16-year-old tennis prodigy Alina Korneeva started the year well with some solid showings in Australia, but she's been missing since and has now revealed why she was absent from the tennis courts.
Korneeva was part of the trio of young tennis talents who won main-draw matches at the Australian Open this year. Three 16-year-old players were able to do it, and Korneeva was one of them, joined by Mirra Andreeva and Brenda Fruhvirtova.
She actually won four matches at the event, as three were in the quarterfinals. Since the Australian Open, Koreneeva has only played two more tournaments, but hasn't actually played since February 10th, 2024, and nobody knew what the reason behind that was.
The Russian now provided an update on social media explaining what had happened, and it was an injury. She dealt with wrist issues, and ultimately, after numerous consultations and rehabilitation attempts, Korneeva made the decision to go under the knife.
"I missed the recent tournaments due to ongoing issues with my wrist since February. After tests revealed tendon instability, consultations with my team and doctors led to the decision for surgery.I underwent a successful operation in Barcelona. However, a challenging period of rehabilitation lies ahead."
"It’s uncertain when I’ll return to the court, but we hope I can be back for Wimbeldon. Thank you all for your unwavering support; it means the world to me! I’m committed to returning to the court even stronger than before."
As she explained in her update, Korneeva is unsure when she'll be back on the courts, which is a shame because it would have been good for the 16-year-old to keep playing and developing.
That said, being healthy is also crucial to development, so it's better to address the issue early and then return fully healthy. That should give her the best chance to develop as a player moving forward.