MELBOURNE - Sometimes, it is not the wins or the defeats that will motivate an athlete, but simply missing out on a chance to just compete.
Polish tennis player Magda Linette said that not having the opportunity to participate in the Australian Open two years ago because of a chronic knee injury made her more determined to reignite her career, as she prepares for her first Grand Slam semi-final on Thursday.
The late-blooming 30-year-old goes into the last four against Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka after earning a 6-3, 7-5 win over former world No.1 Karolina Pliskova on Wednesday, having never made it past the third round of a Slam before.
Linette withdrew from the 2021 Australian Open one day before her flight to Melbourne because of a knee injury that took 11 weeks to diagnose and kept her sidelined for five months.
She was envious of the players who competed that year, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, after spending two weeks in quarantine upon arrival.
"It was honestly the most painful experience of my life," Linette said after her win.
This story is from the January 26, 2023 edition of The Straits Times.
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This story is from the January 26, 2023 edition of The Straits Times.
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