One thing that is almost impossible for coaches to prepare young tennis players for is how to deal with career threatening injuries. In fact, it’s not an issue confined to tennis alone. All over the sports world, athletes will tell you that injuries go beyond the physical, challenging players to reassess how they think, how they move and what their objectives are. Above all, to come back from a serious injury you need to be mentally strong, to have the patience to do the little things that will, one day, set you back on the path to recovery.

Mental strength has often been attributed to Andy Murray, with the Brit’s career often being characterised by stunning comebacks in plenty of “five-setters”. He has, of course, been injury prone, even during the early part of his career and has returned right to the top of his game. However, the most recent spate of injuries seems to be Murray’s biggest challenge of all.

Over the summer, there were some signs that Murray might be putting his injury concerns behind him. However, his recent withdrawal from the China Open has ended his season prematurely. Murray was candid about his hopes in a recent interview with journalists, speaking with his usually steely determination, yet quietening expectations that he can get right back to the top again.

Bookies raise Murray’s odds dramatically

Most pundits would agree Murray, now ranked as low as 243 in the world, is up against it to make a complete turnaround. Look how 888sport’s tennis betting odds for the Australian Open 2019 put Murray at 16/1 to triumph in Melbourne, around four or five times the odds usually put on the Brit for that Slam. Indeed, there are a few players between Murray and the favorites, Djokovic (7/5), Nadal (5/1) and Federer (11/2), in the odds. Does that mean we now speak of a Big 3, rather than a Big 4 at the top of men’s tennis?

Of course, some will point to the fact that Novak Djokovic too has suffered injuries over the past couple of years and, going by the betting markets, he is expected to dominate the Slams in 2019 and perhaps beyond. However, each injury is different, and, with all due respect to Djokovic, the Serb has not had to deal with the same kind of toll on the body that Murray has faced.

Old foe, Del Potro, an inspiration to Murray

Interestingly, the man who Murray pin-pointed as inspiration for making his comeback was not Djokovic or any other member of the Big 4, but the underrated Juan Martin Del Potro. The Argentine has shot back up to world number four after what he described as “injury hell” over the past couple of seasons. Cruelly though, del Potro has suffered another injury this month, a fracture to the patella that may keep him out for the rest of the season and threaten his Australian Open hopes.

However, any young players out there who have been blighted by injuries and frustrating setbacks should take some heart from what Murray said about his own hopes for the future. He said his focus on coming back to the game was not on regaining the world number one spot, nor to add to his resume of Grand Slams. He simply said he wanted to come back because he loved playing tennis. For anyone dealing with the mental side of an injury, it may be best of all to keep your love of the game in mind.

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