Tauson has been dealing with debilitating back pain for over half a year, including two confirmed disc herniations, which have required extensive physiotherapy and often forced her to retire during high-profile events.
The back pain has forced her to miss or withdraw from prestigious tournaments, including the Miami Open, Stuttgart Open, and the Italian Open. Furthermore, multiple mid-match retirements and physical setbacks, including back and shoulder issues, have severely disrupted her momentum and seen her rankings drop to No. 24 after she reached a career-high world ranking of No. 12 earlier in the season.
Sune Donernowsky, who previously worked as a physiotherapist for the Danish national teams in volleyball and has more than 20 years of experience in treating injuries in the musculoskeletal system, says that Tauson is faced with a dilemma of strengthening her back while giving it sufficient time to recover from her recent struggles. Dombernowsky underlines that he is not familiar with Tauson’s specific injury but knows that she has been struggling with back problems for a long time due to two disc herniations, among other things.
“In general, you can say that in tennis, there is a lot of strain on the back. There are many twists and turns and strong forward bends. Matches are often long and exhausting, and therefore there is a great demand for the back to be strong, stable, and very enduring.”
“There are several possible approaches to treating a prolapsed disc. It can be both an operative or a more training-oriented strategy. Most people get by without surgery after a year, so that is always preferable if possible.”
“It can, of course, be a challenge for an elite tennis player to give the back the right amount of rest and exercise. It is almost impossible for Tauson to take a year out of the tournament calendar. At the same time, there is a risk that her struggles will persist if her back does not get enough rest. I think it will be tricky to reach a point where you can strengthen your back enough for it to endure all the challenges. Just like with all other injuries, there will be some scar tissue and some inflammation, and this means that the body must have time to rest and the scar tissue must be trained so that the body can withstand the stress that it will be exposed to once you start competing again. “
Tauson won the girls’ singles at the 2019 Australian Open and, despite several injury setback has enjoyed steady progress on the WTA Tour ever since her debut on the senior tour during the same year.
However, Tauson’s last win dates back more than three months to 6 March when she defeated Yulia Putinseva (7-6, 6-2) during the second round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, and she suffered her sixth successive defeat when she lost 6-4, 6-4 against the 17-year old Slovak Mia Pohankova who merely features as No. 280 in the WTA rankings in the Libema Open grass tournament on Monday.
Dombernowsky thinks there is a way back for Tauson, but her situation must be handled delicately. “I am sure the people around Tauson know how to handle her rehabilitation. In the beginning, there needs to be great focus on strength and stability around the back, and then gradually, training should be more and more focused on tennis. It's not dangerous if rehabilitation exercises hurt a little bit, but it’s of course important to respect the pain so as not to increase the risk of relapse or permanent discomfort."
Tauson will be in action again on Monday when she takes part in the grass tournament Berlin Open, in the German capital.