“Ben is still learning the difference between a set and a match,” says Jodie Burrage, smiling as she sits down with her boyfriend, Ben White, at the Lawn Tennis Association headquarters.
More familiar with the rules of rugby, the London Irish and Scottish scrum half bites back. “I had never seen a game of tennis before I met Jodie,” says White. ‘Not one. Now I only watch tennis.’
Having met via social media four years ago, the pair now live together in Richmond, along with their black labrador, Otto. “I took him to watch rugby at the weekend,” says Burrage, Britain’s No. 2.
‘I have three brothers who love rugby and my father played for Esher. They knocked me down when I was young, but I never really got into the back passing. My family is a Harlequins fan so we went to see the Big Game at Twickenham. They always ask Ben to sign for Harlequins.”
Outside our conference room, Andy Murray has just finished on a practice field. Preparations for the grass season are ramping up as the rugby season approaches its peak. Burrage’s next game is in Spain, while White hopes to take his club to the play-offs on Sunday in a must-win game against Saracens.
Ben White and Jodie Burrage met four years ago and now live together in Richmond
The pair have seen each other rise through the ranks in their sport
“Jodie travels 30 weeks a year, so we don’t usually get a chance to sit together and do things like this,” says White. ‘She trains here and I train at the club. During the lockdown she had no one to hit with so we tried to rally on this astro court where they left the gate open. She’d lose her head with me, so I’d end up throwing balls out of a basket.”
Jodie interjects: ‘I’d certainly be better at rugby than Ben at tennis!’
Over the course of their relationship, they’ve watched each other rise through the ranks in their sports. White has won 14 caps for Scotland and Burrage has moved up to a career high of 108 in the world rankings. “I would never talk to Jodie about her serving technique, but we both understand the life of an athlete,” says White. ‘We help each other with that. One game can cloud your judgment of the bigger picture, so we’ll talk about that. I want to win a Premiership, Six Nations and a World Cup and Jodie wants to win a Grand Slam, but you can’t keep looking at the end goal. You just have to celebrate the small victories, live in the now, enjoy every moment.
“We always tell each other that we are living the dream. If you always look at the pressures, the hurdles, the negatives, you can go down a little rabbit hole. You just have to enjoy it.’
Burrage enjoyed a few trips to Murrayfield during the Six Nations. “We probably celebrate the other person’s victory more than our own,” she says. Ben scored against England and won the Calcutta Cup. We’re all celebrating in the stands and he comes up to us and says “We’ve got to beat Wales now”. Sometimes you need that reminder to appreciate where you are. The psychological side is similar for both of us: the positive thoughts, the nerves.’ They often celebrate with a Chinese at the Four Regions restaurant on Kew Road. “A cheat meal,” Burrage is eager to point out, in case her nutritionist is reading. The conversation is about the cooking routine at home. White is familiar with the smoke detector, according to Burrage.
“I’m definitely the cook,” she says. ‘Last night we ate chicken fillet, potato and roasted vegetables. Ben is always trying to gain weight, or at least keep it on, while I’m always trying to lose weight. Our meals are pretty similar, but he has a lot more protein shakes. I don’t buy cookies but Ben comes home with 12 Mini Rolls. I must try to resist!
“My nutritionist talks more about muscle goals than weight. I need some weight behind my shot as I am an explosive player. But you can be there for three hours, so you can’t carry too much.
‘It has been proven that any type of athlete can play tennis. You have your Serena Williams and then you have Agnieszka Radwańska, who is skinny. There is no set way to be, but in rugby everyone’s positions are quite specific. Scrum halves will all be the same size, but an attacker can be completely different.’
In the gym there is much less overlap in their routines. “Ben probably runs farther than I do. Mine is more explosive. Shorter, sharper bursts. I have to cover a maximum of 20 meters. Some players are in the back and run back and forth, but I’m not that player. I want it to happen in three or four shots, rather than long rallies.
“I do more stretches. The positions we get into, especially on clay, you have to be quite flexible. I’ve seen some of Ben’s stretching. It’s general mobility; shoulders are the most important for serving. You should also stretch during your recovery. If you want to win a tournament, you have to win five matches in six days. Ben plays maybe 60 minutes and then has seven days to recover. He can walk the dog or go swimming the day after a game.’
White adds, “A lot of our training and preparation is different. In rugby we know what time we kick off and how long our match is going to last. The way London Irish and Scotland play is high number of phases, fast rucks, trying to stretch teams and play fast, you have to run everywhere. As No. 9, you can probably expect to push 6km or 7km.
“I’m going to look at Jodie and she’s like, ‘I’m in second place’ and you just have to guess. If the game goes for it in a third set, you suddenly wait another hour. Jodie doesn’t know how long her contest will last. She’s on the track for two and a half hours in 40-degree heat with 90 percent humidity. i would die! The hardest thing I see in tennis is Jodie spending hours on the court and having another match tomorrow. The turnaround is so much more difficult.’
The coming months can be defining periods for both. Wimbledon is always the first date on a British tennis player’s calendar and Burrage is hoping to break into the top 100 for the first time.
Wimbledon is the biggest tournament for a Briton. But we play a tournament every week and your ranking can change pretty quickly, so that’s what we’re focusing on,” she says. “I went 250, 200, 150. If I get into the top 100, it’s going to be a good year. Everyone wants two digits to their name.’
And today at 3pm Burrage will connect to Spanish Wi-Fi to watch the rugby on her phone. It’s London Irish’s biggest game of the season so far as they look to take a big step towards the play-offs for the first time since 2010.
“It’s been a roller coaster of a season,” says White. ‘The start of could not have been much worse: rock bottom after six rounds. We have gradually improved and now we have a chance to make the play-offs. It’s in our hands.
“When the people around you are good, you don’t feel the pressure. It doesn’t matter if everything burns down around you, you take care of each other. We have that at London Irish.’