It is not the grass season that Tom Egberink had hoped for. The wheelchair tennis player from Dalen already lost on Wimbledon in both the single and doubles in the first round. “Of course I am happy that I could play, but you imagine something else at such a tournament.”
Egberink started this year with an annoying injury: a bursa inflammation. Yet he worked hard on his recovery, with the aim of being fit for Roland Garros on time. That succeeded. “I was happy that I could just play whole matches there.”
He had high expectations for Wimbledon. “Tennis on grass is my favorite. I was really looking forward to it.” But shortly before the tournament, fate struck again: Egberink was bothered by his neck and probably ran a tennis arm. Yet he decided to play.
“The ankle went pretty reasonably, despite the pain in my arm. But after 2.5 hours and two match points I lost. In the double party we paved my arm differently, but there too the pain played a role. Both games were close, but it was just not what I was hoping for. You could never have won a party.”
His ranking also got a blow because of the injuries. Egberink dropped from place 6 to place 11 on the world ranking. “That goes fast if you miss a few tournaments. It’s disappointing, but I am now following the advice of the physio and doctor. I tennis less at the moment and luckily it is going better.”
He lets the game in Berlin pass by, but in August he hopes to be fit again. “I have a few games on the schedule again. Hopefully I can play pain -free and really participate again. I hope I will be the old again soon.”