Anne hits first ball in two months
British No.1 back with a racket in her hand…
Almost two months to the day since injuring her left knee in California, Anne Keothavong took to the court for the first time since undergoing surgery on August 11.
Under the watchful eye of physio Andy Ireland, and with coach Claire Curran (complete with bump from eight months pregnancy) and old friend and sometime hitting partner Will Herbert courtside, Anne hit her first balls at the LTA National Tennis Centre, Roehampton.
Nigel Sears, LTA Head Coach of Women’s tennis was the other side of the net to feed her balls and it looked like she had never been away. Unsurprisingly given the requirements of recovering from such an injury Anne took it easy, taking care to protect her left knee.
After some light ball work, Nigel let her rip at a few basket feeds. The ball sounded sweet and she said after the thirty-minute session that it felt good to be back on court.
Anne said afterwards that she would like to thank all the well wishers who have sent her messages in the past few months, adding: “it’s nice to know there are people out there who want me to do well.”
On the basis of her hit today, Anne believes if she continues to make good progress in rehab, can show that she is on the right track and has proved herself, she will be back in contention for a place in the AEGON GB Fed Cup team in February 2010.
“Knowing I have to prove myself gives me something to work towards,” said the British No.1, who was joined in the world’s top 100 this morning by fellow Brits Elena Baltacha and Katie O’Brien.
Come back to the site soon to catch the exclusive video of Anne hitting today and hear her comments on how it felt to be back in action.