Injury full stop after a steep climb: this protective rule can save knitters

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A lot has happened since Dominic Stricker’s (21) last match on December 1. Jannik Sinner, who is a year older than him, has been crowned Australian Open champion, his Swiss friend Leandro Riedi, who is the same age, has won two Challenger tournaments – and most recently Italian Luca Nardi, who is a year younger has defeated world number one Novak Djokovic (36).

While his generation is making waves, Stricker has to watch from home. At the NextGen Finals in Saudi Arabia he had to retire in the semi-finals in early December, and a little later he lost the Australian Open, where he would have been in the main draw for the first time in his career. An injury to his lower back abruptly put an end to the steep rise of the tennis star from Grosshöchetten BE. It is a bitter setback for the youngster, who celebrated his Grand Slam debut at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and New York last year – and went viral at the latter venue with his cool singing performance in the victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Stricker has been waiting for his comeback for weeks. His first attempts to return to Lille (Friday) and Lugano had to be postponed, and he recently also canceled Zadar (Cro). Now it says: nothing will happen before April. That means a permanent main draw ticket for the French Open is likely out of reach, especially as Stricker has now dropped to 118th in the rankings.

“Just not healthy”

It is better to wait and be careful, says the Bernese camp. Father and manager Stephan Stricker says: “Domi is still young – and it is now more important to get a clean line-up than potentially risk anything with his health.” Blick tennis expert Heinz Günthardt (65) agrees: “If in doubt, it is wise to wait a little longer, especially because the back is always a sensitive part of the body.”

Günthardt, captain of the Swiss Billie Jean King Cup team for many years and ex-professional, points out the fundamental problem that tennis players sooner or later develop with their back and hips: “Professional tennis is simply not healthy for this. The constant stopping motions, different angles and positions you end up in while playing tennis can really wear on you over time.

And Günthardt continues: “In addition, the side of the hitting arm inevitably gains much more muscle mass when playing tennis – just think of the left arm of Rafael Nadal (37). This one-sidedness leads to incorrect loading, which often leads to problems with the hips and back.”

Stricker is currently in a similar situation to the younger version of Nadal, who also struggled with injuries early on: “Completing a career 100 percent pain-free is simply not possible at this level. This means that you need to find a way to deal with your physical problems. The question is: how can I best do that, so that my career lasts as long as possible?”

“I hope they find the right dose”

In the case of Stricker, who has repeatedly suffered from minor injuries in the past year, it would currently make sense to let the back injury heal long enough: “The patience could pay off for him if he can do it again during his comeback and attack without worries . I’m sure his team will have thought this through carefully. And I hope they find the right dose for the duration of the break. Unfortunately, certain physical problems cannot be eliminated during a career.”

It remains to be seen when Stricker will actually return. However, if he were to be out for an extended period of time, there would be a lifeline at some point that would give Stricker support in his dire position in the rankings. “Then the protected ranking could become a problem,” says Günthardt. Thus the ‘protected’ world ranking position, which can be requested if the injury lasts six months or more.

If Stricker were to take advantage of this, it would mean that he would not play any more games until June. But for the next nine months – or the first nine tournaments played – he would be back at his old top 100 ranking, which would be around 90th. At least it would be some small consolation after the bitter end.

Source : Blick