The duration and outcome of a tennis match, like life, is totally unpredictable. For Vicky Duval, her continued progress on the WTA Tour and more importantly, her health, seemed destined to collapse. Incredulously, at just eighteen years of age, Duval would simultaneously experience immense joy and utter devastation.
Nine months after making a remarkable run thru qualifying to the second round of the main draw at the 2013 US Open (dft. 2011 US Open champ Sam Stosur), Duval would learn she had cancer. In June of 2014, on the eve of her first qualifying match at Wimbledon, she received the staggering diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Despite the distressing news, she courageously persevered and qualified for main draw play at the All-England Club. Displaying her competitive but exuberant spirit, Duval stunned the number twenty-nine seed, Sorana Cirstea in the first round before falling in the next to the young Swiss sensation, Belinda Bencic.
Unbeknownst to her and the global tennis community, that would be her last match on the WTA Tour. By September 2014, Duval had completed three months of grueling chemotherapy. She responded extremely well to treatment due to her excellent physical conditioning.
In late November of last year, she stepped on the court for the first time since receiving the diagnosis. Though she hit the ball with the same authority, her physical stamina had clearly deteriorated. Her muscles had atrophied considerably so she embarked upon an exercise regimen in a pool under the guidance of a physical therapist. After several months, the therapist was convinced she was ready to tackle the gym and a more challenging routine with a conditioning coach.
During her fourteen month absence from the tour, Duval utilized her passion for art as a form of therapy and in so doing, gained much needed perspective on her tennis career. She has come to view the diagnosis as a blessing in disguise and is determined to turn tragedy into triumph by inspiring other cancer patients and survivors.
Miraculously, Duval will return to the tour this month at an ITF event in Pennsylvania and has tentative plans to play the WTA main tour event in New Haven, CT. She intends to make her Grand Slam comeback at the US Open commencing on August 31st.
As far as her schedule after the Open, Duval intends to listen to her body and plan accordingly. In the immediate future, she foresees more Challenger events in the US as she strives to regain her physical as well as mental stamina.
Breaking into the top 100 on the WTA Tour was quite an ambitious goal for this tenacious young teenager but nothing in comparison to her resolve to defeat cancer and regain her health. Her remarkable attitude and passion for life make her a rising star on the WTA Tour.
Whether or not she surpasses her career high ranking of eighty-seven in the world is irrelevant for she remains victorious in the only battle that truly matters – life. It’s not the hand your dealt that defines you but how you choose to play it. Clearly, Vicky Duval’s first WTA tour title is several years away, but in the game of life she’s already a Grand Slam champion.