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Anett Kontaveit was back on the practice court last week and this Monday she defeated Isabella Kruger 6-1 6-2 to clinch a win for Estonia against South Africa in a Billie Jean King Cup Group ll. Kontaveit, 27, was playing her first match since early February.
After exiting early in Abu Dhabi, Kontaveit announced on Instagram that she back was still causing her pain and discomfort. In her message, Kontaveit announced she would skip Doha and Dubai but remained hopeful she would be able to play Indian Wells and Miami - the Estonian didn't manage to recover in time for the Sunshine Double.
But Kontaveit returned to the practice court last week. This Monday, Kontaveit made her return to court after being out for two months.
Anett Kontaveit, who was world number 2 less than a year ago but is now outside the top 60, comes back to the tour with a nice @BJKCup win:
6-1, 6-2 over Isabella Kruger (365) to clinch the win for Estonia in this round robin tie vs.South Africa.
Nice to see her back! pic.twitter.com/2BS0wzmOzT — José Morgado (@josemorgado) April 10, 2023
Kontaveit will 'probably never fully recover' from the back issue
After starting the 2023 season with a 2-4 record, Kontaveit revealed her back was still giving her problems.
"Hii. Just wanna keep you guys posted. It has been a tough beginning for 2023. I have been feeling my back in most matches that I have played since October last year. I have been trying to help myself and get treatment and work out as much as possible but for some reason this thing has been coming back every time I play competitively," Kontaveit said in February.
In mid-March, Kontaveit shared more details regarding her lingering back injury. "More precisely, my injury is the degenerative changes of the lumbar discs of the spine and irritation of the adductors of the left thigh due to previous trauma.
I am treating it with special exercises and physiotherapy, I am helped by [physiotherapists] Toms Zvonkovs and Lauri Ott. It's something that I probably won't be completely free of anymore. But it can (hopefully) be controlled well enough so that I can continue to play without pain," Kontaveit said in an email interview to Delfi and Eesti Päevaleh. When Kontaveit returns, her top priority will be to stay healthy.