Just thought I'd start this as suggested. (If anyone wants to start another with a better title, please do. Or, it may be possible to edit the Thread title.)
Emma's Current Status, with regard to Injuries etc. (And other relevant matters that don't slot comfortably into existing Threads)
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There's so much to do as well which makes it worse. Some players try and get injured trying whereas those that luck out on the genetic lottery have no problems. The greatest players in tennis in recent times have all been physical specimens. Those that aren't like Emma just have to fight through it the best they can.
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I remembered where I'd heard that, it was from a Love Tennis podcast. It was her left wrist on that occasion and it didn't specify how long she was out for.
At 11:10 below. Maybe worth listening to the whole interview with Emma (4:20-12:30) if you haven't heard it before, but I wouldn't recommend going much further, I think they started making their usual disparaging comments about Emma
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I don't agree with this thread being made but if people use it, then sure. Otherwise, it'll just disappear. I think the other threads are fine though.
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Man. So unlucky.
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It's just not possible to predict, stronger players like Muchova have had plenty of injuries too. I wouldn't call Swiatek a powerhouse but she seems to get by. All Emma can do is get the best advice, treatment, preparation possible and then just hope for the best 🤞
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Correct me if I’m wrong, Wasn’t Novak supposedly injury prone at the beginning of his career, but got it under control with hiring a full time physio. So there is still hope for Emma. Also Swiatek had foot surgery at beginning of her senior career where she was out for months.
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You’re right. I posted this in the Scheduling Thread earlier.
)
From mid-match retirements to sheer ruthlessness: The fascinating metamorphosis of Djokovic
Djokovic was known in the past for quitting matches mid-way due to ailments, including multiple withdrawals from Grand Slam matches.
www.firstpost.com
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Before Emma came along you could say that about Novak early on, but they're really not close to the same level. As with her USO title Emma sits far away by herself on this statistic. Whatever we classify Emma as in this bracket can't really be used for any other player and vice versa.
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Yeah, Novak used to retire quite a lot (relative to the specimen he has been for the last decade) with things like heat exhaustion, niggles, dizzyness, cramps and headaches but obviously things changed for him when he went gluten-free back at the end of 2010 and start of 2011.
IRC, Murray was also the same at 18-19 years of age when he used to cramp quite a lot, but realised he wasn't doing enough to keep up with the likes of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, hired himself a proper trainer and turned himself into a machine, but I still remember him vaguely having issues in his early 20s with MTO's as his body matured.
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Is it surprising? Someone in one of the threads referred to Emma´s tennis, while at school, as a "hobby" and I agree, totally. To be immersed in the rigours of the Tour, suddenly, must be taking a lot out of her. She lost several matches for physical reasons. At Indian Wells and Miami she looked at the end of her energy in the 3-setters she could have won but lost...
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It was me. This is what I wrote.
Just for context, I’ve had a look at Emma’s only full year on the professional tour before 2021, between Feb/March 2019 and March 2020.
She was playing ITF level tournaments. In that time apart from one 15k, she upgraded to 25k tournaments. Playing 10 tournaments in total. 6 of these in the UK. 1 in Europe, 1 in Israel and 2 in India. Her highest rank opponent was Paula Badosa whom she beat in Sunderland, but most opponents were much lower ranked. She did not play a tournament between April and September, presumably focusing on her GCSEs. One retirement in India due to food poisoning and an injury in February 2020, otherwise no evidence of injury. She had no mainstream media attention.
As we know, she only played domestically until Nottingham in 2021. And that was a light schedule although she did get to play the best UK women.
Compare that to her schedule between September 2021 and September 2022 to get a full year comparison. She has played Grand Slams, 1000s, 500s and 250s. Playing 22 tournaments in total (including the BJK cup) In doing so she has travelled across the World on a regular basis. Her highest ranked opponent was Iga Swiatek against whom she put up a respectable performance and all of her opponents were seasoned pros. She gets media and fan attention wherever she plays.
