5 active players on the WTA tour who are prone to injury ft. Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka
There are many reasons for the frequent injuries sustained by professional tennis players. The WTA tour has rigorous scheduling throughout the season. Women play best-of-three-set matches across all formats on different surfaces.
In a physically demanding sport like tennis, players are tested for their stamina, flexibility, adaptability and resilience. A lot of training and physical fitness work has to be done off the court as well.
Another physical challenge that women have to contend with is the onset of menstrual cramps during training sessions or in matches. It is important for coaches to understand that these cramps can heavily affect a player's performance and the extent of their training should be adjusted accordingly.
Chinese teenager Zheng Qinwen suffered with menstrual cramps as she lost to Poland's Iga Swiatek in the French Open fourth round after taking a set off the world's number one tennis player. cnn.it/3x1lC5T
Considering the extensive scheduling, the dynamic nature of the sport, and the biological changes that women go through, we take a look at five active WTA players who have suffered from multiple injuries in the recent past:
#1 Sabine Lisicki
2013 Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki has had a tumultuous career thus far, largely due to the regular frequency of her injuries. The German has sustained injuries to her wrist, shoulder, back, abdomen, knees and ankles on multiple occasions.
In her prime, she had one of the best serves on the women's tour. A player who loves playing on grass, Lisicki has won four tour-level titles. The former World No. 12's powerful groundstrokes have bamboozled opponents in the past but have also had a heavy toll on her body.
Lisicki's career has had a lot of ups and downs. During her peak years, she was bothered by her ankles and shoulders. In 2017, she recommenced playing on the tour after a long injury layoff due to a knee injury. However, she continued to struggle, falling out of the top 300 in 2018.
A knee ligament tear in 2020 was the worst injury of her career. She had to undergo surgery for the same and returned to competitive action in 2022.
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After playing a few ITF events, Lisicki was awarded a wildcard in her home tournament at Bad Homburg. She finished as a quarterfinalist at the event. Lisicki is still ranked outside the top 400.
#2 Serena Williams
Twenty-three-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams will enter the Wimbledon Championships for the 21st time at the age of 40. She turned professional in 1995 and since then has achieved unparalleled success on the WTA tour.
A winner of 73 WTA tour level titles, Williams has suffered multiple injuries in her career. Apart from her left hand, the remaining three limbs have gone through a lot of physical strain over the years. Williams has also been hampered by injuries in the knees, right elbow and abdomen.
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Williams has had to have multiple surgeries on her foot. The 2018 season was her first tennis season as a mother. Since then, she has finished runner-up twice each at the US Open and Wimbledon.
She played her last singles match at Wimbledon in 2021, where a right leg injury forced her to retire in the first round. She made a return to the tour by partnering with Ons Jabeur at Eastbourne and has received a wildcard for the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.
#3 Venus Williams
Widely known as the player who engineered a major shift in women's tennis in the late 1990s, Venus Williams is still on tour at the age of 42. The elder of the Williams sisters has won 49 WTA tour level titles, including seven Majors, since she turned pro in 1994.
In 2011, she was diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome. The features of this syndrome are a dry mouth, constant muscle pain and fatigue. Despite that, the 2000 Sydney Olympic gold medallist has had a stellar career.
‘Didn’t Even Trust a Part of My Body’: Venus Williams Opens Up on Dealing With Various Obstacles During Injury Period dlvr.it/SJNHgN
For Venus Williams, it was her wrist and back that created many obstacles in her career. In later years, she has pulled out of tournaments due to inflammation in her knees.
Williams has recorded over 1,000 singles match wins in her career. But the aggressive all-courter has won only five of the 21 singles tour-level matches that she has played since 2020. She played her last match in Chicago in August 2021, where she lost in the first round to Hsieh Su-Wei.
Venus Williams recently spoke about her much-awaited return to the tour in 2022.
"I look forward to getting back on the court and of course I'll let you know as soon as I know but I swear it's soon. I can't wait. I've got so many questions like 'Are you playing the French Open', 'Are you playing Wimbledon' I'm gonna leave a little bit of mystery, I can't tell you exactly when because I feel like I want it to be a surprise. So I will definitely surprise you," she said.
#4 Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka turned pro in 2003. The Belarusian was ranked No. 1 in 2012 and 10 years later, still finds herself in the top 20. The two-time Australian Open champion has made the semis or better of every Slam.
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The Belarusian has suffered from multiple physical ailments over the years. Injuries to her thighs, back, shoulders and knees have halted her progress over the years. But the Belarusian has been upbeat despite all the obstacles.
Since becoming a mother, Azarenka has returned to the top 15, made the final of a Slam and won a tour level title. Azarenka ended the 2021 season as the runner-up at Indian Wells. In 2022, she has a win-loss record of 14-8. She will return to action after the grass season as Belarusian and Russian players have been banned from competing at Wimbledon this year.
#5 Margarita Gasparyan
Margarita Gasparyan, a Russian tennis player, showed immense promise in both singles and doubles when she turned pro in 2010. She won singles titles at the 2015 Baku Open and the 2018 Tashkent Open. In the first half of the 2016 season, she reached a career-high ranking of No. 41 after making it to the second week of Wimbledon. However, the second half of the season was extremely unfortunate for her as she underwent three knee surgeries.
Margarita Gasparyan underwent 3 knee surgeries in 2016-17. If the 3rd one didn’t work she was prepared to quit.
It worked.
She’s wins Tashkent, 1st title since 2015. A strong finish to the season and she’ll be MD in Melbourne, which was her longshot goal in September.
Gasparyan made a return to the top 60 in 2019. But she struggled again with her knee in 2020, forcing her out of the top 100. The Russian showed signs of a resurgence in 2021 when she reached the finals of St. Petersburg. However, in the final against Daria Kasatkina, she had to retire with a back injury.
The back injury continued to bother her as she ended her season on a five-match losing streak. According to the Women's Tennis Blog, Gasparyan gave birth in February this year. The date of her return to tennis is unknown for now.