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Biofile with Dyan Castillejo-Garcia
7 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
Status: Former WTA and Fed Cup tennis player from The Philippines. Ten-year national champion of Philippines. Currently works as a sportscaster and interviewer for major network ABS-CBN.
DOB: September 15, 1965 In: Philippines
First Tennis Memory: “Was when I got picked by John Newcombe and Tony Roche to get a scholarship at Newcombe/Roche Academy in Armidale in Australia. I was eleven years old. I remember they came over to The Philippines, they watched some of the juniors hitting. They picked one girl and one boy. We got a scholarship. That was my first overseas trip. So I was really excited. Then I stayed in Armidale, Australia for, I think it was two or three weeks. I remember it was super hot, there were a lot of flies. That’s one of my most special and earliest memories of tennis.”
Greatest Career Moment: “Well, when I made it – it’s every player’s dream to make it to Wimbledon. So I was able to make it. I qualified for the juniors in 1983. So I remember getting into the All England Club, I was so, like, I didn’t even really care about my game. I was so excited to be there. To see Bjorn Borg and Chris Evert, who were like my heroes then. I played a match and I lost. Then I played again the next year, then I won a round. I was a bit more settled the next year. I made it to the U.S. Open too but I think Wimbledon is more special.”
Most Painful Moment: “When I had to retire. I don’t know if it’s like this for every tennis player. But I just grew up playing tennis, it was my goal, my life, my everything, my motivation for my every moment. I used to wake up and run in the morning and go to school. My whole focus in my life was tennis. And when I realized the time – I was 26 – that I was gonna have to retire, I was like, My gosh, what am I gonna do? But then I got an answer from God. He brought me to broadcasting, which I had no background of. But that was painful, that time, to retire. What am I gonna do? It was my whole life effort.”
Funny Tennis Memory: “Oh, one time, all the juniors used to play Orange Bowl in Miami. So I spend five years, from 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 every Christmas from the 21st to the 28th at the Orange Bowl tournament. Every Christmas-time I was away from my family. After the Orange Bowl, there was a tournament in Mexico, always, that all the juniors went to. They had a charter plane and everything. Well, one time, on the way back from Mexico back to Miami, the chartered plane, I don’t know, I was roaming around the airport. I got left by the plane. It was kinda funny in a way. I didn’t know what to do. I was 16 years old. I was like, Oh my God, it’s a chartered plane, we didn’t have tickets. I can’t even remember what I did. But then, Oh, I remember, my sister was on the plane. Everybody said she just started screaming, Dyan’s not on the plane!! Stop the plane!! But the plane had already gone.”
Strangest Match: “One time one of the national games, I was playing my uncle in the semifinals and I was playing with a cast on my ankle because I didn’t want to default. I can’t remember if I won or lost. I sprained my ankle and after the match my whole ankle was like, big. And I was like, I’m not gonna default. They put like a really hard plaster cast on it and I had to play.”
Toughest Competitors Encountered: “Oh my gosh. I played Hana Mandlikova when she was #3 in the world. I played Helena Sukova when she was #7. I played Carling Bassett when she was in the top 30. Then I played Dianne Fromholtz in one Fed Cup. And then, because I played a lot in Asia, some of the toughest were the Japanese. The Japanese were so tough. Esako Inoue, Aniko Hagawa, they were all players of my time. And you know that girl who’s still playing at Wimbledon? 41 years old. (Kimiko Date.) I played her. I’m like, I thought I was dreaming when I saw her. The girl’s my age. I was like, Oh my God. But the Japanese were always so tough. Japanese and Chinese. But the Japanese, at that time, were ahead.”
Funniest Players Encountered: “So many. You know who was so funny, do you remember this Italian girl, Raffaela Reggi? She was really funny. She would always crack jokes on the bus.”
Embarrassing Tennis Memory: “I was playing once in the Southeast Asian Games. It was every two years. I played mixed doubles, semifinals or finals. But for some reason my partner would always lob and then the guy would smash it straight at me. Maybe I got hit – on my head! On my chest! And you know what’s really embarrassing? The crowd was laughing at me. They were making fun of me because I kept getting hit. So it was really, really embarrassing. I got bruised like a boxer.”
