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Five comeback players and the challenges they will face

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GALE MOORMAN - 06-02-2017 

Many players are absent from the tennis tour because of illness, injury and other issues, but when they come back to play, they will have to deal with the rigors of the game, other players and the bureaucracy.

1. Maria Sharapova - Since that fateful day on March 7th of 2016 when Maria held a press conference professing her failed drug test, the atmosphere changed in tennis. The way the tennis players felt about her, the tennis comunity's opinion, WADA, ITF, etc. She filed for an appeal, it was granted, her banned time was reduced and on April 26th this year, she will be able to participate in tennis events and be on tour again. She has been in two exhibition matches and received warm welcomes. One was the World Team Tennis with Billie Jean King and Elton John. The second was the Monica Puig Invitational. Many, if not most events she will have to receive a wild card for entry when she goes back on tour. Her challenges: She probably will be given more drug test than most other players and at inopportune times too, testing her credibility now on playing 'clean'. Will she automatically be issued wild cards from tournament directors? If this doesn't happen, she will be limited to a small amount of events. Another challenge may be if she'll be welcomed by other tennis players, professionals and the entire tennis community? An additional challenge will be if Maria can play sufficiently on the level of the other players and what will her ranking be. If she comes on tour and wins a match occasionally, this may be hopeful for her to continue being a contender again. If she constantly loses each match, this will be frustrating and she'll have to determine what her next step in touring will be. Her quote: "I don't want to end my career this way and I really hope I will be given another chance to play this game". She may be given another chance but her level may not be acceptable again to continue on tour.

2. Sloane Stephens - She hasn't played since she lost in the first round of the Rio Olympics in August of 2016. Shortly after she withdrew from the 2016 US Open with a right foot injury. She has 4 career titles: 3 in 2016-ASB Classic-New Zealand, Abierto Mexicano Telcel-Acapulco, Mexico and Charleston Open in Charleston, South Carolina. Sloane's first title was the CitiOpen in Washington DC in August 9, 2015. Her challenge: Being able to play again and not get re-injured and to start climbing up in ranking. She is near the 50x by now if not further down. She would have to get a wild card to enter many events hopefully her play would be successful. If not, she'll have to decide where her career is going. Sloane has already applied to play the 2017 Volvo Car Open in April 1-9 on Daniel Island, Charleston, South Carolina along with Venus Williams, Caroline Wozniacki, Johanna Konta and Elena Vesnina. If she doesn't play anytime before then, it would be 8 months she's been away from the game.

3. Madison Keys - The last time she played was in October of 2016, the WTA Finals at Singapore. It was the 1st round that she defeated Dominika Cibulkova 6-1, 6-4. Madison had wrist issues for a while and around December 23rd, 3 days after the WTA finals she went under arthroscopic surgery on her left wrist. She was ranked no. 8 and after having Lindsay Davenport and her husband as coach, they split and now Davenport and she are a team again. Her challenge: After recuperation and rehab will Madison remain injury-free and able to become consistent and win again? Her quote: "I don't want to rush back and need to take my time to perform my best on the court". Madison will not ony try to remain free of injuries but start working on strategies that will raise her rankings. She is currently ranked number 9 and at this time of publication she has not committed to participating at any event.

4. Juan Martin DelPotro - He has had a history of wrist injuries and ailments leading to surgeries. It has been over 5 years that DelPotro has been suffering. DelPotro has had a healthy streak where he has earned Silver in Rio, made it ot the quarters at the US Open and had wins over Andy Murray, Djokovic, Nadal, and Wawrinka. The last injury was in November of 2016 when he was helping the Argentinian Davis Cup to win that he broke his finger in the final set during a Marin Cilic match. Argentina celebrated the first win of the Davis Cup in history but later DelPotro wasn't able to play Auckland or The Australian Open. His challenge: DelPotro will have to rest totally from tennis to recuperating and rehabbing as completely as possible before returning on tour. He is now dealing with recurring wrist injuries, surgeries and rehabs and now a broken finger. He withdrew lastly from Auckland and The Australian Open and can't commit to any tournaments. Recently he has confirmed to be in the May 2017 Estoril Open in Portugal, one of the clay tournaments. His quote: "It happened when I tried to catch a ball in the fifth set...My finger is broken but I won't mind one bit if we win the Davis Cup...This is an emotionally exhausting match and one of the biggest wins of my career...thanks to all those who prevented me from retiring. I was very close to never playing again and well, here I am".

5. Brian Baker - He turned pro in 2003, but has been plagued with injuries, surgeries and chronic ailments much of his playing career. The first extended absence he has was in 2007 through 2011 with a total of 5 operations. In 2011 he had a big comeback. In 18 months he won 4 Challenger titles, reached an ATP final, made 4th round of Wimbledon and his ranking level was 52. In 2013, he participated in the Australian Open where he tore his lateral meniscus and was wheeled off the court. Unfortunately there were more operations to come. In 2016 he was in the Australian Open and lost to Simone Bolleli. Brian then played at the Newport event in Rhode Island under his 'protected ranking' status. Baker intends to perhaps make a comeback on the courts because tennis is a passion that has still stayed with him. His challenge: is to play tennis without getting re-injured and to enjoy the game but because of injuries and constant rehab and recuperation, he doesn't know when or where he'll be making a comeback. Brian has been enjoying his side career as an assistant coach for Belmont University's men's tennis team. His quote: "There's no substitute for match play...I try to have a good reality check and just tell myself that my game is good enough. Just put in the hard work and the results will come..."

Once the tennis fever gets into one's system and they love it, and perhaps make it a career, it's difficult to leave it whether injured or not. These are only five players that will hopefully be making a comeback onto the tour whether temporary or permanent. They love the game but the game doesn't love them back and their bodies or issues with the game have made them have an absence for an extended period of time. They loved playing the game and the fans will indeed be glad to see them playing on the court again.

http://www.tennisworldusa.org/news/news/Tennis_Stories/40320/five-comeback-players-and-the-challenges-they-will-face/

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