Tennis News

There are two sides to every comeback. Long layoffs may leave a player rusty and out of rhythm, but they have an undeniably refreshing quality that can sometimes lead to stretches of top-level tennis.

Out for over 22 months rehabbing multiple stress fractures and a bruised bone in her foot, former World No.42 Galina Voskoboeva makes her WTA return at this week’s Abierto Mexicano TELCEL unranked and in search of the form that made her last comeback so successful.

“This is my second comeback, so in the beginning it’s very difficult, but I didn’t expect it to be any other way,” she told WTA Insider from an ITF Challenger in Surprise, Arizona.

“The most difficult part of this comeback is not having a ranking; I’m playing small tournaments because I’m at zero, but it’s very difficult to even enter tournaments, and you’re always stressed because you don’t know if you’ll get in or not.”

If anyone knows how to come back, it’s the Kazakh, who made a major splash in 2011 following a seven-month shoulder injury. A qualifier at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, Voskoboeva reached the quarterfinals with wins over Marion Bartoli, Flavia Pennetta, and Maria Sharapova. She cruised into her first WTA final later that fall in Seoul en route to a career-high ranking in 2012.

“It does give me some more confidence because my last comeback was really good. It was very difficult in the beginning; I probably didn’t show my best tennis right away, but the second part of the year in 2011 was great.

“I don’t know if I can expect it to be that good this time, but of course I already have some ideas of how it will be. I know it’ll be very difficult in the beginning to show your game the way you used to play.”

Ranked just outside the Top 50 in the spring of 2014, Voskoboeva had recently won a doubles title – in Acapulco of all places – but was starting to feel a pain in her foot that would take her on two-year odyssey of rehab and recovery.

“I had a surgery where they had to take one bone out because it had three fractures; the bone was dead and couldn’t heal. Another bone was also fractured, but they left it in, because they can’t take out two bones!”

She laughs. before adding, “Well, they can, and you could still run, but not fast, and you can’t jump, so I definitely didn’t want that. I have one bone left, and it’s still fractured – it’s not going to heal.”

Arrived to Amsterdam! My next baby step is a start of rehab! Прилетела в Амстердам! Здесь я начну реабилитацию! pic.twitter.com/2XWXAmY9pd

— Galina Voskoboeva (@g_voskoboeva) May 7, 2014

She spent the summer doing physical therapy in Amsterdam, where the veteran took her time as a tourist in stride, enjoying the funny moments that occurred along the way.

“I came there one month after my surgery, when I was on crutches and in a cast. You can’t walk for a long time on crutches; I don’t have very strong arms, so it’d be like 10 minutes, and I’m dead! My mom bought me a wheelchair, and it was funny, because if we wanted to have a walk, I’d start on crutches and then move to the wheelchair! It was quite an adventure.

“I also got some benefits from that because there are a lot of good museums there, and there are huge lines. But when people saw me in a wheelchair, I was first in line and never had to wait!

“You should always take something good, even from the worst of days.”

I think this painting will look better in my room! Feel sorry for Van Gogh's museum but I'am stealing it!??? pic.twitter.com/eLwKyNbCQX

— Galina Voskoboeva (@g_voskoboeva) May 19, 2014

Voskoboeva returned to her base in Florida to train through the fall, initially aiming to return at the start of 2015.

“I didn’t expect to be away this long! I was thinking that it would be similar to the shoulder injury; this one was much, much longer and it was much more difficult.

“Everything was going well but suddenly I started feeling pain straight away during a practice and it swelled. I had another MRI, and we found there was a bruise on the bone. I don’t know how it happened; nobody can say – even the doctors! It could have been from jumping or running, but the result was a bruise on the bone, and I needed to have a rest.

“I had to start from the beginning, like I never did rehab before. I was very disappointed with that, and for a long time, the injury didn’t heal. I was working and working, but nothing was happening. I wasn’t sure if I’d even be able to come back after that.”

This second season away proved to be one of self-discovery for the Kazakh; she traveled to Indian Wells and Miami and enjoyed the game from afar, embracing the role of enthusiastic spectator.

Congrats to @AndreyRublev97 with his 1st win @MiamiOpenTennis It was nice to watch his 1st appearance on big tourney! pic.twitter.com/Hb1js0boie

— Galina Voskoboeva (@g_voskoboeva) March 27, 2015

“I wouldn’t like to watch tennis while I was participating in the tournament and, let’s say, I lost. I’d be frustrated and wouldn’t want to see more tennis. This time, I hadn’t seen it in so long that I took all the benefits from that. I found out that I’m a very active fan! I love to cheer and I was so relaxed.

