High profile names missing on the WTA competition circuit, some coming back soon

The WTA is about to see the return of some of its biggest stars, a major boon for the women’s game.

The news on the women’s front of tennis is both good and bad. Several notables went out last year, leaving the women’s game bereft of some of its best players. Maria Sharapova was suspended by the International Tennis Federation for the use of banned substance Meldonium. Victoria Azarenka gave birth to son Leo last December. That same month, Petra Kvitova was attacked in her home and suffered a career-damaging knife wound to her left hand. And this year, after a resurgent Grand Slam victory in Australia that lead her to break Stefi Graf’s record for most slams in the Open Era, Serena Williams suffered a knee injury and we have no idea of when she will be coming back. All but Kvitova are former No. 1’s (Kvitova was a No. 2). All are multiple grand slam winners.

Victoria Azarenka finally announces her return date

But first, the good news. Seven months after giving birth, Victoria Azarenka announced this week that she will be back on the WTA tour as of July this year. Her first competition will be the WTA tournament Bank of the West Classic in CA. Azarenka earned the “Sunshine Double” last year, but surprised the tennis world by withdrawing from tournaments directly afterwards with her pregnancy announcement. The two-time Australian Open champion has been spending time getting back into shape and hired a new coach, Michael Joyce, who formerly coached Maria Sharapova.

“Becoming a mother has been the most rewarding thing that has ever happened to me and really puts things in perspective,” she said in her announcement on wtatennis.com.

“I am looking forward to beginning this new stage of my career,” and finally gave the definitive date that fans have been waiting to hear. “I am very excited to be returning to the WTA at the Bank of the West Classic.”

In truth, there aren’t a lot of working mothers at the top ranks of women’s tennis. However, Kim Clijsters is a fine example of post-baby success, winning two of her four grand slams (back-to-back US Opens) just one year after giving birth to her first child.

To give an idea of how ready Azarenka looks for the upcoming tennis summer season, check out her training Instagram posts. Envy!

Serena Williams out indefinitely

OK, now the bad news. When is Serena Williams coming back? No one seems to know. She won the Australian Open in a final against her sister, Venus, with both sisters aged 35 and 36, with Serena besting the record for most Slams won by a tennis player in the Open Era. She was fierce and looked like she was going to surge on, like her same-aged compatriot on the men’s side, Roger Federer, and continue to collect more titles this year. The day after her historic win, she also became the world No. 1 again.

But then the American pulled out of the next two high profile events she was scheduled for, the Masters 1000 tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami. Serena’s manager had said at the beginning of the year she would be playing a reduced schedule and as expected, she didn’t play the smaller events leading up to the “Sunshine Double” in California and Florida. When they did come around, she had to pull out due to her knee acting up. Germany’s Angelique Kerber also took back the top spot during that time.

The American player still hasn’t announced when she’ll be back, but in the meantime, it looks like she’s been thoroughly enjoying her time off by:

Vacationing like a boss:

Picking a wedding dress:

Maybe she’ll end up getting married during her time off? No announcement on that or if she’ll be ready in time for the French Open, where she’s won three times.

Maria Sharapova is coming off suspension

Then there’s Maria Sharapova, who is definitely coming back, and coming back soon. The consensus is somewhere in the middle if it’s good or bad. Several women on the tour feel she’s being given preferential treatment, while others recognize that she’ll be a draw at tournaments. When her sentence was commuted by the Court for Arbitration of Sport, she didn’t make many friends by sounding defensive in her Charlie Rose interview. She saw herself as having been targeted by the ITF, but critics said, ‘you still took an illegal substance that was considered a performance enhancer.’

However, since the lenient ruling, Sharapova has been working to rebuild her image with endorsement events, positive PR, charity matches and sounding a bit more contrite in public. She starts cashing in the three wild cards she’s been given this month at the Stuttgart tournament, and follows up with two more clay tourneys in Madrid and Rome. She’s trying to plead her case to the French Open and Wimbledon officials, where she has won slams before, but so far the French tournament heads have remained ambivalent about the wild card gifting. Wimbledon hasn’t issued a statement about it either.

Still, there are plenty who are eager for the 29-year-old to return and understand the fame element she brings to the game.

