Robin Montgomery "hopes to stay as healthy as possible" after injury-plagued years

CHENNAI: SUFFERING an injury takes a toll on an athlete, both mentally and physically.

The long lay-off period following the blow can be mentally exhausting, especially when other competitors do better, with the rankings or by title wins.

Off the court, the finances and sponsors can dry up, which is crucial for athletes.For US’s former Junior World No 1 Robin Montgomery, she had to deal with the pangs of it in the years following her Junior US Open singles and doubles title victory in 2021.

With rising expectations, Montgomery had to fight a battle of her own.

Early in 2022, she suffered a severe right wrist injury, which aggravated early last year.

She had no choice but to undergo surgery later that year.But before she stepped on to the court, life was not the easiest.

She was raised by a single mother in Washington DC, but as she said: "It takes a village to raise a child." her grandmother and her aunt were also there.

"I definitely come from a household of strong, independent women, and I wouldn't change that for the world," she said.Introduced to sports by her mother — a skier from Oregon in the USA —Montgomery picked up tennis at age six.

"My mom happened to put me in tennis because I was a hyper child and she just wanted to tire me out," she said.

From there on, the journey has had its highs, but in her lows she has learnt valuable lessons.

She revealed how she discovered a different side to her in her recovery from the wrist injury.

“I took that time to relearn myself and learn new things about myself on and off the court, and finding different hobbies and things like that to make sure that even though I love tennis and tennis takes up a lot of my time, I'm still Robin.

I'm very grateful for that time, granted it was much longer than I wanted it to be,” she said.And the approach has worked out to an extent.

She won her first WTA level tournament in her career in the Netherlands in June (Libema Open WTA 250).

Then at the Chennai Open on Tuesday, she began her campaign by beating Panna Udvardy.But the biggest moment of the year came in the US Open in September.

Partnering with Ashlyn Krueger – with whom she won the junior doubles title of this Grand Slam event in 2021 – the pair entered the final but they lost to Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend.

Montgomery....