By Agathe Rigault
If she had looked up at her stars at the beginning of the year, Andrea Petkovic would have probably seen that the sky was getting dark.
Indeed, the German No. 1 in January saw her Australian summer come to a sudden end when she suffered a stress fracture of the back in Sydney only a few days before the start of the Australian Open.
Forced to pull out from the year’s first major tournament, the 24-year-old player spent a lot of time far from the courts, missing many tournaments from Middle East to the United States passing by Europe; including the Fed Cup tie that Germany lost against the Czech Republic.
When Andrea’s dark winter seemed to finally fade away – replaced by the light, white clouds of the early spring – and that she had got back to her position of captain of the German Fed Cup team, she twisted her ankle a few days later at the Porsche Grand Prix Tournament in Stuttgart during her match against Victoria Azarenka.
An operation later on torn ligaments in the right ankle, “Petko” as her fans are used to calling her, was officially out for three months. Exit the French Open and Wimbledon: Her 2012 season was suddenly reduced to an extreme.
With discretion, humor and humility, the German player kept her fans informed of her recovery thanks to her regular tweets but all along, a question had remained: would she be able to compete for the Olympic Games of London at the end of July? A press release on Wednesday announced that she wouldn’t take part in the event, news that Andrea herself confirmed later on her Twitter account:
“Really sorry to announce that I will not be competing at the Olympic games. I’m heartbroken and sad as can be but I’m just not ready yet.” A. Petkovic
If athletes are taught about winning, they also have to learn how to face unexpected events like illnesses and injuries; no matters how many or when they happen to be. Then it is all about time, patience, determination and work to go back to the top.
It is all about wisdom.
Thus, if Andrea looks up at her stars today on July, 18th 2012, she must know that the worst is behind. At her own pace and listening to her body, she is now on the right path – going ahead – where the darkness of the sky ends up turning blue. Bright.
