Anett Kontaveit has had a disastrous start to her 2023 season. She has made early exits from all four tournaments she has played so far: the Adelaide International 1, the Adelaide International 2, the Australian Open, and the Abu Dhabi Open.Kontaveit also pulled out of the Qatar Open, the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships and the ongoing BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells due to a lower back injury she sustained in Abu Dhabi.In a recent interview, the Estonian discussed her injury in detail, saying that while she is being treated to continue playing without pain, the issue will probably remain forever."My injury specifically involves degenerative changes to the lumbar discs of the spine and irritation of the left thigh tendons due to previous trauma," Anett Kontaveit said. "I'm treating it with special exercises and physiotherapy, with the help of physiotherapists Toms Zvonkovs and Lauri Ott.""It's something I probably won't be able to get rid of. But it can, hopefully, be controlled well enough for me to continue playing without pain," she added.Tennis fans were devastated by Konateveit's confession, and took to Twitter to express how they felt. One user lamented that they were not "ready" for the Estonian's retirement just yet, stating:"I am not ready to her retiring. I literally about to cry in my room," the user wrote.DenizTheTennis@denizthetenisI am not ready to her retiring. I literally about to cry in my room. twitter.com/some1namedryan…Ryan@Some1NamedRyanAnett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain"258Anett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain" https://t.co/PnjQZp9mfFI am not ready to her retiring. I literally about to cry in my room. twitter.com/some1namedryan…Another user expressed sadness over the news and wished Anett Kontaveit a speedy recovery, writing:"Not a sneezy fan but this is so sad, she seems like a good person irl. wishing her all the best in her recovery."moonball enthusiast #6inDubai@ninjaga20not a sneezy fan but this is so sad, she seems like a good person irl. wishing her all the best in her recovery 🥹 twitter.com/some1namedryan…Ryan@Some1NamedRyanAnett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain"1138Anett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain" https://t.co/PnjQZp9mfFnot a sneezy fan but this is so sad, she seems like a good person irl. wishing her all the best in her recovery 🥹 twitter.com/some1namedryan…One user, meanwhile, expressed hope that the former World No. 2 would compete at a high level again."This is actually quite discouraging. But Nettu is an iconic and charismatic figure: let's hope that we see her competing at a high level again," the account tweeted.In my refocus era@sangeetapremiThis is actually quite discouraging. But Nettu is an iconic and charismatic figure: let's hope that we see her competing at a high level again. twitter.com/Some1NamedRyan…Ryan@Some1NamedRyanAnett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain"1138Anett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain" https://t.co/PnjQZp9mfFThis is actually quite discouraging. But Nettu is an iconic and charismatic figure: let's hope that we see her competing at a high level again. twitter.com/Some1NamedRyan…Here are a few more reactions from fans:🔮@soymilkbirthdaynothing to smile about in my life twitter.com/Some1NamedRyan…Ryan@Some1NamedRyanAnett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain"18Anett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain" https://t.co/PnjQZp9mfFnothing to smile about in my life 😭 twitter.com/Some1NamedRyan…kerstin #1inParis greek grass specialist@evendensershadeCrying at 4 am twitter.com/some1namedryan…Ryan@Some1NamedRyanAnett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain"108Anett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain" https://t.co/PnjQZp9mfFCrying at 4 am twitter.com/some1namedryan…azra 🎗️@punishertravk8my whole year is just ruined twitter.com/Some1NamedRyan…Ryan@Some1NamedRyanAnett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain"108Anett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain" https://t.co/PnjQZp9mfFmy whole year is just ruined twitter.com/Some1NamedRyan…AC 🦉@pojdzerothere’s no god in tennis, she doesn’t deserve all this shit twitter.com/some1namedryan…Ryan@Some1NamedRyanAnett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain"38Anett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain" https://t.co/PnjQZp9mfFthere’s no god in tennis, she doesn’t deserve all this shit 💔 twitter.com/some1namedryan…elena rybaKINO@slaymilagiorgiI hope she's free from pain and in a good place right now regardless of her ranking twitter.com/Some1NamedRyan…Ryan@Some1NamedRyanAnett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain"48Anett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain" https://t.co/PnjQZp9mfFI hope she's free from pain and in a good place right now regardless of her ranking twitter.com/Some1NamedRyan… https://t.co/uKrgI9dDPT1GA@MaggieRobinssonThis is one of the saddest news there is twitter.com/Some1NamedRyan…Ryan@Some1NamedRyanAnett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain"218Anett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain" https://t.co/PnjQZp9mfFThis is one of the saddest news there is twitter.com/Some1NamedRyan…d | #13 soon 🤭@igashviontekthis is sad and should be a reminder to people not to judge or jump to conclusions when it comes to a players results twitter.com/some1namedryan…Ryan@Some1NamedRyanAnett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain"138Anett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain" https://t.co/PnjQZp9mfFthis is sad and should be a reminder to people not to judge or jump to conclusions when it comes to a players results twitter.com/some1namedryan…Musab@Musab_AbidThis is so sad to hear. Hope Kontaveit can minimise the pain as much as possible, irrespective of whether she returns to the top or not. twitter.com/some1namedryan…Ryan@Some1NamedRyanAnett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain"91Anett provided an update on her back injury and it's not good news."It's something that I probably won't be able to completely get rid of. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain" https://t.co/PnjQZp9mfFThis is so sad to hear. Hope Kontaveit can minimise the pain as much as possible, irrespective of whether she returns to the top or not. twitter.com/some1namedryan…"This doesn't rule out the possibility of playing the top sport, but it does require very careful monitoring" - Anett Kontaveit's orthopedic surgeonAnett Kontaveit in action at the 2023 Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open - Day 3.Mihkel Mardna, Anett Kontaveit's orthopedic surgeon, recently stated that while this injury does not rule out the possibility of her playing at her best, it does necessitate very careful monitoring of the exercises."It will stay with the athlete for the rest of her career. It can be controlled by special therapeutic exercises that need to be done on a daily basis like training the core muscles of the body, the abdominal and back muscles," he said."This doesn't rule out the possibility of playing the top sport, but it does require very careful monitoring of the exercises and perhaps adjustments to the training," he added.After rising to World No. 2 last year, Kontaveit has slipped to No. 61 in the rankings now.