Milos Raonic must be having some terrible flashbacks at the moment. He started 2015 well before the season was ruined by injuries. His start to 2016 was a dream, claiming a title over Roger Federer in Brisbane and reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open. Now however, there is a sense of déjà-vu.
An injury to his right adductor wrecked that campaign in Melbourne and forced him to withdraw from Delray Beach. Two weeks later, Raonic still has yet to resume practicing and there is no timetable for his return.
Road to Recovery
Raonic has been working out off the court over the past few weeks, but it still waiting for clearance from doctors to return to on-court training. The big-serving Canadian explained “I’ve been able to push myself somewhat in the fitness aspect of it and now I have to see how it translates to the court.”
During that semifinal in Melbourne against Andy Murray, Raonic suffered a two centimeter tear in the adductor in his right leg. After the injury, he was unable to push off of his right leg. While strength training has been successful so far, Raonic has not been able to do any hitting since Melbourne.
Despite the disappointment in Melbourne, Raonic is remaining optimistic, saying “I wish I could have pushed even further in Australia. But I believe in upcoming events I’ll have even more opportunity to do even better.”
Next Steps
Just because he has not been able to hit any tennis balls lately, does not mean that Raonic has not been busy over the last few weeks. The 6’5 Canadian participated in the NBA Celebrity All-Star Game in Toronto. The Canadian showed no ill-effects from the injury, even throwing down the game’s lone dunk. The fact that Raonic was able to play basketball, a game that involves a lot of pushing off with the legs, is a good sign for his recovery.
Raonic is next scheduled to play at the ATP 500 event in Acapulco. While nothing is confirmed, Raonic is optimistic that he will be ready to go when the tournament starts on February 22nd. He will need to get some time in on the practice court before resuming his season. Raonic is 9-1 in 2016 with one title and two top five wins. Only Novak Djokovic has a better record so far in 2016.