Tatiana Golovin, the former world No. 12 has sensationally announced a comeback on the tour after an absence of 11 years from the sport. She may be back on the courts competing as soon as next month coming on the back of Kim Clijsters’ announcement that she would be coming back next year too.
The French tennis player was unfortunate in her career as she was plagued with injuries and disease, forcing her out of the sport at a very young age and just when she seemed to be at the peak of her powers.
She was just 20 years old when a disease called ankylosing spondylitis forced her to retire from the sport in 2008. It is a form of arthritis that inflames the vertebrae causing severe pain and discomfort. But now with possible solutions to the problem, she is able to get back to the sport.
Golovin said:
“In the last 18 months I’ve been asked on several occasions to talk about it, and in speaking with doctors, I learned that there were treatments that could possibly allow me to come back.”
The Russian-born French player was making a name for herself in the sport before she was forced to quit. In 2004, ranked No. 354, she made the fourth round of the Australian Open as a wildcard entrant.
She then went on to win the mixed-doubles title at Roland Garros alongside compatriot Richard Gasquet. She made a jump from No. 355 in the world to No 27 by the end of 2004.
Her meteoric rise continued in the next few years. In 2007, she won her first couple of WTA titles, beating Nadia Petrova in the final of the Amelia Island Open and then overpowering Katarina Srebotnik at the Slovenia Open. Golovin also made five other WTA singles finals, including two in 2007 itself both lost both to Justin Henine in the final.
She finished the US Open with a ranking of No. 19 and then went on to achieve her career-best ranking of No. 12 in February of 2008. However, just three months after that, the rising star was out of the sport.
Golovin has since made a career in tennis broadcasting, but is now on the verge of coming back to the courts as a player. Still just 31-years-old, and a mother of two, she certainly has the time to make an impact again.
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