Once again Japan’s Kimiko Date-Krumm is inspiring the older generation of the tennis tour as she prepares to return to the tour at the age of 46.
The former world No.4 hasn’t played a tour match since crashing out in qualifying at the 2016 Australian Open. Trouble by a serious knee injury, Date-Krumm underwent endoscopic surgery in April that year after an MRI detected a crack in her left knee. Despite her age, the Japanese player has vowed to return to the tour.
“Everything has gone well up to this point and it has not put limitations on my daily life. As an athlete, you have to condition muscles and I want the injury to properly heal.” Date-Krumm told reporters last year about her recovery.
Date Krumm has become a master of comebacks in recent years. In 2008, she ended her 12-year retirement from the tour at the age of 37. In 2009 she became the second oldest winner in the Open Era to win a WTA title by triumphing at the Seoul Open. The consistency of the Veteran saw her end every season inside the world’s top-150 between 2009-2015 before her knee problems.
This time round, Date-Krumm will play on the tour without her husband after the two filed for divorce in 2016. Michael Krumm, who is a professional racing driver, is credited for encouraging his former wife to return to the tour. Shortly after the announcement, she insisted that the separation was ‘amicable’ and the two have remained friends.
“We have discussed [it] for a long time, and we decided to pursue separate paths from now on,” Date-Krumm said in a statement. “Our relationship is still amicable. As we both had a lot of time in Tokyo this year, we lived together and we were dining together.
“I believe that our relationship will not change in a big way, even after our divorce, and we will probably meet as friends.”
The 46-year-old will return to action at the Kangaroo Cup of Gifu, a $75.000 ITF tournament in Japan. The hard-court tournament will start on May 1st.
So far in her career, Date-Krumm has won eight WTA titles over a 18-year period (1991-2009). She is also a three-time grand slam semifinalist with her last occurring at the 1996 Wimbledon Championships.
