"I was always willing to do everything possible to come back"

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What happened to Kyle Edmund has happened to many players. A talented tennis player, constantly improving, shining in a Grand Slam, entering the elite, raising expectations for himself and others, until an injury strikes and the light fades. The next step is the only variable depending on the player. Some never shine again, while others return to the main stage, although never at the same level. In the case of the Briton, it is still uncertain to which side he belongs.

"The days when I couldn't play tennis were tough; I would wake up each morning and ask myself: why am I getting up? Literally, my plan from the first hour of the day was to do some rehabilitation," acknowledges Kyle in an interview with ATP, where he explains in great detail what goes through the mind of someone who doesn't see the light at the end of the tunnel. At 29 years old, the memories of those Australian Open semifinals or the pride of being ranked #14 in the world are distant. Today, the reality points to him still being outside the top 300, with three knee operations on his left knee.

"It has been a very tough battle, sometimes emotional, too much time without playing a tournament," underlines the Johannesburg native. "What happens is that you start to lose a bit of purpose, you begin to wonder what to do and all that kind of thing. There are times when you are completely depressed, even tearful. The good thing is you have your family and coaches with you; they are always around to help you release that frustration, to listen when you need to be reminded that the situation sucks," says the current #334 in the rankings, someone who spent eight months in the top 20.

Everything was going well for the Briton back then, until he had to undergo surgery on his left knee at the end of the 2020 season. In March 2021, he would have to go under the knife again, even a third time in May 2022. Bad luck? Considering he also had to stop in 2023 due to a left wrist injury, it's clear that Edmund hasn't been the luckiest with physical issues. There were no shortages of adversities in his path over these last four years, but neither was the drive to get up every day and fight them.

"I never lacked motivation, which is positive. There were times when I felt no progress. Now it's different, even if it's small progress, at least you feel like you're moving somewhere. But in the past, there were stages where absolutely nothing was happening, and that was hard to deal with. However, I knew that by doing nothing, I wouldn't improve, so I bet on moving forward no matter what," acknowledges the winner of two individual titles, Antwerp 2018 and New York 2020.

ALL IN ON TENNIS, NO OTHER OPTION

And so time has passed, four seasons where no one talks about Kyle Edmund anymore, once seen as Andy Murray's clear successor, a role now held by Jack Draper (fingers crossed for his better luck). With all the scars from the journey, it won't be easy to see him back in the top 15 in the world, let alone in another Grand Slam semifinal. But his story goes beyond numbers. The Briton's case speaks of the value of never giving up, of pursuing a dream, of giving every drop of sweat until the body can't take it anymore. Until the mind says stop.

"I was always very stubborn in my head; that stubbornness has helped me in other things. It's a good trait to be stubborn with rehabilitation, I was always willing to do everything possible to come back," he acknowledges after so many years of sacrifice. "I dreamed of seeing the day when I could be back on the court. In the end, after being away for so long, you realize why you're fighting. Of course, there were moments when I thought about giving up and doing something else, but as soon as I lingered on that thought... I quickly proved to myself that what I wanted was to keep trying."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, “Siempre estuve dispuesto a hacer todo lo posible para volver”