By: Kayla Feng
In her youth, Jennifer Brady had a strong forehand that led to her practicing with boys. Jennifer got her start in professional tennis in 2014. But it wasn’t until 2019 when she began training with German coach Michael Gerserer that she rose to greatness.
Jennifer started her winning streak at the 2020 U.S. Open. She advanced to the semi-finals at the peak of the pandemic. The Arthur Ashe Stadium was dead silent with no paying spectators in sight.
Four months later, Jennifer made it to the Australian Open finals.
But not before she spent two weeks in quarantine in a Melbourne hotel. She trained by hitting tennis balls on a mattress propped against the walls. She also pedaled a stationary bike in the bathroom with hot water running in the shower and a closed door. The purpose of this was to replicate the hot and humid conditions of the tournament.
Unfortunately, she lost to Naomi Osaka, the eventual champion. But she was on the edge of hitting the top ten.
Just when the pandemic was starting to clear, chaos struck. Brady was diagnosed with a chronic foot condition and a knee injury. She was unable to play for two whole years. It was a dark time, with Brady on the floor crying and wishing she could “just chop off” her troublesome left foot.
Jennifer Brady played her last competitive match in August 2020. But in July 2023, she returned to her beloved sport.
Jennifer played in the International Tennis Federation satellite tournament in Granby, Quebec. She won one round but ultimately lost in straight sets to Himeno Sakatsume, a Japanese player with a ranking of 223.
“It was unbelievable, just being out there,” Brady said during a telephone interview with Granby. “Just engaging and just having a crowd there, and people enjoying good tennis. I definitely missed this. I didn’t think I would be as comfortable as I was. I’m happy I was able to show people that I’m still here.”
After her long layoff, Jennifer lost her WTA ranking. Despite so, she can compete in 12 tour-level events thanks to her protected ranking. She intends to use her protected ranking to compete in the U.S. Opens and D.C Opens.
Jennifer has tried not to watch too much pro tennis. But she knows Marketa Vondrousova recently became the first unseeded woman to earn a Wimbletons singles title.
“The women’s game right now, it seems like anybody can win a Grand Slam tournament,” Brady said. “It seems like there’s a lot of opportunity.”
And Brady is determined to snatch that opportunity: she has been working every day with Ola Malmqvist, the head of women’s tennis at the U.S.T.A.
“I just really, really wish that she gets the chance to put her feet into everything again and see what happens,” Malmqvist said. “I think in her mind she definitely feels she can compete with the very best, and I hope she can stay healthy enough and practice enough. She’s not going to go four hours a day anymore because of her body, but she can still do enough to get the physicality she needs.”
Life’s tough for Jennifer Brady, but she’s tougher. It all pays off in the end. Brady’s back to tennis, ready to blaze!