Luisa Stefani, 24, counts on having a new relationship with tennis – and even with herself – since September 10 of last year.
It was on that date that he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. She left the US Open semifinal match, in the doubles bracket, in a wheelchair, in what was the best moment of her career.
With a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics two months earlier, alongside Laura Pigossi, the São Paulo native thought the time had come for the big jumps. And suddenly she was back in the silent waiting stage.
With limited mobility in recovery, he began to immerse himself in the videos of the matches. The idea was to study the sport, get to know potential opponents in depth and also analyze possible partners to replace Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski, who accompanied her on the circuit and started playing with Mexican Giuliana Olmos.
“I watched a lot of games: Australian Open, Miami, Indian Wells, Roland Garros, even singles games. I studied the game, the technical part, with whom I can double. These are mental things that helped me not to be distant”, I told Sheet.
During the period, she also started a follow-up with Carla di Perro, a psychologist at the COB (Olympic Committee of Brazil). She also worked, with the help of physiotherapists and physical trainers, adjustments in uncomfortable points of muscular imbalance.
“I found ways to pass the time stopped to come back even better. I think I enjoyed the process, that’s the thing. I worked on what I had lost. I, for example, only played in doubles on the same side for a long time, practically I didn’t use the left. So, there was a big imbalance, and we corrected that”, he explained.
“The injury changes your whole life. It’s not just focusing on recovery, and that’s it. You have to ask yourself: how are you going to live after it? Working with Carla helps me to get that out and also to discover myself. I don’t like it. of victimizing myself and I want to allow myself to feel the new challenges now. I come back without haste, but I warn you: I’m hungry”, he added.
Hunger translates into clear goals. The tennis player wants to achieve greater projection in singles tournaments and has an audacious plan: to become world number one in doubles.
“My priority now is to get healthy again. Then it will be to establish myself well in the doubles ranking. My biggest goal is to be number one, that will give me more freedom to better reconcile the singles ranking. I will have to adapt. in Paris-2024.”
Before the crash in the United States, Luisa had already reached the top 10 of the WTA (Professional Tennis Association) doubles ranking, the best result by an athlete in the country since the list was created in 1975.
She is currently ranked 27th, one position behind Bia Haddad, with whom she has acted. In the last two weeks, Bia has won two WTA singles tournaments, in Nottingham and Birmingham. There is the possibility, treated as uncertain, of a new partnership with the compatriot.
“I’ve been talking with some options that have left me very motivated, this won’t be a problem. It’s more a matter of testing. Me and Bia talked, it would be wonderful to have a totally Brazilian duo. I leave this opportunity open, despite seeing it more focused on simple today”, said Luisa.
The tennis player also invested in court work with coach Léo Azevedo, who returned to the country last year after a long period working with basic tennis in Spain, the United States and England. He has coached Thomaz Bellucci and Ricardo Mello.
“Leo made me see many technical details, a more simple vision that I didn’t have yet”, he said.
Other everyday activities, but previously rare, such as exercising musical talent, watching series or simply being closer to friends and family, smoothed out, according to her, the process.
“What I enjoyed the most were friendships outside of sport. I discovered that all my hobbies were linked to it. I started to play guitar, listen to music and be closer to my mother and grandparents. The circuit is very fast-paced” , he said.
Luisa lived an unlikely script to mark the name of the story. She won the Olympic spot alongside partner Laura Pigossi after a long period on the waiting list, on the eve of the event.
During the trip, he wrote in a notebook of thoughts phrases that he would like to turn into reality. The most striking: “Play for love, not for the result.”
“It was the result of deep reflection and 40 hours of travel. This reflection has changed a lot the way I see everything, the perspectives. I’m sure I’ll use it when I compete again. I have goals, dreams, but this is much more important still.”
Stefani believes that, in July, she will have a more precise idea of the date of her return, initially scheduled for August or September. On the way back, little by little, she bets that it could become an even better version of the one seen in 2021.
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