Anne Keothavong Blog: Three months on....
Anne Keothavong
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Anne Keothavong Blog: Back on track in the US
Finally back in action on the Tour after a long six months out with a knee injury, the British No.3 blogs from Memphis…
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Hello!
It’s been a while since I last blogged so apologies for that, it’s not like I haven’t had time, I just didn’t know what to write about but here goes.
It’s been over 3 months now since I last played a competitive match and I’m beginning to miss it. Every professional athlete has that competitive fire in them, always, and instead of channelling it on the match court I’ve been throwing myself in to the rehab and training.
Every day I’m challenged by what I have to do to make my leg and knee stronger and every week I notice an improvement. It’s not just the strength I’m working on but my range, flexibility and balance and all these little improvements I make each week give me more confidence. Fortunately, there haven’t been any setbacks although that doesn’t mean I don’t feel discomfort in my knee. Every morning when I wake up it often feels quite stiff and it creaks a bit but that’s something I’ve got used to and I’m resigned to the fact that when I’m older and less active I’ll suffer from arthritis for sure!
My return to competitive action is still planned for February 2010- if I can keep progressing at the same rate as I have been so far. At the moment, I’m playing tennis for about an hour a day, 5 times a week but it’s still very much controlled. I can’t run and chase down balls quite yet so whoever I play with has to hit the ball around me so I don’t move too much. I can’t practice my serve properly because it puts too much stress through my knee, but technically there are still things I can work on with everything and most people who watch me play wouldn’t notice there was anything wrong with my leg if they didn’t know.
Away from the rehab, I’ve been trying to make the most of my time in London and I do love the fact that I can plan my weekends now and socially just be able to do things and see people I wouldn’t usually see. Initially when I got injured I had a fear of being in a crowded room in case someone knocked in to me but I’m over that now and I can even wear heels again- albeit for a very short period!
I’ve also been helping some of out best juniors on court at the NTC from time to time. Coaching is something I’ve never done in the past but I see my role as a motivator and I want to use my experience to help others. I get quite intense and serious on court because I’m so keen for the younger ones to grasp certain things as soon as possible so they don’t have to wait as long as I did to achieve something significant and it feels so rewarding giving back like this.
The tennis season is soon coming to an end and I think 2009 is a year I can look back on as one of my best years as a pro. I was only able to compete for half the year and in those 6 months I broke in to the top 50 for the first time- something a British woman hadn’t done for a very long time and I reached the semis of 3 WTA Tour events, with one of them being a Premier level tournament on clay which is my least favourite surface! I busted my knee and ended my season prematurely but so what? I’m still a healthy young woman with a loving family and friends I can rely on which is more than most people can ask for. Sometimes, you’ve just got to look at the bigger picture and be thankful for what you do have.
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Ben Day Oct 28, 07:49 PM
Hello,
I tore my ACL in July 2008 and had reconstructive surgery in Oct 08 plus another arthorscopy last week to repair damaged meniscus. I am by no means a professional sports person but would you be able to tell me what your training routine involves to get your knee and leg back into condition?
Any advice would be very much appreciated. Wishing you a speedy recovery and return to tennis.
Best regards,
Ben
Simone Oct 30, 11:41 AM
Sometimes is not good to have some time out of the competition, but after you get used to it again having some time off can really help.
I think you will come back stronger than ever.
kiaha Nov 10, 10:57 PM
Anne your one of my role model’s as asian to become no.1 in british tennis and have the ranking you were at. Is it’s self a great honor I wish you success on the court when 2010 roles around. I hope you win some titles in the 2010 season. And I will be proud of you no matter what. Get better anne!!!
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