Did anyone else catch the return of
Nicole Vaidisova today at the ColemanVision Tennis Championships today?
Yup, she made her official return at the ITF Challenger in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and took on another former up-and-comer (although not as decorated),
Sesil Karantantcheva. It’s been almost four-and-a-half years since the former world number seven played a pro match and so much had happened in between, including a marriage and divorce from
Radek Stepanek and a couple of shoulder surgeries. But she had been
teasing the return for weeks and then spelled it out on her Instagram feed:
Hey everyone! So I guess the news of me playing again in a couple of weeks is no secret i am excited to be competing again,its been a long road to get to this point...This time last year I was recovering from my 2nd shoulder surgery and going through a very personal heartbreak.I will be forever grateful for the unwavering support of my amazing family,friends and medical team to get me where I am now.I dont know how this will play out,but no matter the outcome, I know I will be proud of myself for giving it my all and for the person I have become through all this.Thank you for all the sweet messages and words of encouragment,it means the world to me and I truly appreciate the support I get from all of U
During the match it really didn’t look like much had changed. She still has the big serve and forehand, and did everything she could to run around her backhand and not come to the net. Her temper seemed to be intact as she swiped the court with her racquet and bounced it out of frustration all by the third game of the first set. She was even still working Reebok. Yes, REEBOK. But she regained her composure and took it to
Sesil.
Vaida was only broken once and managed to close out the match 6-3, 6-4 against the world number 191 with relative ease (there was a double-fault on one of her MPs). All good signs for the Czech lady baller as she continues to rebuild her game and confidence after such a long time away. Or as I said on Twitter:
At least
one person got my joke. Sadz. If you’re feeling nostalgic like I was while watching
Vaida, check out some of
the old posts about her here. Hope she can keep it up.
In other former-top-lady-ballers-on-the-comeback-trail news, it sounds like
Jennifer Capriati is actually sniffing out a return of her own. Check out these tweets from the former WTA Penthouse resident:
Sounds like a return is in the works to me. It must be hard for Jennifer to accept the fact that an injury is what did her career in (like
Vaida,
Jennifer's shoulder was to blame). But at the age of 38, it’s going to be a lot tougher for her to return than
Vaida. Sure,
Serena Williams just won her 18th major at the age of almost 33, but she’s in tremendous physical condition, and she has ways of getting through games quickly and saving energy with her serve alone. For
Jennifer, it’s more of a grind because her serve is meant as a starting point…not an end.
You could also make a case for her return by looking at the incredible effort by
Kimiko Date-Krumm who will be turning 44 at the end of September. While there’s no doubt that the Japanese is an inspiration, she’s not winning major titles, or any titles for that matter. I’m sure the American, with her experience and competitiveness, would want to make an impact at the elite level. But I guess we’ll see. Stay tuned...this could get interesting.
UPDATE: ICYMI: Highlights from
Nicole's win over
Sesil.
[Photo credit: Getty Images]
