Sabine Lisicki had to wait nine long years for this moment. After many setbacks due to injury and illness, the former Wimbledon finalist finally won a tournament again
Although it was only a smaller ITF 100 event in Calgary, Canada, Lisicki didn’t care at all. The Berlin native was simply happy to finally hold a trophy in her hands again and was beaming all over her face.
“I still can’t believe it. Almost 3 years ago to the day I had a serious knee accident, ligaments were torn, 3.5 hours of surgery, 19 months of brutal rehab,” Lisicki (34) wrote on social media. “Coming back and getting back on the court and playing professional tennis was almost impossible and yet we did it. Won the title in Calgary!”
The reward: Lisicki climbed 95 places in the world rankings, and the former world number twelve is now ranked 281st – still a long way from making it into the main draw at major tournaments. But the success in Calgary gives hope that Lisicki may yet return to the limelight next year.
The last time she won a tournament was in Hong Kong in 2014. After that, Lisicki had to take repeated breaks due to injury. At the end of 2020, she suffered a serious knee injury at the tournament in Linz, which resulted in her taking a year and a half off.