“I could spend the whole day on-site; I saw so many friends there, talking, the things you can’t do as a player. I saw so many different matches. I cheered for the girls, and I could be loud as a spectator. When you’re participating as a player, you can’t spend many hours watching in the heat and you don’t want to get tired. This time, I could come from the beginning of the day and leave after the last match. I didn’t feel bad at all. I was a fan, and it’s really a cool part of the game.

“When you’re outside, you’re watching the player and ask, ‘Oh my god, why are they so nervous? They should be more relaxed; it’s just a game!’ But once you’re coming back on tour, those memories of why they’re so stressed come back very fast!”

She took classes in Moscow and also successfully completed the WTA/ATP Professionals Course in Miami, a career transitions course where she earned USPTA and PTR Coach Certifications in preparation for a future coaching career, one that felt closer to coming to pass the longer she spent off the court.

“I had a lot of good coaches, and I took the best things from each of them. It was a little bit difficult because I was still trying to come back and so I was still doing my rehab, so I couldn’t study full-time. In Russia, they have a new rule; before you could be a coach just by having been an athlete, but now you need a special education. In our group, I met another athlete. She was a retired runner, but I found out that we were at the same Olympic Games.

“There were good coaches and athletes in my group, and it was really interesting to be with them, learn something new by speaking with them. I’m still in touch with some of them, and it was a good time.”

Студенты!? #гцолифк #Москва #студенты #ученьесвет pic.twitter.com/YgfNCmIwCs

— Galina Voskoboeva (@g_voskoboeva) May 29, 2015

Voskoboeva retained her own international coaching team for this latest comeback, hoping the three of them can pick up where they left off.

“I have two coaches because neither of them can travel full time: Erwan Leridant – he used worked with Vania King. When I’m in Russia and that part of the world, I have a great coach there: Alexander Zlatoustsov. He used to work with Dinara Safina. I also have the same fitness coach, Liliya Nurutdinova.

“When the injury happened, I was in good shape and was very disappointed because my ranking at that time was No.64 but for a very long time – for maybe two-and-a-half or three months – I didn’t have any points to defend. I was in position to, with a good result, make my best ranking. That’s why I think there’s nothing to change because I played well and I was satisfied with my team.

“It was actually quite funny that I didn’t have any points to defend. At that time I was No.2 in Kazakhstan, Yaroslava Shvedova was No.1. After the surgery, I went to rehab one or two months later, and I logged onto the Internet and saw the headline: ‘Galina Voskoboeva became No.1 in Kazakhstan!’ So after two months and a surgery I became No.1; I said, ‘Ok, not bad. I should be in the cast longer!'”

Very nice congrats from the men's part of the team!)) Thank you for a lovely surprise!??????? #teamkazakhstan pic.twitter.com/WbRlzMOfJd

— Galina Voskoboeva (@g_voskoboeva) December 18, 2015

Out of the cast and back on the tennis court for a comeback she herself describes as a “miracle,” Voskoboeva quickly earned her first WTA win in exactly two years playing doubles with former partner Anastasia Rodionova in Acapulco. Aware she will have to hit the ground running in Indian Wells and Miami, she plans to make her full-fledged singles return with high spirits and a sense of humor.

“This level of tennis, for the last two years, I saw it only on TV! When I’m at that level, I can talk about goals, but for now I’m not there. I’ve played so few matches after two years, it’s like nothing, and every time, I realize something is missing: maybe a shot, or I’m not moving that fast, or in the wrong direction! There are a lot of things I have to improve. You can see them only when you compete; you can’t really see them in practice because it’s a completely different level of concentration.

“The main thing is to be healthy and to take care of my body, and not to be too crazy about playing everything in a row and forget that I was injured! I still have to remember to treat myself: my body, my foot. Between the foot and the shoulder, I have many parts of my body that I have to treat well!

“I came to Fed Cup, and hadn’t played doubles the whole two years. When our captain was asking, ‘Galina, are you ready?’ I said, ‘I don’t know because I have no idea how I will play!’ Can you imagine? I have no idea if the level that I played last time in 2014 will be there in Indian Wells. I know I will do my best and try to prepare.

“I feel like Scarlett from Gone With the Wind: I will think about this tomorrow!”

Follow Galina as she continues her comeback on Twitter @g_voskoboeva!

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

One month after she officially announced her intent to return to the BNP Paribas Open for the first time since 2001, seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams wrote at length about her decision and close bond with her sister, World No.1 Serena Williams, in the Players Tribune.

“Being the big sister,” she said, “I didn’t take that responsibility lightly. I knew what she was going through – debuting as a professional tennis player, growing up in front of a camera, entering public life as a young black teenager – and I knew how hard that could be. And I knew how much I would have loved to have had a big sister on tour during my first year, and how much pride I took in the knowledge that my little sister had me. Serena always has me.”

