WTA Washington: Jennifer Brady is back after a two-year injury odyssey
Jennifer Brady, formerly number 13 in the world, made her long-awaited comeback this week in Washington.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit:
Aug 03, 2023, 09:58 pm
It had become very quiet around Jennifer Brady. The American had surprisingly played her way into the top of the world in 2020, with a semi-final at the US Open and in early 2021 with the final at the Australian Open - both times she lost to Naomi Osaka.
After that, however, Brady fell out for a long time. A chronic foot injury has put her out of action since August 2021 - after continuing to play with pain for months.
After the Australian Open final, she was emotionally and mentally exhausted, she reported to the New York Times a few days ago . Instead of taking a break, she continued to play; in Miami the foot problems then became extreme. Back problems followed - probably due to the incorrect loading due to the foot problems. "I was in pain all over," Brady said. After a break, the foot problems got better on a few days, followed by extreme nerve pain on other days. "It felt like someone lit a match under my skin," she said. This was followed by a stress fracture in the knee and a tear in the tendon plate of the sole of the foot...
Brady dropped out, had foot surgery in March 2022, and had to postpone a planned comeback at the French Open in 2023 due to a bruised foot on the foot, contracted in the last training session.
Then this week finally the comeback in Washington - and successfully. In Round 1 she defeated Anhelina Kalinina 6-2, 6-1, before losing to Madison Keys 4-6, 0-6 yesterday.
However, she is still in doubles with her: After a win in round 1, the two today meet the second seeded doubles Shuko Aoyama/Gabriela Dabrowski.