Week 19 - WTA Premier Mandatory ($7M) - Madrid, Spain - Clay

ROSAMUND · Futures level

Week 19 - WTA Premier Mandatory ($7M) - Madrid, Spain - Clay

flamingowings · All-time great

Cici Bellis has had massive injuries also. I do wonder if starting to play so early on in their career has meant they are more susceptible to injuries? Bellis was recently featured on the "Behind the Racquet" twitter/instagram account and it's truly horrific reading how bad her injuries have been.

Status Quo · Intermediate Club Player

Early on, Kiki had the same overreliance on natural serve and big forehand as Laura. They also shared terrible movement and considerably under-par conditioning and work ethic both by accusation, and in the former csae self-admittance.

Kiki, writtem off by every one as, approximately, 'nice enough, maybe top 50 player; but just a basher and never amount to anything', did something about it.

Laura had time to work on it before injury, and in the period injured, and well, ever, and did not. Contrary to popular myth, the period from her absolute peak in 2012, to that debacle against Flipkens in Melbourne 2014 was a long slow slide of atrophy during which precious little sorely needed development occured at all.

Kiki with similar game and failings from juniors to pro is what we would have hoped Robson would become if she had had a similar Damascene conversion, and worked as assiduously. Which she didn't. And then injury saved her the ignominy of having to try.

I realise that statement of that fact is not popular.

But, the good news is, and the thing I was highlighting is, that we get to see in Kiki now almost a fully developed Laura without her having achieved it herself. What could have been.

Nix · Futures level

I agree it's not a popular view of Laura's career compared to Kiki's from my perspective at least. Im fact I think it's extremely unfair on Laura. Laura reached her career high of 27 at 19 but just has hardly been able to play for any consistent length of time since. She's tried hard to get her career back on track with operations and rehab but then succumbs to another injury and has to start again. Kiki has had all those years to develop all aspects of her game while still playing at the top level. Every time she is interviewed, Laura is very cagey about her career, when she's going to be able to play again and I think she probably finds it all very difficult, and possibly even depressing. She has hinted at this in the past and which maybe is why she doesn't want to do a load of fitness stuff which may then amount to nothing.

It's very sad when players can't develop their careers because of injury. I feel really sad for Andy at 31, but at least he's been able to reach his peak and play for a number of years. Laura has had that taken away from her, as has the other players mentioned. I am also concerned for Katie Boulter who seems a bit prone to injury/illness too. I believe Laura deserves our compassion, not our criticism.

indiana · Tennis legend

I do have some concerns about how much time Laura invested in such as her movement, particularly in her long time out with her wrist injury. I have no true knowledge of what she was doing beforehand in her rise ( or truthfully at any time ), just that she was rising.

Just, while I guess not being able to test movement in match situations or even proper practice would be unhelpful, maybe more could have been expected in that area on her initial return.

But I do not see that "long slow slide of atrophy" from her best, while I agree that she was at her best in 2012 around US Open time. She still reached her CH 27 in July 2013 ( season end 46 ) and in that year reached the Wimbledon L16 and the Australian Open and US Open L32. So the results were still coming, if not always so aesthetic, and a slight drop in ranking towards season end was hardly alarming.

Then she didn't play again for 17 months following the Australian Open 2014 at just turned 20 yo.