While she is in the happiest phase of her personal life after having tied the knot with German superstar footballer Bastian Schweinsteiger, it has been a wretched year for former World No.1 tennis star Ana Ivanovic on the professional front. The Serbian, a former French Open champion, lost her fifth match in a row as she bowed out of the 2016 US Open in the first round on Tuesday, thus posting the longest losing streak of her career.
2 losses to players ranked beyond 100
The 29th seed even had a set point in the first set, failing to convert which she succumbed to 89th ranked Czech player Denisa Allertova, 6(4)-7, 1-6 in 1 hour 18 minutes. The heap of errors coming from her racquet proved to be her bane as she sprayed as many as 41 unforced errors, 20 more than her lower-ranked opponent.
This latest loss comes after shocking straight-set defeats to players ranked beyond 100 in two of her last three tournaments. At Wimbledon, Ana crashed out to Russian qualifier Ekaterina Alexandrova, then ranked 223rd.
Ivanovic has lately looked very uninspired and dispirited, lacking any of her self-belief. Her once devastating forehand, which used to be her biggest weapon, is now a pale shadow of what it was.
Also read: 2016 US Open: Top 5 dark horses for the Women's Singles tournament
Needless to say, Ana’s repeated losses have been an alarming trend leading many to even questioning if she is remotely interested in tennis. Particularly after her US Open exit on Tuesday, social media was swirling with rumours that the US Open might have been her last Slam before she calls it quits.
But Ivanovic confirmed in her post-match conversations that she is not going anywhere and insisted that it is a struggling phase that she is going through.
“No, not at all. I just need to really see why is this happening. I had struggles throughout my career. I had some tough times,” the 28-year-old told the Daily Mail on being asked about retirement.
“This is not the first time I’m going through this. It just hurts because I know what I invested.”
Considering wrist surgery
The World No. 31, who has failed to reach a final this season, has been bothered by a niggling wrist injury for some time that particularly affected her during Wimbledon. She had complained of a nagging pain on her right wrist that made it difficult to accelerate her forehand shots. With Ana still struggling so much on the court, it appears that she has probably still not fully recovered from it which is why her confidence is at an all-time low.
Serbian media later reported that her unending woes have even forced the former top-ranked player to consider the option of a wrist surgery.
Ivanovic’s firm response of not walking away from the sport shows she still has the same hunger. Here’s hoping she can find the solutions to her problems soon as her forehands are still a treat to watch when her game is unhindered.
