Over the years, we as tennis aficionados have become accustomed to the development of mononucleosis (also known as glandular fever) within tennis, more recognizably on the grandest of stages among professional athletes. Many a victim to this disease haven’t recovered, although it can be counter argued that a selection of professional tennis players in their own right have somehow reached greater heights in the twilight years of their career–namely Roger Federer.
After the news that two-time Wimbledon Champion Petra Kvitova is the latest to suffer from this difficult disease, it’s fair to say glandular fever is becoming more and more rife on the pro tennis circuit, especially when you add the extensional physical and mental pressure these tennis players are putting on their bodies on a daily basis–a supernatural effort in it’s own right.
Tennis and Mononucleosis: A match made in hell
World #3 Andy Murray once stated in an interview with Telegraph Sport, “You have to be so careful because your immune system gets run down. Glandular Fever is something everyone has to look into.”
This statement took place in the wake of British #1 Heather Watson announcing that she’d been the next high profile name to feel the disengaging symptoms that come with “mono”. Heather Watson, along with Roger Federer, is a living example that this disease can be conquered head on, with the right attitude and determination. I believe Federer was hindered by mono during the beginning of the 2008 tennis season, but eventually produced one of the greatest matches in modern tennis history with Rafael Nadal later that year at Wimbledon. So, despite cases like Robin Soderling, where mono has effectively killed their tennis career indefinitely, there are promising signs when you see high profile figures like Federer making Grand Slams finals seven years later.
So my question is can the 2011 and 2014 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova bounce back from this bout of mononucleosis quicker than the likes of Mario Ancic and Robin Soderling did? Glandular fever can be and is a serious illness, but sometimes it’s misconstrued that the debilitating affects linger day in day out for the rest of an individual’s life. In some cases that’s true, but not in every case. There are some success stories that not that many people would be totally aware of. Take, for example, Lara Arruabarrena, a Top 100 player in 2015 and still posting some good results on the WTA circuit. She was diagnosed with mononucleosis in early 2013 and thus was in and out of competitive action. After an early exit in Miami she’d eventually go on a run of losing 8 of her next 10 matches, stretching all the way to the US Open at the end of the year, so in effect glandular fever hindered her 2013 progression extensively. But after coming to terms with the illness she sits inside the Top 75 two years later.
On the women’s tour, players like Jarmila Gajdosova, Heather Watson, and Christina McHale are amongst names that have dealt with the worst that mononucleosis has to offer and continued to move forward, despite the brutal nature of the illness. Kvitova felt the fatiguing symptoms during the American hard court swing throughout Indian Wells and Miami, so she ultimately pulled out of those events.
Mono, often branded as the “energy zapping” illness, also has other symptoms including the likes of sore throat and fever that can last up to four weeks. However, the feelings of being fatigued over a long period of time can last for months, with players like Jarmila Gajdosova still dealing with those symptoms years after originally being diagnosed with the problem.
One positive that Petra Kvitova can take from this modern fiasco is that she now can grasp hold of a definitive reason as to why she’s feeling the way she’s feeling. Back in 2010 when Andy Roddick suffered with a mild case of mononucleosis, he talked about his relief at finding a reason behind his poor results and the way he was feeling. “It’s weird, the fear of kind of the unknown and not knowing what’s going on. So it’s nice to have a little bit of clarity moving forward.”
If Petra Kvitova’s individual case for mononucleosis is only of the mild variety, then it’s for certain she’ll bounce back as great as any previous mono-stricken champion has before her.
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