'I thought my career was over': Birrell eyes Top 100 after injury hell
Not long ago, Australia’s Kimberly Birrell was wondering whether she would ever get the chance to compete on a tennis court again. Thankfully times – and indeed fortunes – have changed.
Birrell is this week competing at W100 Wiesbaden in Germany – the highest classification of event on the ITF World Tennis Tour Women’s – and following victory over Ekaterina Makarova is safely through to the quarter-finals.
That may seem a relatively modest return but rewind a year or two and Birrell was in the middle of an injury nightmare, battling to save her career following two bouts of surgery on her right elbow.
Between July 2019 and January 2022, she only played four events and won two competitive matches as an 18-month and then 11-month spell on the sidelines threatened to devastate her tennis-playing dreams. Times were tough.
“It was a hellish period, and I certainly don’t have fond memories of that time,” Birrell tells itftennis.com. “There was also a time when I thought I may not make it back, that tennis wasn’t going to be my path and my career may be over.
“I have really high standards for myself, and I wasn’t sure if I did get back whether I could play to the best of my ability, especially in terms of my serve, and whether I was okay with certain aspects of my game not being where they were.
“That took some thinking about, and I needed time away from tennis and my rehab. But I guess I had to think about what my life would look like without tennis, and I preferred the idea of me playing tennis.
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“When I came back last year, I wasn’t playing at my best, but I had to jump off the deep end. As time has gone on, my elbow has improved and my serve is now at a level I am really proud of. It is crazy to think I may not even have come back to tennis.”
Injury struck at a time when Birrell was beginning to announce herself on the world stage. In January 2019, while aged just 20, she had a giant-killing run to the Australian Open third round after defeating Spain’s Paula Badosa and Donna Vekic of Croatia.
Within weeks, she earned a recall to Australia’s Billie Jean King Cup team for their quarter-final showdown with the United States in Asheville, a tie which Alicia Molik’s outfit won as they progressed to the final that year.
Unfortunately, her injury horror then started to unfold and by the beginning of January 2022 she had slumped as low as No. 740 in the WTA Rankings, and it felt a long way back to where she was previously. Birrell, however, was up for the scrap.
The ITF World Tennis Tour proved imperative to her reintegration to the game's higher echelons and her rankings ascent. Indeed, she insists the ITF World Tennis Tour allowed her to “find her identity as a tennis player again”.
Birrell lifted silverware for the first time in four years at W60 Playford in October 2022, while she topped a podium again in February when she conquered all before her at W60 Orlando. She now finds herself ranked No. 113 in the world and on the cusp of the Top 100.
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“I am so excited about the future and what I may be able to achieve going forward,” said Birrell, who turned 25 on Saturday. “Towards the end of last year, I really started to believe in my game and gained some momentum.
“I also started to realise that I can mix it with some of the best players in the world, which is such a good feeling, and even though I am trying not to think about it, I am getting closer to the Top 100.
“I am trying not to put too much pressure on myself but, given what I have been through the last few years, it would mean the absolute world, not only to me but my parents and everyone who has invested so much time in me as a tennis player and a person.
“I really do think I can get to the Top 100 and, in that moment, I will be so glad that I was able to persevere while injured. In fairness, now that time has passed, I look back and see it was good for my development in some ways.
“I got to spend a lot of time in the gym, not just doing rehab but working on my entire body and making sure I built up a good base of strength. That has really benefitted me as I haven’t had as many niggles as I used to.
“The injury was tough, but it has made me into the person I am today and made me a real fighter.”
As she continues her preparations for Roland Garros qualifying, which gets underway on 22 May, it is safe to say that Birrell currently has significant confidence in her game and fitness, particularly considering clay is so unforgiving and energy-sapping.
There is much tennis to play before Roland Garros, however, not least at W100 Wiesbaden where Birrell is bidding to win the biggest title of her career, which would be somewhat symbolic for the gutsy Queenslander.
“I was actually born in Germany, a couple of hours away in Dusseldorf,” added Birrell, whose last full clay-court season was in 2019.
“My parents are Aussies but were living in Germany for quite a while. I have such fond memories of coming to Germany on family holidays and it holds a special place within my heart. I love Germany.”
That affection will surely only grow should Birrell continue to impress in Wiesbaden and put further distance between her and the injury agony which de-railed her burgeoning career. Whatever the outcome, she would appear back on track.