Even if it will hardly put an end to the 45-year-old’s career, a recent knee injury will put it to a temporary stop as the injury as forced Kimiko Date-Krumm out from the upcoming French Open, the first Grand Slam Event she will miss (in main draw or qualifications) since her comeback in April 2008.
“Proud to have kept playing Grand Slams”
The Japanese player, who had reached her career-high ranking of number 4 in 1995, had already undergone an arthroscopic surgery in her left meniscus in early February but found herself in need of a further surgery in April.
In a statement on her blog, as reported by New York Times, Date-Krumm said she is “proud to have kept playing Grand Slams after a 12-year break, at the age of 37. Women’s tennis has changed from the ’90s, and it was really hard for me to adjust to power and speed tennis. However, I can enjoy my challenge more. On the tour, young players offered words to me with respect.”
Date-Krumm played her last and only match of 2016 tennis season at the Australian Open in Melbourne, where she lost to France’s Amandine Hesse in three sets; her last win in a WTA Tour main draw happened at 2015 Kia Korea Open in Seoul, where she defeated Ajla Tomljanovic in first round, before surrendering to third seed Sloane Stephens in second round.
Best results and plans on coming back
Her best career results remain the three Grand Slam semifinals in singles and one in doubles (the latter achieved after her comeback, in 2014), along with her title at Toray Pan Pacific Open (once played on the indoor carpet of the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium and ranked Tier I, the current Premier 5) in 1995, the year in which she reached her best career high of number 4, and she was still ranked in top ten at the time of her retirement, in 1996.
After her comeback, she claimed important victories against players such as Maria Sharapova, 2015 Wimbledon finalist Garbiñe Muguruza, U.S. Open Champion Flavia Pennetta, with the latest one being the upset of another Wimbledon finalist, Sabine Lisicki, at 2015 Bank of The West Classic in Stanford. She also can be proud of many memorable matches, the latest of them at 2015 U.S. Open's first round of qualifications against CiCi Bellis, an American rising star and 19 years her junior.
The former Japanese number one already moved to the Japan Institute of Sports Science in Tokyo to start her rehabilitation, which will probably be long, and will prevent her for a long time from standing on the court again. She hasn’t spoken about a second retirement; instead, she seems to have all the intentions to make her comeback as soon as she will be able to.
“I feel happy to keep playing my much-loved tennis,” Date-Krumm wrote in her blog. “I hope that young players keep their passion, regardless of age and playing years.”