By: Annabelle Ma

In 2020, Jennifer Brady reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open even with the strict coronavirus restrictions. Four months later, she continued her strong performance, reaching the Australian Open final after spending two weeks in hard quarantine in a Melbourne hotel. To practice in the hotel, she hit tennis balls against the mattress, ran a hot shower to imitate the humid conditions of the tournament, and pedaled a stationary bike in the bathroom.

After her deep run in the Australian Open final, she was on the brink of the top 10 of the singles rankings. But as the world slowly returned to normal, Brady was nowhere to be seen.

She had not played tennis for two years due to a chronic foot condition and a knee injury. The injury left her, in her words, “in a very dark place.” Occasionally, she even wishes that she could “just chop it off.”

Brady, who had played her last competitive match in August 2021, competed in the International Tennis Federation satellite tournament in Granby, Quebec. She won a round before losing in straight sets to Himeno Sakatsume, a Japanese player ranked 223rd. Brady plans to return to the main WTA Tour next week for the DC Open.

“It was unbelievable, just being out there,” Brady said in a telephone interview from Granby. “Just engaging and having a crowd there. I definitely missed this. I’m happy I was able to show people that I’m still here.”

Her journey for recovery has been slow and difficult. During the first round of the French Open in 2021, Brady cried due to piercing foot pain. She managed to endure this pain by winning the first and second rounds, but during the third round against Coco Gauff, she began experiencing back spasms and stopped after losing the first set.

Because of the pain, Brady had right knee surgery in March 2022 to repair cartilage damage, but she still had some foot pain.

“Anytime I would feel pain, I would freak out because I’d be like, it’s back to where it was,” she said. “And I’d lose sleep over it; so many negative thoughts start rolling in the back of my head.”

She is also anxious about her finances. Brady’s time near the top of women’s tennis was brief. Though she earned $4.6 million in prize money, her medical bills, even with insurance, have been increasing during her break.

“I don’t want to blow through all my money,” she said. “When can I start doing my job?”

The answer is now.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/29/sports/tennis/jennifer-brady-citi-open.html