A sight for sore eyes: Novak Djokovic is back in the gym just one week after surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion, who lost his top spot in the world rankings to Jannik Sinner during the Roland Garros games, gave supporters and admirers an encouraging update on Friday with a video that he uploaded to his Instagram account. In the video, Djokovic is seen balancing on a half-round ball, performing footwork drills, pedalling on a stationary cycle, and finishing various resistance band exercise circuits.
He scribbled simply beside it, “Progress.”
With his heroic performance at the clay-court major earlier this month, where he played nearly nine hours of tennis in back-to-back epic five-setters in Paris, Djokovic aggravated an already-existing knee issue. Become the youngest winner in Roland Garros history in the third round, coming back from behind to defeat Lorenzo Musetti of Italy at 3:06 a.m. local time. Two days later, he faced Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo again.
Despite hurting his knee in the second set, he prevailed in that match as well, going from two sets to one down in under four hours. He said that adrenaline and drugs helped him get through the match, but ultimately he had to withdraw from the competition in order to avoid missing his planned quarterfinal matchup with Casper Ruud.
The news of Djokovic’s comeback to training pleased more people than just his supporters. His teammates were ecstatic as well.
“Let’s go,” Stan Wawrinka said, emulating a flexed bicep, while Donna Vekic also encouraged Djokovic.
The Serbian has not yet given an update on his comeback to action, but media reports following Roland Garros suggested he would miss Wimbledon’s July 1 grass-court Grand Slam.
In an earlier social media post, Djokovic had promised he would return to the court “as soon as possible.”
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Barbora Krejcikova plays a cheeky “bakery” joke at her own expense in an attempt to find form.
Barbora Krejcikova hasn’t triumphed in a singles match since February, but her sense of humour hasn’t faded.
The 2021 Roland Garros champion posted a funny video of herself creating a delectable dessert on social media this week. She joked that it has been a difficult season and expressed her desire for a second-half reset during the grass-court swing and beyond.
In Krejcikova’s domestic kitchen, there were no bagels or breadsticks, but there was a blueberry cobbler.
These days, the only baked goods I can make,” the Czech joked in the caption.
Due to a strong second half of 2023 that saw her win both singles and doubles in San Diego, Krejcikova started 2024 inside the WTA’s Top 10. However, her season has thus far been mostly hampered by sickness and injury.
A back ailment kept her out of the Doha and Dubai Opens, where she was the defending champion, as well as Indian Wells and Miami following her quarterfinal performance at the Australian Open. She had what she described as a severe illness at the same time she was recovering, making it difficult for her to get out of bed. Her absence from Charleston and Rome was due to health complications.
Krejcikova, the previous Wimbledon champion, is entered in both Birmingham and Eastbourne. Not all Czechs, meanwhile, are wishing for a spark on British soil, including the former world No. 2. Karolina Muchova, who hasn’t played since the US Open last summer, is hoping to make her 2024 debut in Eastbourne. The Roland Garros finalist from the previous year underwent wrist surgery in February and resumed practicing last month.
The two Billie Jean King Cup teammates got back together for a training session in Prague over the weekend.
