At 45 years of age, Japanese player Kimiko Date-Krumm has had an unprecendented career. The WTA player has broke age boundaries as she enjoys competing on the world's biggest stages. Last week she underwent a knee surgery that was not completely successful. An arthroscopy was performed and it is deemed that she will need to have another procedure regarding her meniscus if she wants any chance to keep playing. She has not decided if she will have the surgery yet.
Date-Krumm's last match came in this year's Australian Open qualifying where she lost 2-6, 7-6, 4-6 to Amandine Hesse of France. The nagging problems began persisting during her match which affected her performance. It is remarkable she has not had more set backs at her age as she has been playing on the tour in both singles and doubles for a very long time. Tennis has become a more physical sport but recovery processes have improved so you cannot completely rule out the 45 year old from making a return.
The Japanese player has made it clear that she loves competing on the court and will miss the game if she cannot play anymore.
"As an athlete, it will be beyond tough to live life without taking part in sport," Date-Krumm said. "If I decide to have surgery again, it's unavoidable that it will take a long time for me to come back. I want to think long and hard before deciding on the best possible option."
Date-Krumm Is A Player To Be Remembered
At this point, it could be the veteran's last times playing professionally. If so, the current world number 199 should be remembered and respected by her peers. Her career has been defined as one of sheer perserverance and excellence. She reached a career high of number four in the world in singles in 1995 and made her Grand Slam debut in the 1989 French Open. Date-Krumm also is an owner of eight singles titles and six doubles titles. She has posted an amazing 447 singles wins on tour and a respectable 184 doubles wins. In 1997, she decided to leave the game but made a comeback 12 years later at the age of 37. Her years after her comeback have been filled with great moments, her doubles game flourished as she made the semifinals of the US Open in 2014.
It is safe to say Date-Krumm should be proud of herself regardless of what happens from here on out. If she can keep going it would be amazing as she gets closer to the half century mark in age. Best of luck to Date-Krumm, the tour is better with her in it.