Flavia Pennetta, who only got into the main draw of the U.S. Open at the last minute due to pullouts, says she has had a very hard time returning from right wrist surgery. After defeating Simona Halep, the former Top 10 player has reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open for the fourth time.
“It was and still is really tough,” the 31-year-old said. “A lot of thing change when I come back in March. Was really tough. Everything was really different, from my coach, from my doubles partner, from the feeling I had in the court, everything. When you stop for so long, like seven months, when you come back, you feel different, and all your body have problem. You don’t have problem in your hand, but you start having problem in the leg or the abdominal because you are not used to play for such a long time. Your body just needs time to recover. It’s always up and down because I can find a way to be consistent all the time. But I was working hard. Was not easy, I can tell you. I cry a lot, yeah. But I love this sport. I would like to have a chance just to prove myself.