It’s never easy for an injured athlete to view their counterparts playing out there while they end up sitting in front of the television watching them from home. Borrowing a quote from Michelle Obama, "You should never view your challenges as a disadvantage. Instead, it's important for you to understand that your experience facing and overcoming adversity is actually one of your biggest advantages."
Tennis is always considered as a sport where one has to overcome various adversities to make a comeback, which isn’t an easy one. But former Grand Slam champions Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka have overcome those hardships as a result of their continuous perseverance and hard work. Let us take a look at the road these two women had to make it through in the recent past.
Petra Kvitova (Two-time Grand Slam Champion)
Age: 27
Wimbledon first round opponent: Johanna Larsson
Being out of action due to injury is something that every athlete faces at some point of time during their career. But for two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova the injury that she sustained was a result of fighting off a knife-wielding burglar who broke into her home at eastern Czech town of Prostejov in December. The brave Kvitova tackled the intruder but ended up with a career ending injuries to her left playing hand.
The trauma that the Czech must have gone through after the nightmare incident can’t be put in words. And the way she bounced back from the horrendous attack is something that will always prove to be an inspiration for many. Despite the doctors prescribing Kvitova a six-month recovery time, her determination made her hit the tennis court in five months.
The Czech choose the French Open as her comeback tournament where she fell in the round of 64. The disappointment did not last long as she decimated all her opponents in her next tournament at Birmingham where she went on to win the title.
The grass court considered as her favorite surface, Kvitova will be looking forward to carry on the momentum going into Wimbledon where she will be itching to script her name on the title which she had already held on to twice before. Having already won her toughest battle off the court, fans can expect Kvitova to win the battle on the court as well.
Victoria Azarenka (Two-time Grand Slam Champion)
Age: 27
Wimbledon first round opponent: CiCi Bellis
After having a stupendous season in 2011 and 2012, where she went on to win back-to-back Australian Open titles, Victoria Azarenka went on to become the WTA world number one after consistent performances. Two successful years were followed by an injury-prone 2014 season.
A major foot injury forced Azarenka to miss five months of action from February to June of 2014 where he managed to play just one WTA match. She made a comeback in June at the Aegon International which turned out to be an uneventful one as she lost in the first round. Soon followed was a series of inconsistent performances and a quarters’ appearance at US Open.
Azarenka ended the season early in September as a result of an injury which ultimately led to a dip in her rankings (ended the year as world number 32).
In 2015, Azarenka registered many impressive wins over higher ranked players that include the likes of Caroline Wozniacki, Angelique Kerber, Elina Svitolina and Petra Kvitova. Azarenka ended her title drought at Brisbane International 2016, her first title since Cincinnati Masters in 2013 August. She defeated Angelique Kerber 6–3, 6–1 in the final to lift her 18th WTA singles title. She carried on with her good form in subsequent tournaments winning back-to-back Masters title at Indian Wells and Miami. Azarenka defeated Serena Williams for the Indian Wells title thus making her the only person to defeat Serena four times in a final. With these wins, Azarenka was back to the top five of WTA rankings.
A knee injury forced the Belarus star to retire from the first round clash of French Open which was followed by her withdrawal from Wimbledon. In July, Azarenka announced her unavailability for the remaining season as a result of her pregnancy. She gave birth to her son in December last year following which she made a comeback on tour in June at the Mallorca Open where she made it to the pre-quarters losing out to teenager Ana Konjuh. The mum must definitely be hoping to win the Wimbledon for her newborn.