Rather than being disappointed at her performance this year, it’s actually remarkable to me that she has done as well as she has. Apart from anything else to keep going and to make the progress we have seen since the US Open. And although we often talk about this being her first full year on the WTA tour, when you look at the two years side by side the jump is really obvious. I personally am in awe. As I’ve said before, I struggle with the stress of simply following her career 😂
Just for context, I’ve had a look at Emma’s only full year on the professional tour before 2021, between Feb/March 2019 and March 2020.
She was playing ITF level tournaments. In that time apart from one 15k, she upgraded to 25k tournaments. Playing 10 tournaments in total. 6 of these in the UK. 1 in Europe, 1 in Israel and 2 in India. Her highest rank opponent was Paula Badosa whom she beat in Sunderland, but most opponents were much lower ranked. She did not play a tournament between April and September, presumably focusing on her GCSEs. One retirement in India due to food poisoning and an injury in February 2020, otherwise no evidence of injury. She had no mainstream media attention.
As we know, she only played domestically until Nottingham in 2021. And that was a light schedule although she did get to play the best UK women.
Compare that to her schedule between September 2021 and September 2022 to get a full year comparison. She has played Grand Slams, 1000s, 500s and 250s. Playing 22 tournaments in total (including the BJK cup) In doing so she has travelled across the World on a regular basis. Her highest ranked opponent was Iga Swiatek against whom she put up a respectable performance and all of her opponents were seasoned pros. She gets media and fan attention wherever she plays.
Rather than being disappointed at her performance this year, it’s actually remarkable to me that she has done as well as she has. Apart from anything else to keep going and to make the progress we have seen since the US Open. And although we often talk about this being her first full year on the WTA tour, when you look at the two years side by side the jump is really obvious. I personally am in awe. As I’ve said before, I struggle with the stress of simply following her career 😂
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Thanks for that Novice. I wonder how Emma's year's before she joined the professional tour from 2018 to 2020 compare to what other teenagers would typically do? Maybe if I get chance I will look at people like Leylah and Clara and see what they experienced in terms of number of tournaments etc during these early years. 🙂
I predicted that the wrist injury would catch up with her back at the US Open. I posted:
"I know you guys want to stay positive but you can't solve a wrist injury with a painkiller. She likely had a cortezone injection. This won't cure it either. It's just a temporary fix. If I was her doctor I'd advise a withdrawal - why risk even longer term damage? It's not worth it for the points..."
On the bright side she now has loads of time to prepare for the next season. Investment in conditioning and allowing the body to heal will produce dividends, particularly if she wants to perfect this aggressive power game. Young bodies are not used to this type of punishment so it tends to be an incremental process. The problems will be resolved with physical maturity and a professional fitness programme designed to meet the needs of top class tennis players. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that there will be significant improvement in fitness levels next year. Once she is at a good level she will recover from injuries much easier and take less time to get back to a top level. I'm convinced she has the game to beat anyone - she already has. It's all the other pieces of the jigsaw that are not yet in place.
"I know you guys want to stay positive but you can't solve a wrist injury with a painkiller. She likely had a cortezone injection. This won't cure it either. It's just a temporary fix. If I was her doctor I'd advise a withdrawal - why risk even longer term damage? It's not worth it for the points..."
On the bright side she now has loads of time to prepare for the next season. Investment in conditioning and allowing the body to heal will produce dividends, particularly if she wants to perfect this aggressive power game. Young bodies are not used to this type of punishment so it tends to be an incremental process. The problems will be resolved with physical maturity and a professional fitness programme designed to meet the needs of top class tennis players. I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that there will be significant improvement in fitness levels next year. Once she is at a good level she will recover from injuries much easier and take less time to get back to a top level. I'm convinced she has the game to beat anyone - she already has. It's all the other pieces of the jigsaw that are not yet in place.
This is one of my favorite Emma interviews. I love how Mark wanted to tell the world that Emma does her own research on opponents (quite uncommon especially for such a young player) and her semi-embarrassed reaction. Priceless.
