Laura Robson frustrated as former British No 1 forced to delay comeback again

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Those who would love to see the lesser spotted Laura Robson back competing on a tennis court are learning that it is a question of hope trumping expectation.

Having withdrawn from the qualifying event of this week’s Miami Open, she has now removed herself from the entry list to next month’s WTA Tour event in Bogota, and the new target for her return appears to be the French Open in May.

That suggests she is going to be left with at least 16 months of catching up to do when her troublesome wrist is deemed fit for full tournament play again, having not played since the Australian Open in January last year.

Former British No 1 Laura Robson protects her wrist while out in London

Nobody is more frustrated about this than Robson herself, now 21 and without a world ranking. She would dearly love to be in Miami now, but instead is back practising over in Bradenton near Tampa at the IMG Academy. Perhaps encouragingly, she posted a picture of herself on Twitter doing a full, tendon-testing handstand.

Robson admitted last summer that she has shed tears over this hiatus in her career, which has proved longer than feared since she played her last match in Melbourne before eventually undergoing wrist surgery.

Here this week her manager, Max Eisenbud, issued a positive-sounding update while preaching patience: “I’m happy with the way it’s been going and she’s been hitting the ball great in practice,” he said. “ It’s a question of waiting until the coaches think she can play five matches in a week. It’s all about when she is ready to compete. We don’t want to put her in a situation where she can’t play a full tournament.”

Among Eisenbud’s other clients include Maria Sharapova, whose intermittent struggles with her shoulder have informed his approach.

“I learned a lot from the whole experience with Maria, and that’s why I feel strongly about not rushing it. Laura is still young with a lot of time ahead.”

Sharapova seems to have won her battle, but there are other examples of players who show just what a tough road lies ahead for Robson - and that on the assumption that she shows a full-on appetite for hard work that has not always been evident.

When she finally decided to go for surgery last April to repair a minor tendon tear she sought the advice of 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro, who has had operations on both wrists. She used the same specialist at the Mayo clinic in Minnesota.

Ironically this has turned out to be the Argentine’s own comeback event and on Thursday evening he lost 6-4 7-6 to Vasek Pospisil. 

The fact that this was just his second tournament in fourteen months after an abortive return in January shows just how infernally complex wrist injuries are for tennis players.

He was just delighted to be back on court: “It's not 100% free, but I felt even better than Sydney tournament in January,” he said. “ It's only two months after my second surgery and my left wrist. I feel better week by week, but it's still very early to feel 100%.

“Mentally you must be strongest enough to deal with the problem and get up every morning to do your treatments and rehab and stay calm, looking forward for the future.

I'm not hurried to be in the top 10 very soon. I want to play tennis. It doesn't matter how long it's take me to be in the top again.”

Being absent for a long period of time with any injury brings with it problems in a tennis world that constantly evolves. An example of this is 2010 Wimbledon finalist Vera Zvonareva, who was out for 17 months following the 2012 Olympics due to a shoulder problem that required surgery.

Robson has sought the advice of 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro

Del Potro made only his second tournament appearance in 14 months at the Miami Open

Since returning at the start of last year the talented Russian has not got past the third round at any event and her ranking still languishes at 153. She lost another first round here this week.

So it could be hard for Robson whenever she returns, although on her side is that she does have bags of natural ability and is a superb ball striker. That much was clear when, enjoying a rare spell free from injury, she became the first British player since Jo Durie to reach the world’s top 30 in the summer of 2013 aged only 19.

It might yet make more sense for her to wait until the season begins on more forgiving grass rather than arduous clay to make her return. When she does she will have a new clothes sponsor in Nike after being dropped by adidas, and will be coached by Colombian Mauricio Hadad, a former guide of Heather Watson.

The 22 year-old from Guernsey plays world No 15 Angelique Kerber in the second round while Andy Murray will take on America’s Donald Young.