British Tennis Forum - Celebrating 20 Years!

Peter too · Tennis legend

Week 47 - ITF W75 - Sydney, Australia Hard

the addict · Tennis legend

Katie does get an exta day off - not on Tuesday's OOP.

B00thy · County player

the addict wrote:
Katie does get an exta day off - not on Tuesday's OOP.

smile pleased about that. I would imagine that it was a monumental effort for her, physically and mentally, to play a number of low 200 level players on the bounce. i would not be surprised to see an early exit, although not against her first round opposition

indiana · Tennis legend

Let's see if and when Katie plays Emerson in R2. How many times did she amaze folk last week?

There is certainly a step up in the overall field though. With the same ranking for seeding I see that Emerson is seed #5 here as against seed #2 last week in the Brisbane W50.

B00thy · County player

indiana wrote:
Let's see if and when Katie plays Emerson in R2. How many times did she amaze folk last week?
There is certainly a step up in the overall field though. With the same ranking for seeding I see that Emerson is seed #5 here as against seed #2 last week in the Brisbane W50.

She didn't amaze me in that she beat the opponents she beat - she surprised me sure, by raising her game day after day, but she's classier than those players. What i thought was amazing was the level of determination she showed to not be be beaten .. even when additionally compromised by physical set backs .. the like of which I have seen from Andy and Fran for example, but see seldom from our others. But what really amazed me was the hamstring and back issues that were evident throughout the tournament were not evident in the final.

They won't have just cleared up so Katie won, raising her game, with physical issues. Sure, there are players doing this on the tours every day, because they're tournament fit. So it won't surprise me if she goes out early .. in any case it will give her some rest before the next tournament

Andy Parker · Club Coach

Cabrera has knocked out the Number 2 seed, the Ukranian, Starodbutseva.

That is in Katie's quarter of the draw and means that should she come through against Lee and probably Emerson Jones, that the third round would be against either Cabrera aor against a lower ranked Aussie opponent (Subasic or Micic).

I hear what everyone is saying about Katie obviously being tired from last week's exertions and three long three set matches in a row, but on the other hand, if she can overcome Lee, then she would probably face Jones followed by Cabrera, two players she beat last week.

Anyway I am sure that both Emerson Jones and Katie will be pleased to see Starodbutseva go out.

Andy Parker · Club Coach

Katie is really struggling with her back - medical time out at 5-4 with what looked like a massage and then lots of stretching left and right with the masseur. The first games of the set went with serve and then she broke to get a 5-2 lead, but Lee broke back to make it 5-4. The exertions of last week have taken their toll I think, and understandably so.

Andy Parker · Club Coach

Katie off court now - I think she has pulled out?

Andy Parker · Club Coach

Katie has pulled out. I think it was a case of discomfort to her back - she started to twist her back to and fro to try and get movement to it - ie sideways, not downward stretches and called for the trainer just after having been broken, but there wasn't a fall or obvious injury, so probably good news, long term for her. Maybe if she was feeling achy and it was restricting her movement, she felt it was better to pull out before any real damage was done.

Anyway it was definitely the back and not the hamstrings - though the trainer did attempt to massage her legs, before doing back rotations, but there was a lack of movement from her tonight. All very understandable, given last week's exertions.

-- Edited by Andy Parker on Wednesday 19th of November 2025 04:15:24 AM

Lambda · Top national player

Sorry Andy but I disagree that it is good news long term for her. It is further evidence to what I've thought for most of her attempted comeback - that she doesn't have the body to sustain top level tennis. I'm not saying she will quit playing in the foreseeable future out I do question how long she wants to continue with this. The repeated flare ups of her back pain must be having a mental toll on her and she won't always have the support of Alex by her side as she has done through this swing. If l were her I'd set a limited schedule with a goal of making Wimbledon qualifying (hopefully upgraded to a main draw wild card) and then see how she feels about what she does for the future.

Blue_Belle · County player

Lambda wrote:
Sorry Andy but I disagree that it is good news long term for her. It is further evidence to what I've thought for most of her attempted comeback - that she doesn't have the body to sustain top level tennis. I'm not saying she will quit playing in the foreseeable future out I do question how long she wants to continue with this. The repeated flare ups of her back pain must be having a mental toll on her and she won't always have the support of Alex by her side as she has done through this swing. If l were her I'd set a limited schedule with a goal of making Wimbledon qualifying (hopefully upgraded to a main draw wild card) and then see how she feels about what she does for the future.

