How Elizabeth Mandlik's Grand Slam-winning mother gave her the freedom to be fearless

While the Delray Beach resident is grateful for her family pedigree, Mandlik takes pride in the way she has battled to become a professional tennis player.

"There's a lot of people out there that have a sense of like, 'Oh, well, she's supposed to be good.' And that's not really how it works," she told USTA.com.

"Everybody is their own person and has their own success. [My mother] always just tried to put in my head that whatever you do, you did it, and it doesn't matter what she did."

While Mandlik's mother has helped guide her during the early years of her pro career, Mandlikova's biggest influence may have come from the freedom she gave her daughter in the sport.

"She influenced me in a way that... 'If you don't want to play the sport, if you want to quit right now, that's totally OK,'" Mandlik explained. "She never put pressure on me. She never made it seem like, 'Oh, because I played you have to play,' or 'Because I played, you have to be good.'"

With a clean bill of health, Mandlik opened the 2025 season with a W35 title in Palm Coast, Fla., and in July reached the semis at the WTA 125 in Newport, R.I. But she felt her game really began to click in the past two months.

"It just happened to be during the Challenge, which I got kind of lucky," she said. "But the thing that I think developed the most was my mind and how I approach the day to day, playing tournaments and playing matches and even practicing—enjoying it more and not putting so much pressure on myself.

"That made me find my game much easier, being more aggressive, being more fearless and just stepping on the court, knowing that even if I do lose, let's try to do the right things."

Mandlik has also benefited from a recent coaching change. She is now working with Emiliano Redondo and Juan Pablo Guzman, Argentines who are now based in Alicante, Spain.