Anna Fitzpatrick is easing her way back onto tour by playing doubles in the first two tournaments after 7 months out with a stress fracture in her foot. She and Stefi won six matches in a row winning the 10K title in Bath before eventually losing in the semi-finals in the Jersey 25K. These two results will take Stefi into the top 200 in doubles for the first time in her career and signal a clear intent by Anna to get back on the pace without wasting any time.

Anna will resume her singles career with three 10K events in Turkey, whilst Stefi will attempt a step up in class by playing a 100K in Belgium with an aim of reaching the top 250 in singles to give herself a chance to play Wimbledon and US Open this year. Inside 250 almost certainly is high enough to gain entry into the qualifying of the Grand Slams which is an important stepping stone in a players career.

David Sammel made these observations about Anna’s return to tournament play. “Anna had good presence on court from the off and hopefully this is a sign of a player who has used her time rehabilitating to also work hard on her mentality so she returns tougher and hungrier for success than ever. A forced layoff from injury can often offer a new perspective. The time out can fuel desire if a player realises how important their tennis career is to them and how fast time passes in a professional sport. I hope Anna is one of the players to return with a focused mission to succeed especially in situations where before the injury she might have let herself down. In other words if she is able to learn quicker than ever, adapt faster than ever and consistently show opponents how hard they will have to work to beat her, then Anna will quickly realise her fantastic potential. Anna has started well but it is alone out on the court playing singles where we will find out how much she has matured. A coach can only judge a player on actions. Work, talk and motivation all help but ultimately the player decides if he or she will use their talents effectively to succeed.”

The window of opportunity beckons for both Stefi and Anna right now and MCTA look forward to helping them take on this exciting challenge.