I agree with this as much as I hate to. As a top level player she should be able to sustain a consistent schedule and it seems like she just can't. Maybe it will come in time but I suspect it won't and the limitations will cause an early retirement from the sport or for her to plateau in the rankings (thus also limiting her).

emmsie69 · Masters Series Champion

Lambda wrote:
Sorry Andy but I disagree that it is good news long term for her. It is further evidence to what I've thought for most of her attempted comeback - that she doesn't have the body to sustain top level tennis. I'm not saying she will quit playing in the foreseeable future out I do question how long she wants to continue with this. The repeated flare ups of her back pain must be having a mental toll on her and she won't always have the support of Alex by her side as she has done through this swing. If l were her I'd set a limited schedule with a goal of making Wimbledon qualifying (hopefully upgraded to a main draw wild card) and then see how she feels about what she does for the future.

Her back injury happened 12 years ago so that's 12 years of compensating, it's a lot of damage to rectify so it's going to take time. She's played a lot of tournaments this year, frequently getting to the final so I think the signs are there that she can continue to progress. It's hard work getting back up the rankings but Fran manages her schedule and I'm sure Katie will be able to too.

Coup Droit · Tennis legend

emmsie69 wrote:
Lambda wrote:
Sorry Andy but I disagree that it is good news long term for her. It is further evidence to what I've thought for most of her attempted comeback - that she doesn't have the body to sustain top level tennis. I'm not saying she will quit playing in the foreseeable future out I do question how long she wants to continue with this. The repeated flare ups of her back pain must be having a mental toll on her and she won't always have the support of Alex by her side as she has done through this swing. If l were her I'd set a limited schedule with a goal of making Wimbledon qualifying (hopefully upgraded to a main draw wild card) and then see how she feels about what she does for the future.
Her back injury happened 12 years ago so that's 12 years of compensating, it's a lot of damage to rectify so it's going to take time. She's played a lot of tournaments this year, frequently getting to the final so I think the signs are there that she can continue to progress. It's hard work getting back up the rankings but Fran manages her schedule and I'm sure Katie will be able to too.

Yes, but just because Fran (maybe, I'm not convinced) 'manages' it, that doesn't mean Katie will

And, after all, Fran doesn't have a back issue

There are a lot of players with back problems who have NOT been able to manage their schedule - Kontaveitt retired at age 27 because of recurrent lumbar disc problems, having tried everything to keep going; Golovin retired a lot younger because her back issues couldn't be managed; it'll be interesting to see if Badosa manages to play again, given her back problems....

B00thy · County player

It's a shame for Katie but it was a surprise she hadn't pulled out of of Sydney.

Many on the forum (including me) like to speculate on injuries, and i'm going to try and minimise mine ..

As emmsie69 says the back injury happened 12 years ago and so Katie has been playing tennis professionally all this time with the scar tissue from that injury, and was about to retire. The person referred to her last year was the last hope and genuinely made a difference which enabled her to return to playing professionally. but the scar tissue remains and so there will never be a situation where it has gone.

One of the principal areas was to the left intercostals and Katie would for years touching these during matches, obviously feeling discomfort. But the retirements usually followed signs of back-related pain, sometimes shoulders. These different areas may indicate multiple areas of scar tissue or areas of vulnerability because of compensating.

Only Katie can feel what she has felt at moments during the Australian swing. What she has exhibited though are different signs to those she has displayed over the years. This week she has had issues with her hamstrings which are related to stiffness in the obliques. It is isn't surprising given the sustained level of tennis she has played is higher than anything for over a year.

But amazingly the stiffness in her obliques did not prevent her continuing. Even more they didn't prevent her from starting in Sydney. I just feel that was one match too many, when what was needed was rest and maybe a trip to see the therapist. But hey, Alex was playing and maybe she thought she'd give it a try.

i expect that with work on her body, she'll be back, and able to play a carefully programme in 2026 which will take her into the top 200, and perhaps higher. We'll see ..

the addict · Tennis legend

That's a pity. Katie really ought to take a couple of weeks off to recover now. She's played a lot of matches over the last couple of months (6 tournaments, 19 wins, 2 losses plus 2 retirements).
With this recurring injury problem I doubt if she can make the AO qualifying, but Wimbledon is a realistic target.