Venus and Serena had stayed away from Indian Wells for nearly 15 years following an ugly incident that left both sisters, who were still in the nascent stages of their careers at the time, feeling profoundly unwelcome in a sport they loved.

“I remember the pain of my knee injury, and how badly I wanted to play in the semis against Serena – before finally accepting that I wouldn’t be able to. I remember the accusations toward me and my sister and our father. I remember the crowd’s reaction, as I walked to my seat, during Serena’s match in the final. And I remember how I couldn’t understand why thousands of people would be acting this way – to a 19-year-old and a 20-year-old, trying their best.

“There are certain things where, if you go through them at a certain age, you simply don’t forget them.”

Serena’s decision to come back last year led Venus, who has long fought against injustice – as evidenced by her work in engineering equal prize money at Wimbledon – to do some soul-searching of her own, inspired by her younger sister’s choice to not only forgive, but to return to a place that had caused them both such pain.

“It was in that moment, seeing Serena welcomed with open arms last year at Indian Wells, that I think I fully and truly realized what being the big sister means. It means that, for all of the things I did first, and all of the times when I paved the way for Serena, the thing I can be most proud of is this time.

“When Serena paved the way for me.”

Read more about Venus’ thoughts at the Players Tribune.

The two biggest WTA tournaments of the season just around the corner. The BNP Paribas Open kicks off next week, with the Miami Open to follow. With 2,000 points up for grabs in March, here are the storylines we’re keeping an eye on as tennis’ March Madness is set to begin.

Serena Williams back in action: The World No.1 has played just one event since the US Open, making the Australian Open final in January. She withdrew from the Middle East swing citing a flu, but assured reporters this week that she’s ready and raring to go.

Serena is the defending champion – an eight-time champion, to be exact – in Miami and made the semifinals in Indian Wells last year – when she played the tournament for the first time in 14 years. With a hefty lead in the rankings – she has a 3,545 point lead on No.2 Angelique Kerber – Serena’s spot at the top isn’t in jeopardy in March. But these next two tournaments offer a big opportunity for the women behind her to close the gap before the tour moves to clay.

Kickstarter in the desert: The first two months of the season have been a false start for more than a few top players. Simona Halep and Petra Kvitova have just two wins on tour so far. Garbiñe Muguruza showed signs of traction at the Qatar Total Open, but has tallied just four wins on tour.

North America was surprisingly fertile ground for Halep in 2015. But with little momentum coming into March, No.5 Halep could take a rankings hit if she can’t find her form. She’s the defending champion in Indian Wells and went on to make the semifinals in Miami. That’s 1,390 points to defend over the next four weeks.

By contrast, No.9 Kvitova has nothing but points to gain in March. This time last year she announced her decision to take a six-week break from the tour to recharge. This year she returns to Indian Wells without a coach, having announced a split with David Kotyza after the Australian Open.

This time last year I made a big decision to take a break. Now I couldn't be more excited to go back to Indian Wells pic.twitter.com/9zXfykUTJX

— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) March 4, 2016

Venus Williams returns to Indian Wells: Following in her sister’s footsteps, Venus returns to Indian Wells for the first time since 2001. But this is not just a symbolic return. Back up to No.12, Venus comes into the tournament on a seven match win streak, after notching two wins at Fed Cup and capturing her first title of the season at the Taiwan Open.

As Venus wrote in her essay at the The Players Tribune, this is about tennis. “I’m looking forward to the amazing California grounds,” she wrote. “I’m looking forward to the top-notch WTA competition. And I’m looking forward to the fans – who played such an important role in helping to make last year so special. But most of all, I’m looking forward to playing tennis.

“Sounds simple – I know. But after almost 30 years of playing this sport, I’ve learned something. I’ve learned that, no matter what happens, or happened … or where you are, or where you’ve been … at the end of the day: tennis is tennis. It’s always, always tennis. And there’s nothing better.”

Victoria Azarenka looks to get back on track: Assuming she’s healthy – Azarenka withdrew from Acapulco with a left wrist injury – March could be a very good month for Vika. She’s still taken just one loss this season, to Kerber in the Australian Open quarterfinals, and she’s a former champion at both Indian Wells and Miami. Currently ranked No.15, she has just 130 points to defend this month.

Complete the sweep: How significant are Indian Wells and Miami? Complete the sweep and that’s 2,000 points in pocket, the same as winning a Slam. No one has completed the double since Kim Clijsters in 2005. But now that Serena is playing Indian Wells you have to give her more than a shot to complete the sweep, especially given her vice-like grip on Miami.

