An emotional Jodie Burrage admitted she is ‘grateful’ to be back on a tennis court after securing her first Grand Slam win since having wrist surgery at the start of last year.
The Brit, who is using a protected ranking to enter the tournament, defeated Leolia Jeanjean 6-2 6-4 to reach the second round.
It was an emotional moment for Burrage as this is her first Grand Slam event since having wrist surgery just after last year’s Australian Open.
After the match Burrage explained how nervous she was and admits she believes in her game a lot more since coming back where she has had success on the ITF circuit, “I think I was really nervous for this match, even last night nerves. I have not had that in a while. I think because I know I have been playing some good tennis, I know what such a good opportunity today was,” Burrage explained.
“I knew the hard work that went in for the last year. All of those emotions from the last nine months I think, yeah, were bottled up in there. You know, throughout playing the ITFs and everything I did, all I was saying is I want to get to Australia, I know I’ll be good in Australia. Yeah, so I didn’t really want to let the opportunity go to waste today. Very happy, you know, that I managed to get over the line. I think I handled myself well throughout the match.
“I think just trusting the work that I have put in. It’s been nine months of hard work, but obviously before that, as well, I was getting to a really good spot. Yeah, I’m just trusting myself more and believing in myself more.”
It’s been a long road to recovery from Burrage which nearly saw her quit the sport having suffered a wrist injury when in the top 100 in the world.
Now Burrage admits she is grateful to be back on a tennis court and spoke about the resilience she has built up through rehab and training at the National Tennis Centre, “I’m grateful to be back, grateful to be on the court. I’m grateful to be playing tennis,” Burrage admitted in her press conference.
“There is no guarantee after surgery. I remember when I went in for the wrist surgery, you know, he was listing off all of the things that could go wrong, because obviously he has to. I’m, like, You didn’t say this to me when I made this decision to get surgery. Yeah, you know, a lot of people have had wrist surgery and are struggling to come back, you know.
“So I’m happy that, you know, my rehab, my physio — she’s not here this year; she was here last year. She got me through and was so diligent with my rehab and everything that I did. Yes, I’m very grateful to be having no issues with my body right now.
“I think the amount of times I have been injured and the effort that it takes to get back, the fight that it takes to do an hour and a half of rehab in the morning and then go do physical and then get on the court and then do it all again the next day, for six months, the work that you put in, this is easy.
“Coming here, training here is easy. Staying in London, NTC for six months, is not where anyone wants to be, as much as I do love it there. Yeah, this is where you want to be, and I think people talk about putting themselves in difficult situations and, you know, training-wise and preseason and whatever. I feel like I have constantly been in that, especially for the last nine months, but with every injury that I have had, yeah, I feel like you just build up resilience. But yeah, I don’t know, but I feel in a good position now.”
Burrage will now hope to continue her confidence as she sits at 173 in the world and will hope this can be a platform for bigger things to come.
Next up for the Brit will be the in-form Coco Gauff who defeated former champion Sofia Kenin earlier on in the day.
Burrage is hoping to learn from her past experiences against big players, “Yeah, of course I’m going to learn from them. Actually when I played Sabalenka I played so much better because of what happened on center court against Kasatkina,” Burrage reflected.
“So I’m excited. You know, I like it when you play the big occasions, the adrenaline gets going. For sure there will be nerves but it’s good nerves. It’s a free swing for me. I’m a proper underdog. See what I can do, see where my level is at with arguably one of the best players in the world right now.”
