Stubborn Kyle Edmund: I’ve never lacked motivation despite losing a ‘small goal’ | ATP Tour

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Stubborn Edmund: I’ve never lacked motivation despite losing a ‘small goal’

The former World No. 14 talks candidly about an injury to his left knee, which required three surgeries

October 23, 2024

It took years for Kyle Edmund to wake up with a clear goal: tennis. It was the Briton’s childhood passion, the heartbeat of his daily routine and the driving force behind every decision.

However, a left knee injury prevented Edmund while he was in the shape of his life and his rhythm was broken. Days that were once defined by sweat and strategy turned into dull misery, leaving a void for the 29-year-old.

“So, besides playing tennis, it’s like what do I wake up for?” Edmund told ATPtour.com at this week’s MarketBeat Open, an ATP Challenger Tour event in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. “I just wake up and do it all over again.”

Edmund has tasted one of the highest highs a professional tennis player can experience. He rose to a career-best No. 14 in the PIF ATP Rankings in October 2018 during an eight-month period in the Top 20. That was the same year he reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and won his first of two tour titles. articles.

But the last four years have been a very different story. Edmund underwent the first of three operations on his left knee in November 2020. The second operation – which was the largest of the three – took place in March 2021 and the last operation was in May 2022.

It’s been a tough, sometimes emotional battle for Edmund, whose calendar has been marked with the word ‘rehab’ for the past several years while his teammates have been competing every week around the world. In 2021, Edmund did not play a single tournament.

“You lose focus, you start asking yourself what to do with all these kinds of things. “There are a few times when you’re just depressed and emotionally disturbed,” said Edmund, who also injured his left wrist in 2023, although it did not require surgery. “You have your family or the coaches around you to relax a little bit and say, ‘What a rubbish situation this is’.”

Edmund is now on his way back. Over the past two seasons, he has worked hard at the ITF and ATP Challenger Tour levels consistently outside the Top 400. He is currently ranked World No. 334 in the PIF ATP Rankings, his best position since June 2022.

Edmund is on course to play over 50 matches at all levels for the first time since 2018, a step in the right direction for the North Yorkshire native, who is hoping to play on the ATP Tour again.

“I never lacked motivation, which was good. There were times when I did not feel that there was any progress,” said Edmund. “Even if there is little progress, at least it feels like he is moving but there were times when I felt like nothing was happening and it was difficult. I knew but by doing nothing, I wouldn’t be okay. I was very determined to continue.”

Despite the often challenging times, Edmund’s determination was his greatest asset during his recovery.

“In my head, I was always stubborn,” said Edmund. “Stubbornness doesn’t help me in other things, but it’s a good thing to be stubborn with rehab because it was a big part of motivating me to always say, ‘Yes, I’m doing this!’ I will do everything I can to come back. There will be a day when I will return to court’.

A long layoff can tempt a former Top 20 player to hang up the racquets and try a new approach, but for Edmund, the sidelines reminded him of his love for the game.

“I think when you’ve been out that long, you realize why you did it. There’s a lot of opportunities to say, ‘I’m fine, I’m going to do something else now’ because there’s a reason there,” said Edmund. But I think the longer I held it, the more it showed me that I actually wanted to do it.