Young guns: While the veterans have been winning the trophies, the younger generation of players have shown ample signs of an impending insurgency. Belinda Bencic leads the way after making her Top 10 debut after making the final in St. Petersburg, while Sloane Stephens already has two titles, winning her second just last week in Acapulco.

Meanwhile, Eugenie Bouchard has put her 2015 season behind her, making the quarterfinals or better at three of her five tournaments. Daria Gavrilova, Madison Keys, and Daria Kasatkina are also ones to watch over the next four weeks.

Major rankings movement: With Monterrey and Kuala Lumpur still to finish, here is the Road To Singapore Top 10: Angelique Kerber, Carla Suárez Navarro, Agnieszka Radwanska, Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka, Roberta Vinci, Johanna Konta, Belinda Bencic, Sara Errani, Jelena Ostapenko, and Zhang Shuai.

Raise your hand if you predicted that.

A little over 1,000 points separate No.1 Kerber from No.4 Serena, while less than 500 points separate No.5 from No.20. That extreme bunching means we can expect a significant amount of movement in the RTS this month.

Clean Slate: Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza return to their debut tournament after having their 41-match win streak snapped by Elena Vesnina and Daria Kasatkina in Doha. Last year they went on to win their first three tournaments together at Indian Wells, Miami, and Charleston. Will it be more of the same this year?

All photos courtesy of Getty Images.

This summer, former WTA No.1 Justine Henin will be inducted to the International Hall of Fame. Ahead of the big day, wtatennis.com and SAP took a look at the numbers behind the Belgian legend’s wonderful career.

1. Henin is one of seven players to hold the WTA No.1 ranking for more than 100 weeks
Henin held the No.1 ranking for a total of 117 weeks, one of only seven players in WTA history with more than 100 weeks to her name. She ascended the rankings summit on four separate occasions, and held the top spot by 1,709 ranking points when she announced her first retirement in 2008. (Note: At the time of her retirement, a Grand Slam title was 1,000 points).

2. Henin has the 12th most singles titles in WTA history
With 43 career singles titles, Henin is tied with Martina Hingis for 12th on the career titles leaderboard. In 143 tournaments, Henin reached the final 42.7 percent of the time winning 43 titles with 18 runner-up finishes. She won 23 titles on hardcourt, 13 on clay, four on grass and three on carpet.

3. Career Slam near miss
Henin won seven Grand Slam singles titles with four coming at Roland Garros (2003, 2005-07). Her other Grand Slam titles came at the Australian Open (2004) and twice at the US Open (2003, 2007). Wimbledon is the only Slam that eludes her resume, although she was a two-time runner-up (2001, 2006) – she is one of seven players to come within one major short of the Career Grand Slam.

4. Dubai dominance
In addition to Roland Garros, Henin enjoyed her most success at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships winning 17 of 18 matches in Dubai with four titles (2003, 2004, 2006, 2007) in five appearances. Her sole defeat came on her last visit, against Francesca Schiavone.

5. A record-setting season in 2007 vaulted Henin to No.1
Henin’s annus mirabilis came in 2007, winning 10 of 14 events with a 63-4 (.940) win-loss record. As a result, she became the first woman to surpass the $5 million prize money mark in a season.

6. Henin vs. Clijsters Rivalry
Henin and fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters met 25 times on tour with Clijsters edging the rivalry by the narrowest of margins, 13-12. However, in their 10 meetings in tour-level finals, Henin held the advantage, 6-4, including winning all three Grand Slam finals (2003 Roland Garros, 2003 US Open, 2004 Australian Open).

7. Gold medalist at 2004 Olympics
In her one and only appearance at the Olympic Games, at Athens in 2004, Henin struck gold, defeating France’s Amélie Mauresmo in the singles final.

8. A two-time champion at the WTA Finals
A two-time champion at the WTA Finals, Henin competed in the year-end event five times posting a 13-5 record, winning back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007. Henin defeated Maria Sharapova 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 for the 2007 title – a three hour, 24 minute battle that still holds the record for the longest final in the event’s history (three hours, 24 minutes).

9. Comeback
After retiring in 2008, Henin returned to the WTA at Brisbane in 2010, advancing to the final in her first event back. Henin won 34 of her 43 matches on her return, adding two titles to her career total – in Stuttgart and ‘s-Hertogenbosch – reaching the Australian Open final and climbing as high as No.12 in the rankings before walking away from the sport for good at the start of 2011.

10. Henin is one of 13 players in WTA history to surpass the $20-million mark in prize money
Throughout her career, Henin earned $20,863,335 in prize money, a mark that sees her occupy 11th place on the all-time pecking order.