She could compete on her terms rather than feel oppressed by the mental landscape around her.”
Barty retired in 2022 with three Grand Slam titles and the world No.1 ranking.
More recently, Amanda Anisimova took an eight-month hiatus for similar reasons, and upon her return achieved career-best heights in 2025 including finals at Wimbledon and the US Open and a top-five debut.
“It doesn’t hurt your career, but it might actually extend your career,” Petkovski said.
“It will definitely improve your mental health and happiness, which in turn would make you a more functional human being and probably more successful.
“It’s great that we’re [now more] open about that stuff.”
Listen to the full episode of The Sit-Down, a weekly podcast released each Monday featuring an in-depth interview with a notable tennis identity. Subscribe in your favourite podcast player so you never miss an episode.