2023 might be the year of the Rabbit in Chinese culture but in tennis, it's the year of returns apparently as Kevin Anderson is coming back to the ATP Tour.
Unless you've been living under a rock, you might have noticed that we've seen an influx of former players making a comeback to tennis. Not long ago Milos Raonic shockingly came back to tennis after being away for a very long time.
He never effectively retired so it doesn't really count, but one who did was Caroline Wozniacki. She's coming back too as announced recently. Juan Martin Del Potro is possibly coming back later this year at the US Open though that will only be to properly say goodbye at the only Grand Slam event he ever won.
They're not the only ones as Kevin Anderson is coming back as well. The former Wimbledon finalist is planning to make a comeback at the Newport Open which will be played in the week after Wimbledon. Anderson received a wild card entry into the event and will play his first event since last year's Miami Open which was the last one he played.
I’m thrilled to make my return to the Tour in Newport. Winning the Infosys Hall of Fame Open in 2021 was a special moment for me. I couldn’t think of a better place to make my comeback, and I’m excited to hit the grass once again.”
Yes, the former world number 5 is a former champion in Newport and will make his return at the event presumably playing all the events that come after it including the US Open. He will need to rely on wild cards to enter those events unless he opts to play qualifiers.
Explaining the reasons for his comeback, Anderson noted that he retired because his body was in a lot of pain. Tennis wasn't enjoyable anymore but he's feeling really good right now and was excited by some of the things he did on the court after stepping on it again.
When I retired, it was tough. I was dealing with a lot of physical pain. Just a lot of parts of the body were really making it difficult to compete the way I wanted to, but also emotionally and mentally it was very challenging and I felt like I needed to stop playing.
A couple of months ago I started hitting again and just really enjoyed being out there. My body felt much better and what I was doing with the tennis ball was really exciting to me and made me want to challenge myself again. I didn’t know if I’d have that opportunity but fortunately, Newport has given me one, so I wanted to go out there and play again.
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