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BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL PRESENTED BY SUNCORP

December 31, 2017

Karolina Pliskova

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

An interview with:

KAROLINA PLISKOVA

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How are you feeling overall?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: No, I feel good. I just had it in my voice for last few days, but I've been practicing since I came here. So, yeah, I think three, four days I've been practicing, so a little better.

Today, I have day off. So, yeah, hopefully, Wednesday start for me. So two more days and I'll be ready for my first match.

Q. How have you felt your offseason preparations have been going?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Well, this time, after few years, the offseason was pretty good for me. I was not sick, which was the main thing, that I stayed healthy and I could do it all.

I had about four weeks before I was having, like, three weeks off and then I was practicing four weeks. So I had some matches, obviously, with the Czech club matches what we are having, so it was pretty good. And then I went to Thailand and I got sick there, but I would say it was fine.

Q. What is your coaching situation? I know you were with Rennae Stubbs in Singapore. Are you still working with her at all or where are things tracking for you now?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: No. I have Tomas now, so this is staying. I'm not going to change my situation with coaches right now. At least for a little bit, I try to stay with one coach.

And with Rennae, well, we stayed friends, I'm in touch with her, but that's it so far. So I'm not going to try to add anyone else to my team.

Q. How did you pick Tomas?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: I think he was, for me personally, the last option from, like, Czech Republic coach. So that's why I just went for it even though it was still, at that time, coach of Barbora.

But I still have to think about myself. So, for me, it was the last option from Czech Republic. Otherwise, I have to go to different countries and that's always a little bit more difficult to search, like, in the world for a coach. So I want to try this.

Q. How much were you able to -- I know all the Czech players are all practicing kind of in the same club and same cities and stuff. Did you practice alongside any of the players during the offseason? How much do you guys interact during the offseason?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Did we --

Q. Were there other, like, WTA Czech players that were there practicing as well and were you kind of practicing with them at all the practice matches?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Well, we are all practicing in one club and Prague. So my sister, Barbora, Kvitova, and Siniakova and, like, all the girls in one club in Prague. But we don't really practice together, or at least I don't practice with them since the friendship is not the best with them.

And I had my own plans. I was playing with Tomas because we were starting, so we had lot of hours together. And then I was trying to hit with some younger guys, which is maybe better than to play with the girls.

Q. Is it tough? You mentioned the Czech being small and having to take the coach of Barbora. Does it make it complicated being from a very tight-knit, connected country where everyone is sort of in a small space together and there's only a few coaches?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Well, yeah, it's about the coaches most of the time. So I think it's changing pretty much, not only me and Barbora, but also before.

But I don't think it's tough. For me, it's not tough. So I have now my team and that's for me all that matters, so yeah.

Q. As you start this season and you look ahead, I mean, you know you have pockets of points, you know, to defend throughout. What is your mentality with respect to scheduling this year? And also just with respect to the Australian swing, how confident are you feeling as the season starts?
KAROLINA PLISKOVA: Well, I think I had pretty good schedule last year. Well, still this year. So I try to do at least a little bit the same thing. So depends on my body, how it feels during this year, but I think the schedule is pretty good.

And I was feeling quite healthy and, you know, ready and motivated during the season. And I was not playing that many tournaments but still enough to get to the top. So I just want to maybe try to do the same thing.

And depends also how I play because last year the start of the year was great. I got two titles from out of, what, three tournaments.

So I don't know how this year is going to be, but, yeah, even though the start of the year doesn't have to be the best, I think I have enough time to, you know, play the best tennis during the main tournaments and during the season.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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