After fearing her career was over and going through a trio of surgeries, former Russian rising star Margarita Gasparyan is finally back on track.
The first half of 2016 was all going to plan for the 23-year-old. At the Australian Open she reached the fourth round before rising to a ranking best of 41st in the world. A couple months later her rise on the tour came to a half at Wimbledon after retiring in the first round. The culprit was a troublesome knee injury, which turned out to be more trouble than she ever expected.
“I had three operations during the year. The last was in February. The operation went well, but after that I did not feel any improvement. I did the rehabilitation in Moscow for two months. Then I went to Austria, where I was operated, I was told that there is a very good physiotherapist there.” She told Championat.com.
“Three months I did my rehab in Austria. Did my first steps – running, jumping. But it was very long and painful. In the first month I couldn’t stand on a balance cushion, because my leg was hurting. But it was getting better with every day.”
At her lowest Gasparyan feared her tennis career was over after showing so much promise. Her first WTA title occurred in 2015 when she won the Baku Open unseeded. During that same year she also won three ITF titles and defeated Kristina Mladenovic in Moscow.
“There were moments when I did not know whether I would ever return to sports. But I’m glad that everything turned out well for me. I got good people who put me on their feet, who believed in me, worked with me and helped me.”
It isn’t just singles where Gasparyan has shown promise. In the doubles, she has claimed three WTA titles, rising to a high of 26th in the world. Last year she paired up with Svetlana Kuznetsova to reach the semifinals of the French Open.
The comeback
Gasparyan returned to competitive tennis over the weekend at the Kremlin Cup. Playing in her first tournament since the 2016 Wimbledon championships, she fell in the first round of qualifying to Greece’s Valentini Grammatikopoulou in three close sets (4-6, 7-5, 7-5).
“I’m very tired, but I’m glad that I stood it.” She said following the loss. “I’m happy that I returned to the court after a long time. She showed a good game, fought and did everything she could.”
It was not a dream comeback for the Russian, but she remains undeterred. Guided by her Austrian-German team, Gasparyan is targeting to return to grand slam tennis in January at the Australian Open. The only major where she has won matches at. Her place in the draw will be secured with the help of a protected ranking.
“I’ll take one to the Australian Open. Maybe I’ll play a couple of tournaments before the Australian Open. I think soon I will return fully.” The former world No.41 optimistically concluded.
