Daria Saville was in a race against time to make it to Indian Wells for her first qualifying match (Image: Getty)
Daria Saville has shed light on her nightmare 36-hour journey to Indian Wells. The world No. 109 enjoyed her best run of the season in Merida last week, reaching the semi-final as a qualifier. But it left her in a race against time to get to California for this week’s tournament.
The trip quickly turned to chaos due to flight delays, closed airports and a car running on its last legs. Saville made it in the nick of time and managed to win her first-round qualifying match before admitting she was “running on fumes”.
The life of a tennis player may appear glamorous on the surface – jetting from country to country and competing in some of the biggest cities in the world. But Australian tennis star Saville has explained that the reality is far from luxurious.
The former world No. 20 reached her first WTA Tour semi-final in more than a year at the recent Merida Open.
Her run came to an end at the hands of Emiliana Arango on Sunday, and Saville quickly had to turn her attention to Indian Wells, where she entered the qualifying draw.
The 31-year-old was set to fly from Merida to California later on Sunday, but her travel plans unravelled when one delay had a knock-on effect. After a horror 36 hours, Saville took to to share an update.
“Last 36 hours: So, we were supposed to fly Sunday from Merida to Indian Wells… and everything that could’ve gone wrong, did,” she wrote.
Daria Saville reached her first tour-level semi-final of the year at the recent Merida Open (Image: WTA)
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“Flight from Merida to Dallas got delayed 3 hours, meaning we’d miss our connection to Palm Springs. Cancelled our American Airlines flights because the risk of another delay was too high.
“Had to book last-minute tickets with Viva Aerobus, Merida to Leon, then a “fly-through” to Tijuana. Perfect, right? But of course, when we got to León, the airport closed due to curfew, and our flight got cancelled.
“Chaos at the desk, but we got rebooked for 5:40 am Monday (match day). Got a hotel room, managed 2.5 hours of sleep, and then up at 3:30 am to head to the airport. Finally, smooth sailing to Tijuana.”
Once Saville finally got on the plane, she had a touch-and-go car journey and worried the battery could die. But she finally made it on-site and got on the court.
“The Aussie continued: “Next, we HAD to rent an electric car. The battery was low, but somehow, it worked out. Made it to Indian Wells, fueled by adrenaline and way too much coffee. Somehow, I won.
“Fast forward to today: running on fumes and not feeling my best, but hey, I signed up for this madness. So, we keep grinding…”
The world No. 109 came from a set down to beat Jil Teichmann in the first round of qualifying, needing two hours and 33 minutes to win 4-6 6-4 6-3.
But everything quickly caught up to Saville and she lost to Maria Lourdes Carle in the second round of qualifying on Tuesday.