Dinara Safina's Climb Back from Obscurity - Part 2
Dinara Safina finally retired from the game two games into the end of the season Tour Championships that were taking place in Doha, Qatar. At this point her pain had gotten so bad that she had to switch from painkillers to injections and it was no longer
possible for her to continue playing. At the time of her retirement she was ranked Number 2 in the world.
She had been recuperating until earlier this year, when she decided to test the waters once again. Ever since April she has been taking it slow and steady. She suffered a first round loss at the French Open and then withdrew from Wimbledon. Now she will
be appearing in the Classic, a tournament she never would have bothered with before.
This is probably a very smart move on the part of the Russian. She needs to get her game back and the best way to start is small. She needs to get as much practice as possible as the other girls are in top playing form at the moment. Having said that this
smaller tournament by no means translates into lesser pressure on her; fans are eager to see her in action and see if she still has the game that got her to the top spot left in her. On the other hand critics are going to be daring her to “try” being Number
1, especially now that the ranking system has become much more stable and accurate. No doubt her performance at the ASB Classic next week will set the tone for the rest of her 2011 season.
Perhaps this coming year will be just as surprising as her downfall this past season has been. Sure there were people out there who did not think she deserved the top spot in tennis, but we highly doubt that despite such misgivings anyone had ever foreseen
her sudden slide into the world of obscurity, so steadily and surely. No, we are quite sure that no one saw it coming.
Her form this year, from what we have seen so far, means that she will definitely not be anyone’s favourite to win this year. However, the Russian is now healthy and that too for the first time in a long time. When she got injured last year it seemed like
she may never return to the game. Perhaps the secret behind her strength to move on from that low point, in both her career and life, and back on the road to recovery is her endless optimism and realism. She took the injury as part and parcel of being an athlete.
“I’ve never been injured. But every player goes through this, many players, many top players. They go from top to down and back. This is part of every athlete. It cannot be always sunshine and staying No. 1 forever.”
When asked about her goals the coming season, Safina said she thought the rankings were irrelevant to her for now. She wants to play every tournament with the sole reason of coming out a better player, not to stay at her current ranking or to climb back
to the top. Obviously, it goes without saying that she wants to be the top player in the world again but for now she is taking it one step at a time. “I want to be healthy. There is no other goal,” she says.
Dinara Safina has always been one player who has stood tall in the face of extreme criticism and given her best on the courts. No matter what the future has in store for her this coming year, she deserves credit for her determination, passion and hard work.
We for one wish her all the best, this coming season and for many coming after it.
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