Favorite Players To Watch: “My favorites were Bjorn Borg, Chris Evert. Steffi Graf. Of course, she was the most athletic. Now I like to watch Federer. I just like his elegance, he’s so put together. But I also love the intensity of Nadal. I took my son to the French Open this year. Djokovic – I didn’t used to but now I love his second serve and he’s such a great interview. I didn’t used to be impressed by Djokovic but now I am. I love Federer but now he’s too much into his family and kids but that’s okay. I love Nadal. Watching Nadal play live compared to television is a big difference. The ball, the velocity, the spin, wow.”
Last Book Read: “Joel Osteen.”
Hobbies/Interests: “Exercise, workout, read nutrition and fitness books, magazines.”
Current Car: “SUV Toyota 4 Runner.”
Favorite Meal: “Salad, vegetables.”
Favorite Movies: “I don’t watch movies.”
First Job: “Does tennis commentator count? TV. For national network channel 4, government network.”
Why Do You Love Playing Tennis: “It’s an individual sport but also a team sport. And it’s a sport where, if you work hard, you see results. I wasn’t as talented as my sister but I think because of my determination and perseverance, I was able to achieve success. It’s beautiful to watch though, the rallies and everything.”
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Coffee.”
People Qualities Most Admired: “I like people to stay humble after they achieve success. I really like them that they stay humble and still friendly and not put up like a front, like a wall, like, you can’t anymore be personable. So that’s very important to me. To stay humble and then helpful to people. And nice to people. And God-fearing.”
Career Accomplishments: First Filipina to break into WTA rankings; Achieved career-high singles rank of #403 and doubles rank of #245 in 1986.
Dyan played Sukova and Mandlikova in Fed Cup
Dan Markowitz · October 27, 2011 at 8:28 pm
What does it mean to be “God-fearing?”
Dan Markowitz · October 27, 2011 at 8:38 pm
Can’t you just be God-loving? And how do you find these players/folks? Scoop.
Scoop Malinowski · October 27, 2011 at 8:45 pm
God-fearing is basically, IMO, for a person to believe that if they commit bad actions against other people, karma will come back to repay them in the end, I think. And if you respect God and all people you will not knowingly hurt or cheat other people. Something like that. As for how I met Dyan, she was at the boxing match events the previous week for Nonito Donaire’s title defense against Omar Narvaez at MSG. Dyan covers sports in the Philippines for ABS-CBN network and Donaire is a very popular figure in the Philippines as many call him “Manny Junior.” Some say he is even more talented than Manny Pacquiao. Another media person told me that she was a former professional player so I thought a Biofile with her and her different perspectives might turn out interesting and it sure did.
Zen Master · October 28, 2011 at 4:22 am
scoop, im inviting you to experience christmas here in the philippines, scuba diving, snorkling on the best coral reefs crystal white sands paradise beaches and play tennis at night, and go bar hoping late at nights! leave new york and the boring life of new jersey! manny pacquaio will never live in america even in las vegas. i live in new york for many years but try to come here for 3 weeks and you will not regret that life is good. just buy the round trip ticket and i take care of thye rest! you will also interview manny pacquaio and attend his birthday dec 17 and you are one the VIP guest coz you are a popular boxing writer. leave the gullags man!
Dan Markowitz · October 28, 2011 at 9:28 am
Shoot, Zen Master, when you describe it like you do, if Scoop doesn’t come, I will.
Andrew Miller · October 28, 2011 at 10:57 pm
Got to say, that was a solid Bio-File. It surprises me how influential tennis is. Sometimes, the sport picks the players. Sometimes the players pick the sport. I never even think of tennis in the phillipines.
However, I am sure Dan has thought about it, as has Jeff by way of Cecil Mammit (born in the U.S.), but who played for the Phillipines. Someone had told me about how Cecil won the “NCAA tournament that was supposed to be Jeff’s”.
Scoop Malinowski · October 28, 2011 at 11:36 pm
Tennis is actually very popular in the Philippines Andrew, though I haven’t been there yet. But I have a friend (Zen Master) who has told me about the tradition and history of tennis there and there have been some phenomenal players to come from there, most notably Felicisimo Ampon who played at Wimbledon and other prestigious tournaments around the world – and was competitive with the best players in the world though his height was under 5 ft tall. Johan Kriek told me Roy Emerson told him about him. There is a very old historic club there too. Tennis is very popular on that island and it still is today, evidenced by two ITF juniors in recent years who have been competitive in junior slams, and one of them one doubles in Australia a couple of years ago. With the enormous success of Manny Pacquiao in boxing, don’t be surprised if his inspiration sparks a Filippino tennis player to make an impact on the ATP tour in the near future.