“Promoters and tournaments want a big name in their event,” said former British No. 1 Greg Rusedski at a charity event, sounding pragmatic about the situation. “They want Sharapova because she draws a big crowd no matter where she plays.

“But from a players’ perspective, they’re probably like ‘earn your stripes back’. But there’s no rules that say she has to do that so she’s doing everything she has to abide by. At the end of the day tennis is entertainment.”

WTA players Barbora Strýcová and Dominika Cibulkova are the latest to complain about what they perceive as preferential treatment at the clay tournaments coming up.

“When you do something like this, you have to be punished. Of course you are punished to not play [during a suspension] but it’s your fault. But, of course, she is Maria and what can you do,” 31 year-old Strýcová told reporters at the beginning of the month.

But the Russian tennis star has been making the case this year that she’s fighting her way back to the competition tour.

“You always want to end your career or a chapter in your life on your terms and in your voice,” Sharapova said in an interview with CNBC. “And to be in a moment where you felt like it could have ended on someone else’s terms was very difficult for me to accept.”

She’s also talked about the life lessons she’s learned while having the time off from the sport.

“I learned that life is okay without tennis,” the five-time grand slam champion said, according to ChattSportsNet.

And she’s learned a lot from her mistakes.

“It gave me a chance to realize that you’re the one that creates your life,” Sharapova elaborated, “and you create your own opportunities.”

Venus Williams is one of the few on the tour who is welcoming her return.

“I feel like I have perspective in life, and sometimes things happen,” the 37-year-old said to the Charleston Post and Courier, by way of Tennis World USA. “I think the bodies have made their decision, and she has an opportunity to come back and continue her career,” she said last month in Indian Wells. “It will be nice to have her back,” Williams concluded.

Sharapova turns 30 April 19 and her return date is April 26 at the Stuttgart Open, two days after competition will begin.

Knife victim Petra Kvitova still has a long road to go

Two-time Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova is still recovering from her horrific knife wound when she was attacked in her home in a robbery gone wrong. The former world No. 2 underwent surgery at the time quickly afterwards, but still no word on when she’ll be playing competitively again.

Kvitova was attacked Dec. 20 in her Prague home and became wounded when she tried to fend off the attacker.

The Czech player said on her Facebook page at the time that she was “shaken, but fortunate to be alive.”

After the surgery, Kvitova’s doctors had estimated she might be able to return to competition by the end of the clay season this year, in time to gear up for maybe her beloved Wimbledon (best case scenario) or more likely the US Open.

Although the 27-year-old has been keeping up her fitness and continuing rehab on the wounded left hand, her spokesman Karel Tejkal said, “at the moment, no one can give a concrete date,” although he did divulge that her recovery was “very encouraging.”

“Petra’s convalescence is continuing as planned, so far there are no complications, but everything is up in the air as to her return,” he further explained.

Tejkal noted her progress as well, saying to Agence France Press, “Petra uses her hand without problem for daily activities.”

The current world No. 15 has been fitness training in the Canary Islands. She also took to her Instagram to thank her fans for their encouragement and well wishes and to provide an update on her progress.

The injuries sustained include the tendons, all five fingers and two nerves on Kvitova’s left hand. Dr. Michael W. Kessler, chief of hand and elbow surgery at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, was quoted in Straits Times as to the extent of damage sustained in such a case.

Noting that the nerve damage is likely the most “disruptive” about her condition, he elaborated. “Hitting a forehand or a backhand is really challenging with tendon injuries… a tennis racquet is the extension of someone’s arm, so not having the feedback from the fingertips to the same level of specificity that was there before can also be challenging.”

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The tennis community is trying to keep her spirits up as well, continuing to send her well wishes, like this lovely billboard put up at the Indian Wells tournament in March.

Kvitova has continued to remain a positive attitude throughout and she’s hugely motivated to get back to the game. “My perspective on life has changed a lot and I am doing everything to give myself a second chance to be back on the court. I thank you for staying with me through this and I hope to see you all soon, love Petra,” she said in her Instagram announcement.

With Sharapova and Azarenka planning to return in a few months, let’s hope Williams and Kvitova will be joining them by the summer. All four women are sorely missed on the WTA tour.