Anett Kontaveit made a promising return to tennis after a two-month injury break by defeating Alycia Parks 6-1, 6-1 in the first round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The Estonian had been suffering from a degenerative back injury since last fall and had taken time out in February to focus on addressing the problem. Kontaveit, who was ranked No.2 in the world just two years ago, has not won back-to-back matches on the Hologic WTA Tour since a run on home soil.
Kontaveit said she had been doing exercises for months to keep her back injury under control and was happy that it had held up during the first match. She also revealed that she had felt the injury again a few weeks ago during the Billie Jean King Cup in Portugal, and it was the first test to see if her injury was healed. She subsequently trained hard in Spain to push herself and not hold back because of the injury.
Although Kontaveit is not sure what the future holds given the nature of her injury, she is taking a patient approach to her return to the court and hopes that her exercises will keep everything together for a longer time. She will face 16th seed Liudmila Samsonova in the second round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.
Overall, Kontaveit’s positive return is a promising sign for her future as she deals with her back injury. The former World No.2 will hope to build on this victory in upcoming matches and continue her ascent up the rankings. However, given the unpredictable nature of injuries, she is wise to take a patient approach and aim to maintain her fitness over a longer period.
