Familiar Turf, But Conditions Apply

Anders Antonsen lives just five minutes’ drive from the Royal Arena, the venue of the TotalEnergies BWF World Championships 2023 in Copenhagen.

He’s been to music concerts and standup comedy shows in the hall, and the familiarity with this space and surroundings should normally qualify as home advantage.

But Antonsen’s aware that this very familiarity can have unintended consequences – such as lulling one into too deep a sense of comfort – which is why he felt it important that he’s staying in a hotel during the event.

Antonsen is a regular at the Royal Arena.

“Hopefully that can get me in the zone a bit, because it’s so comfortable just to be at home,” said Antonsen. “I live just five minutes’ drive from here, so it doesn’t feel like you’re at a World Championships – usually you have to travel for that. So there are good things and bad things that come with it being on home soil, you just need to be aware of both and the good thing is that I feel relaxed, and on the other side, it’s important that I don’t get too comfortable.”

For the more high-profile Danes, there are expectations and pressures to deal with, besides the obvious distractions from well-wishers and loved ones.

“There are so many people trying to get a piece of you, trying to get tickets to the event and stuff like that, and even though you want to be polite and answer everyone, you just can’t. It’s too draining.”

His compatriot and pre-tournament favourite Viktor Axelsen indeed talked about the necessity of being “cold” in the run-up to the event, to shut out the distractions from responding to well-wishers.

“It’s pretty difficult (to tune out) because everyone I meet on the street wants to wish me good luck,” said Axelsen.

“Of course there’s a lot of pressure. I’m not trying to hide that at all. I think everyone will be disappointed if I don’t go really far and if I don’t win almost a gold medal. So the pressure is huge; however, I just try to enjoy the ride.”

Mia Blichfeldt leads Denmark’s women’s singles charge.

Mia Blichfeldt, who watched the 2014 World Championships from the stands, acknowledges that this is likely to be a once-in-a-career event, and she’s preparing by imagining she’s playing someplace else.

“I know that my friends and family will be here. Everyone will be like closer to this event than normal, so I’m trying to imagine that I’m playing in Asia somewhere,” said Blichfeldt.

As for Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen, who have tuned up by winning the European Games and the Canada Open, their experience from the 2014 World Championships in Copenhagen stands them in good stead.

“We’re in a good state playing-wise. We have some confidence from the last months, so we’re looking forward to it,” said Rasmussen.

“We’re in a different role (compared to 2014). Back then we were the last ones to get invited, so we can demand more from ourselves this time, in terms of what we dream and hope for.”

Astrup and Rasmussen playing at their second home World Championships.

And while Copenhagen is familiar space, their own approaches vary in dealing with the major event on home soil. Antonsen, who has had a good year after prolonged trouble with a groin injury, sounds almost philosophical.

“I don’t take it too seriously. I know it’s not the end of the world no matter how it goes. Hopefully I can keep that mentality on court. For sure some nerves will appear, but hopefully I can stay loose, and bring that on court as well.”

Rather true to type, Axelsen has a very different method of approaching the event, boiling it down to the basics, as it were.

“The court is still the same size. When you’re on court, there’s only you and your opponent and the umpires, and it’s going to be no different (in Copenhagen).”