Why We All Need a Little Superstition in Our Lives; as Tennis Stars Reveal Their Bizarre Rituals

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Byline: LEO MCKINSTRY

SPORTS stars are a superstitious lot, a truth confirmed again this week by the revelations of the quaint, sometimes bizarre, personal rituals followed by several of the top tennis players at Wimbledon.

Jelena Dokic, for instance, wears the same top and skirt throughout the tournament, washing them each night in her hotel room.

Goran Ivanisevic is just as fixed about his routine, always eating at the same table in the same restaurant at the same time every day for as long as he stays in the championship.And Venus Williams is pining for her particular mascot, her Yorkshire terrier Bobby, who had to stay in the U.S.

Professionals in every other sport can be equally rigid and peculiar in their habits and personal rituals.

Rugby League player Mickey Edwards always puts a tiny model of Thomas The Tank Engine down his sock before each game, while British racing driver David Coulthard used to don the same pair of underpants before each Grand Prix. …