Kaja Juvan, the second-ranked WTA player from Slovenia, will take an extended break from tennis in order to give herself time to grieve the loss of her father.
Juvan’s father Robert passed away from cancer in December last year. Motivated by his wish to continue playing tennis normally even after his passing, Juvan didn’t take time to heal and played the Australian Swing in January. The former world No.58 won eight matches in 2023, including a semifinal finish at a recent WTA 125K tournament in Mexico. Now she has realized that she can’t push herself through the emotional pain and needs to take a few weeks, or more, off.
“I feel really tired and overwhelmed on most days from just even normal functioning, which makes training and competing sometimes feel really difficult,” the 22-year-old Juvan explained in a lengthly message on social media. “That being said, some days are better and some worse, but for now the pain and the sadness are very much there.”
As Juvan has acknowledged, the pain will never go away, but she will learn to live with it and cherish the memories: “No matter what, I am grateful for my dad and everything he has taught me in all the years that I got to spend with him.” Tennis is one of her favorite things to do and she’s looking forward to returning to the Hologic WTA Tour when she feels ready to enjoy the game. (photo: Jimmie48)
