blob wrote:

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Some extraordinary mitigation notwithstanding, and there could be many explanations, particularly at this point in the season; that's a pretty horrible result.
But, Laura has only really played anything approaching well in two weeks in the entirety of her return in the period from Eastbourne 2015 on - those were really encouraging levels of play; Landisville & US Open Qualifying this year, but they vanished as quickly and unexpectedly as they came.
The baseline performance, taken as a whole, is still WR 500+.
So, perhaps this shouldn't be a surprise. It's actually representative of the underlying trend of the levels she has been achieving.
Re-visiting an old chestnut, it will be good when all the points on Laura's record are hers and hers alone, and the ranking truly reflects the performance levels.

Fervent wishes for a blank slate and reset in 2017.

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I don't at all think that it stands up that Laura's baseline performance for the year as a whole is 500+, it's quite a lot better than that even allowing for WC / PR help.

Today, of course may well have been, though perhaps her opponent did play well above her norm. And the fact that you called it a "pretty horrible result" rather does perhaps suggest that, even on the bare face of it, it was worse than Laura's overall norm. It does look horrible.

I think Laura was previously so good, and always seemed to have the potential if properly harnessing her abilities to be even better, and we want to see her do well, that there may at times be a tendency to make out she's been even worse than she has.

Anyway, I think we'd all agree that it's unfortunate that we are discussing how bad she's been when we do so wish her to do better. And she did look so much better at Landisville and evidently the US Open qualifying, she wasn't fluking it, she was hitting well and intelligently controlled, she was impressively running down balls and it is a real pity to of late see such a reversal in form again and / or belief.

As you say we don't know mitigation, but she's out there playing, evidently injury free, and it is not good at all. All the very best for a highly productive and well used close season. I have for much of her time out and back thought that there was a good chance of Laura getting back near where she once was and there have been these tantalising glimpses, and of course it takes time and that time is very variable, but at present I just so wish I could agree with Oakland that I think she will be fine. Possibly, but there's not a lot suggesting this. Worrying times.

It is now approaching nearly 3 years since she was first out and she has been back for about half that time in certainly playing again. Now I don't really subscribe to the rule of thumb that however long you are out then it takes you that time to get back to where you were ( if one particularly did, one should by now be getting rather worried, so far is Laura away ), evidence is that it is very variable, I'd say unsurprisingly so. But time matches on.

A lot does seem to be in the mind though and the mind is a strange and complex thing. Worry, but do still so hope. All the best, Laura.