Estonia’s Anett Kontaveit made a triumphant return to the tennis court after a two-month hiatus due to injury, defeating South Africa’s Isabella Kruger 6-1, 6-2 in a Billie Jean King Cup Group II match on Monday. The 27-year-old had not played a match since early February after experiencing pain and discomfort in her back.
Following her early exit in Abu Dhabi, Kontaveit took to Instagram to announce that she would be skipping Doha and Dubai in the hopes of returning for Indian Wells and Miami. Unfortunately, she was unable to recover in time for the Sunshine Double, leaving fans eagerly anticipating her return.
Last week, Kontaveit was spotted back on the practice court, much to the delight of her fans. And on Monday, she showed that she had lost none of her form or skills, easily dispatching Kruger to help clinch a win for Estonia.
Kontaveit’s return to form is a positive sign for her fans and for the tennis world in general. With her injury concerns seemingly behind her, she will be looking to build on her strong start to the Billie Jean King Cup and make an impact in upcoming tournaments.
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Anett Kontaveit, who was world number 2 less than a year ago but is now outside the top 60, comes back to the tour with a nice @BJKCup win:
6-1, 6-2 over Isabella Kruger (365) to clinch the win for Estonia in this round robin tie vs. South Africa.
Nice to see her back! pic.twitter.com/2BS0wzmOzT
ā JosĆ© Morgado (@josemorgado) April 10, 2023
Anett Kontaveit may never fully recover from her lingering back injury that has been bothering her since October 2022. The 27-year-old made the revelation after she started the 2023 season with a 2-4 record, stating that her back was still causing problems. Kontaveit has been taking treatment and exercising to help her condition, but the degenerative changes of the lumbar discs of her spine and irritation of the adductors of the left thigh due to previous trauma are causing her trouble.
Kontaveit shared in mid-March that she was treating the injury with special exercises and physiotherapy, under the guidance of physiotherapists Toms Zvonkovs and Lauri Ott. However, she said that this was something that she probably would not be completely free from anymore. Despite this, the Estonian tennis player aims to control the injury well enough to continue playing without pain.
Kontaveit made her return to the court on Monday after being out for two months due to the injury. Her top priority now is to stay healthy and work towards a full recovery.