By Ana Ivanovic
GOSSIP. Everyone loves it, and the tennis world is no different. The corridors of Melbourne Park, and all other tournaments, are full of people telling each other the latest rumours, especially when we haven't seen each other for a long time. Who is dating whom, who said nasty things about whom, whose muscles just doubled in size.
For the best gossip, the player lounge/restaurant is the place to be. The majority of it is probably untrue, and the funny thing is that the media seem to be pretty much in the dark - they only find out the stories a couple of months later. I do like the occasional bit of gossip myself, so I would be a hypocrite if I complained when the stories are about me.
The biggest gossips are the coaches and agents. The players themselves don't gossip half as much as them, at least not in my experience. It's no secret that the tennis world isn't the friendliest of places, with a lot of rivalry, but the atmosphere in the women's locker room is actually quite pleasant. Of course, there are some players who keep their heads down, avoid eye contact with anyone and never say "hello", but there will always be someone in there you can have a chat with.
Often I will talk to my opponent before a match, not about tennis but regular stuff like travel stories and our interests. Players are always quick to congratulate one another when they see each other for the first time after one of them has won a tournament.
The biggest character in the women's locker has to be Svetlana Kuznetsova - you always know she's in there when you hear loud dance music. I'm friends with her, and also Daniela Hantuchova - her and I are always acting out scenes from TV shows when we see each other in there. Yesterday the locker room was extremely busy, because there were so many matches taking place. I only had a practice session, so I didn't spend too much time in there.
The facility here is not very spacious. The room is U-shaped, with lockers adjacent to three walls.
The administration area of Melbourne Park, outside the locker rooms, is very white: the walls are white and the floors are shiny white. It's full of players and coaches watching the screens for the latest scores.
Another venue that is good for gossip, or at least classified information, is the room where WTA Tour player meetings take place. We had such a meeting at the weekend, but that's a story for another time.
A donation has been made to UNICEF on Ana's behalf for this contribution.