17/08/2023 20:01hs.
Anna Chakvetadze (today without ranking), which became the number 5 in the world in 2007, returned to the slopes after retiring 11 years due to chronic back problems. The 36-year-old Russian, who had recently worked as a television commentator, played her first doubles match since 2012, when she participated in a W15 category tournament in Luxembourg.
Anna Chakvetadze plays again.
Chakvetadze, who could not play singles matches, since he did not receive the necessary invitation, fell in doubles on his return to the slopes, forming a pair with the Luxembourger Laura Palumbo before his compatriot Polina Bakhmutkina and the Belgian Chelsea Vanhoutteby 6-4 y 6-4. The Russian, who has won eight titles throughout her career, has also signed up to compete in several minor tournaments to be held in Belgium in August.
In his prime, Chakvetadze reached the semifinals of the US Open in 2007 and twice won the Federation Cup with Russia in 2007 and 2008. His last match was played in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, in September 2012.
The reason for the withdrawal
On the night of December 17, 2007, the Russian press had reported that the reason Chakvetadze’s career took a sharp downturn was due to the assault that he suffered at the hands of unknown persons at his home in Moscow. The robbery left consequences so much physical as psychological.
Chakvetadze playing in 2007.
She herself spoke about the subject in some interviews and said that she even feared for her life: “I thought those were my last moments, it seemed the end for me,” he confessed.
It was believed that the thieves were looking for a Rolex watches that they had given the tennis player at an exhibition the day before. They entered through the garage, hit the father with a pistol on the head, and they tied her with some ropes; so strong that he lost feeling in some parts of his body for a few days.
“What happened had a very strong impact on my career. As a result of that, everything began to fall apart. It was the hardest day of my entire life. That year (2007) I was being incredible until that night, when everything went wrong.
Anna Chakvetadze said that it was the worst day of her life.
The violent assault that both she and her family suffered caused her tension and stress, and although she tried to play again after that horrible event, she could not do it normally. She couldn’t finish the matches because collapsed and ran out of energy. Finally, in 2012 he suffered the back injurywhich the analyzes showed to be chronicfor which he said goodbye to the sport at just 25 years of age.
In the middle of the stoppage, he paired up with a Swiss-Ukrainian lawyer and businessman, with whom had a daughter in 2018so he made the decision to emigrate to kyiv.
It is not the first major return in women
Just like the Russian Chakvetadze, the Japanese Kimiko Date He also retired and returned to tennis in 2008, at the age of 37, after 12 year hiatusreturn in which he managed to win a title and reach several finals in Seoul, Quanzhou, Gifu and Dubai.
Date is another of those who returned from a long retreat.
2023-08-17 20:01:50
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