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I doubt there's anything seriously wrong with Emma's wrist that a bit of R&R won't fix. She's been out and about recently and hasn't been wearing any sort of support on it at all, so that's a positive.
She probably just needs a few weeks off the court.
She probably just needs a few weeks off the court.
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Hand & Wrist Institute Full Article
Extract from full article:
How a tennis players grip the racquet can also contribute to the amount of load delivered to the wrist. For example, players who hold the racquet using the Eastern grip have higher chances of radial-sided wrist injuries such as DeQuervain syndrome, Intersection syndrome, and FCR tenosynovitis, while those players with Western and semi-Western grip have higher ulnar-sided wrist injuries like extensor carpi ulnaris injuries.
Athletes and amateur players should perform warm-up exercises before starting a game. Hand and wrist muscles exercises should be encouraged to strengthen the appropriate muscles. Young players should rest between sets to aid muscle recovery. In the case of injuries, players should ensure that the wrist heals properly before resuming play.
The number one thing that causes hand and wrist injuries is an extremely tight grip. This tends to place a player’s wrists in unusual positions that make them more likely to become injured. In order to reduce the risk, athletes should grasp their racquet firmly without squeezing on it.
Certain types of strings can also increase the odds of injury. Polyester strings are stiffer, and therefore cause more vibration to the hands and wrist whenever the ball is hit. Natural gut or nylon strings are somewhat softer, and do not transmit much vibration to the upper extremities. Players can sometimes benefit from changing out their polyester strings, especially when injuries tend to recur frequently in their dominant hand.
Hand and wrist strengthening exercises should be performed as a part of every tennis training program. Many of these exercises can also help increase one’s range of motion, thereby making elbow injuries less likely as well. Conditioning exercises can be performed using light hand weights or resistance bands, and should take no more than five minutes to complete.
Before beginning play, it can be important to stretch the wrist in order to loosen it up somewhat. An effective stretch involves bending the wrist down and flexing the fingers upward. After holding for around 15 seconds, the fingers can then be directed downward in order to stretch the top part of the wrist. Stretches should be performed on both hands for maximum effectiveness. The same stretches should be done as part of a cool down routine as well.
Extract from full article:
How a tennis players grip the racquet can also contribute to the amount of load delivered to the wrist. For example, players who hold the racquet using the Eastern grip have higher chances of radial-sided wrist injuries such as DeQuervain syndrome, Intersection syndrome, and FCR tenosynovitis, while those players with Western and semi-Western grip have higher ulnar-sided wrist injuries like extensor carpi ulnaris injuries.
Athletes and amateur players should perform warm-up exercises before starting a game. Hand and wrist muscles exercises should be encouraged to strengthen the appropriate muscles. Young players should rest between sets to aid muscle recovery. In the case of injuries, players should ensure that the wrist heals properly before resuming play.
The number one thing that causes hand and wrist injuries is an extremely tight grip. This tends to place a player’s wrists in unusual positions that make them more likely to become injured. In order to reduce the risk, athletes should grasp their racquet firmly without squeezing on it.
Certain types of strings can also increase the odds of injury. Polyester strings are stiffer, and therefore cause more vibration to the hands and wrist whenever the ball is hit. Natural gut or nylon strings are somewhat softer, and do not transmit much vibration to the upper extremities. Players can sometimes benefit from changing out their polyester strings, especially when injuries tend to recur frequently in their dominant hand.
Hand and wrist strengthening exercises should be performed as a part of every tennis training program. Many of these exercises can also help increase one’s range of motion, thereby making elbow injuries less likely as well. Conditioning exercises can be performed using light hand weights or resistance bands, and should take no more than five minutes to complete.
Before beginning play, it can be important to stretch the wrist in order to loosen it up somewhat. An effective stretch involves bending the wrist down and flexing the fingers upward. After holding for around 15 seconds, the fingers can then be directed downward in order to stretch the top part of the wrist. Stretches should be performed on both hands for maximum effectiveness. The same stretches should be done as part of a cool down routine as well.
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