KRAKOW, Poland - With the tennis season over and the holidays on the horizon the Radwanska sisters have turned their tennis energy towards charity, taking part in Poland's Szlachetna Paczka - or 'Worthy Parcels' - in Krakow.
Organized by a charity called Wiosna, Szlachetna Paczka sees volunteers go door to door throughout the year compiling a database of families in distress, asking them what would help ease the pressures of the holidays. Then, for a three week period from mid-November, donors choose a family to support. The donors are given a list of needs to take with them to a supermarket, where they fill a shopping cart with the desired food, household items, clothing and more.
Agnieszka and Urszula took part in the initiative for the third year in a row.
"When we were asked a few years ago we didn't have to think long - it's a great joy to be able to help someone, especially during the holidays," Agnieszka Radwanska said. "This year, my dad made a suggestion on the choice of family, but really it's probably not important because they all need help."
The Radwanska sisters are the only Polish players in the Top 150, Agnieszka all the way up at No.8 and Urszula at No.109. Agnieszka won three Premier-level titles in 2011, including two back-to-back in the fall: Tokyo and Beijing. Urszula, who made a return to the tour in 2011 after a back injury-marred 2010, also hit her stride in the fall, reaching her first WTA semifinal in Tashkent.
Agnieszka compared tennis to daily life. "Tennis is a bit like life. You must think positive to the end. There are moments when it's bad and gets worse. There is pain, there are injuries, there are failures. You have to look at it from another angle - to fight, to strive, to have dreams. They do come true. You can't give up."
