From JJ's blog:
Hello Everyone,
I started the US Open really well and was pretty excited about my chances, but the day before my second round match I got very bad news, that my grandmother passed away. I was very sad. I didn’t even feel like going on the court. Mentally and physically, I wasn’t there. I was a shadow of myself.My mother came to New York to watch me play and my father was already here, so I had everyone here supporting me, and it was great. But my mom left the day before my match to be with my grandmother. Today was the funeral. My whole family was there. I’m at the airport now, and I’m going back to Serbia.
She was my only grandmother… I was very close to her and loved her a lot. She always told me she liked my red tennis dress, that it was the color of happiness and luck. I wanted her to be happy and I wanted to do well at the US Open, so I wore it. I was hoping it would bring luck to both of us. But unfortunately it didn’t help this time. She dedicated her whole life to family, to all of us. She was an unbelievable person, beautiful on the inside and out. She was always supporting me and watching me play. Hopefully she was proud of me.I was calling every day to see how she was doing.. I was praying every day she would be okay. This is especially hard on my mom… she was her mom. My mom is recovering from surgery herself and it’s not easy for her.
I’m going to take some days off from tennis to just be there with my family. We’re all very sad but we’re trying to stay as positive as possible. I’m not thinking about tennis at the moment. I have some time before I play my next tournament so I want to heal from this and go from there. When something like this happens, tennis seems like just a game. There are more important things.
I want to thank all of you for your support right now. I am thankful for you all and I will be back soon.
JJ
If JJ's relationship with her grandmother was anything like my relationship with my grandmother, then we all owe Grandma JJ a huge debt. She probably played a huge role in shaping and creating the Glitter Queen that we all know and love. Much love and condolences to her family.
