Talking Tennis In Tough Tongues

There's not a ton of big news going on in tennis right now, so it could be a good time to bone up on your pronunciations.  That way, when things do get back rolling, you'll be talking away like a native.

Here's a video with reporters from several tennis heavy countries showing you how they address each player in his or her native land.

That last name the Czech guy says? That's Lucie Safarova.  You're probably just better off saying "Tomas Berdych's girlfriend."

For some more help with those tricky Chinese names, here's a pretty fun video on the ever elusive "Zheng Jie." (h/t Mariya K)

Persistence is key to success in this field, but there are definite payoffs.  I once took a full day to learn to spell Pavlyuchenkova, but look at me now.  Pavlyuchenkova, Pavlyuchenkova, Pavlyuchenkova.  It's just that easy.

There are plenty of impossible to spell and pronounce names that aren't on this video--Agnes Szavay, Andrea Hlavackova, Michal Przysiezny, Leos Friedl, and so many others.  Plenty of room to add some extra credit to your studies.