Jenson Brooksby underwent arthroscopic surgery in his native California to repair a 100 % dislocated tendon in his wrist.
Brooksby took part in only two events this year reaching the semi-final in Auckland and then getting to the 3rd round of the Australian Open. Seven matches in total so far is the result of a wrist problem that has been bothering him for a long time. Two years to be precise but it got exponentially worse in December when the tendon became completely dislocated.
I knew it was something that was pretty bad and I’d have to miss some time. I tried to take the conservative route with it but it was to no avail. There was still a lot of pain and it’s the last option, so it’s just what I have to do now.
Playing through it wasn't the option as the injury was getting worse so Brooksby ultimately settled on going under the knife. It's not the preferred route for any athlete but sometimes it's simply necessary in order to preserve the best outlook for your career.
It’s always tough to go through an injury like that. I felt like I’d had a good offseason otherwise. I was getting more in shape and had a good level, which I showed there. It wasn’t easy, but that’s just the competitor I am. Once I was in the tournament, I just wanted to do the best I could and see after that.”
Brooksby missed the Australian Open the previous year so he didn't want to do that again. Going against the advice of his team, he opted to play and it was going well until the 3rd round when Paul defeated his younger compatriot. It was a disappointing development for the 22-year old but it was a necessity.
I’ll just use the opportunity to get away a little bit, reset mentally and improve in areas I can. Once I’m ready to be back I’ll be as ready as I can to go and get back out there and climb up.
The recovery period is up to 12 weeks which means that he'll miss a good chunk of the season, probably most of the clay season. He doesn't have a set date of return because it's tricky to predict with wrists. Dominic Thiem is still having trouble getting back to his best almost two years after his wrist injury. Matteo Berrettini was lucky to return without any problems.
Brooksby himself is very motivated to get back onto the courts and compete. His game is built on confidence and he won't lack it in this comeback either.
I’m excited. I’m confident I’ll be able to get a lot of areas [in my game] better now. Obviously I’ll be very motivated to get back to where I was and climb even higher. I think my ceiling is really, really high so I’m excited to just be more independent and do my best to reach my goals.
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