Sabine Lisicki is back in the Steffi Graf Stadium. Not as a tennis professional, but as a television expert. For the broadcaster “ServusTV” she analyzes the games at the new lawn tournament in Berlin.
Many fans in her home club would have liked to see her play on the pitch, but Lisicki is still a long way from that. In November of last year she tore a cruciate ligament at the tournament in Linz. Particularly bitter: She was only on the tour a few months after she had previously contracted Pfeiffer’s glandular fever and had to take a long break.
In Berlin, Lisicki shines as always. She appears relaxed and calm. “I’m doing very well. It’s always going uphill, ”she says. Even if rehab after such a difficult injury is “a long process”. But you always have to fight your way forward.
The last time she worked on her comeback was in Munich, but the 31-year-old Berliner-by-choice does not want to make a prediction of when she will be back on the pitch. “At the moment I’m free of pain, but I can’t go jogging again yet,” she says. She herself does not expect to be able to play tennis again before the end of the year.
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After all, your opinion is asked, not only on “ServusTV”, but also on “Tennischannel” beforehand. There she also took the audience with her on their way back to the tour. She never really thought about giving up or retiring, because “Tennis is my passion.”
In the world rankings she is currently only 642nd
In their case, tennis actually created a lot of suffering. In 2013, her star really rose when she stormed into the final at Wimbledon. After that, however, things went less and less well in terms of sport, in addition to private problems that were gleefully exploited by the boulevard.
Sabine Lisicki currently only leads the WTA women’s tour as number 642 in the world rankings; she once made it to twelfth place. She herself says: “I don’t want to be stuck in the past, I want to look ahead. When I can train again, I’ll be overjoyed. “
At the moment she doesn’t want to worry about what is possible afterwards. Instead, she prefers to talk about the tournament on the grounds of the LTTC Rot-Weiß Berlin, in which she is a member. She does not find it unusual that the favorites failed early on because of the dog’s throat. “It’s the first week on grass, and the change of sand before that is already significant,” she says, adding: “There are always surprises.”
She also saw good approaches with Angelique Kerber. “She played incredibly well in the first round,” she says. The match after that against Victoria Asarenka was “high quality”. You can tell that lawn is her favorite surface. That is why “anything is possible” for Kerber at Wimbledon, especially since she can get in shape in Bad Homburg in the coming week.
Playing on grass in Berlin is Lisicki’s big dream
A bit of sadness comes up with Sabine Lisicki. After all, grass is also their favorite surface. She was at least in the quarterfinals five times at Wimbledon and the fact that a tournament is now taking place on grass at home is an additional incentive.
“Here at Rot-Weiß I gave interviews after the Wimbledon final in 2013,” she recalls. Back then, she repeatedly emphasized how nice it would be if there were another real professional tournament in the Steffi Graf Stadium one day. Now that has become a reality – and then on grass too.
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She would like to be there again next year. There is little doubt that the tournament organizers would give her a wildcard. And then the grandstands may also be completely filled, it is a goal that is worth working towards. “I don’t want to come back too early,” she says, and it sounds like a reminder to yourself. Professional athletes who haven’t been able to pursue their profession for so long need a lot of patience. Lisicki knows that and she also knows what it is like to be able to play again after a long break.
Now it is important for her to get really fit again. “Sometimes rehab is like a roller coaster, there are also steps backwards,” says Lisicki. The fact that, as a television expert, she’s getting close to tennis again, brings her great fun. Actually, she should only take part in “ServusTV” for one day, “but now I’m in the whole tournament. They were happy with me and so am I, ”she says.
And she is also close to the big dream – returning to the Steffi Graf Stadium as a tennis player. “Then in the tournament next year,” says Sabine Lisicki. After all, she was and is a fighter.
