Women's Tennis Blog

Category: Jennifer Brady

Jennifer Brady surgery update: “Everything went extremely well.”

Jennifer Brady is unfortunately having yet another extended injury layoff, but the good news is that her recent knee surgery “went extremely well.”

Just six months after ending an injury hiatus that lasted almost two years, Brady is forced to step away from competitive tennis for yet another long period, due to a knee injury she picked up during the 2023 off-season.

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“With this surgery, I will be out for quite some time as the recovery and rehab process is extensive,” Brady explained on January 18, when she disclosed that she would not start the 2024 season. Recently, the American shared photos from her hospital bed to update us on her condition, indicating that the surgery was super successful. Additionally, she expressed gratitude to the doctor who performed the procedure.

The 28-year-old Brady shared a lighthearted Instagram vs. Reality post, in which she complimented her colleague Ajla Tomljanovic on her post-operation appearance. The Australian had recently undergone surgery to remove uterine fibroids.

The former world No.13 Brady made a return to the courts last summer, participating in six tournaments following knee and foot injuries that had kept her sidelined since August 2021. The standout performance of her brief comeback was the third round of the US Open, an event where she had previously reached the semifinals in 2020.

February 8, 2024
Jennifer Brady hits with young tennis campers ahead of US Open

As she’s getting ready to play the US Open for the first time since making the semifinals there in 2020, Jennifer Brady and her racquet sponsor Babolat organized an on-court event at Court16 FiDi in New York where the American WTA star hit with journalists and young tennis campers.

Playing with her Babolat Pure Aero, Brady put a select group of media members through drills, gave them tips for improving their game, and let them experience her big forehand. Following this, the 2021 Australian Open finalist hit with young tennis campers and held a question and answer session.

After major injury struggles that put her in “a very dark place,” the 28-year-old Brady finally played her first WTA event since 2021 Cincinnati at the 2023 Mubadala Citi DC Open. The American proceeded to play two more tournaments, securing notable victories over Anhelina Kalinina and Grand Slam champion Jelena Ostapenko.

Brady is returning to the US Open with a protected ranking of No.14. Her opponent in the first round will be a qualifier.

August 26, 2023
Where is Jennifer Brady? She’s making a comeback at the Mubadala Citi DC Open!

After major injury struggles that put her in “a very dark place,” Jennifer Brady is ready to play her first WTA event since 2021 Cincinnati. The former world No.13 American will play this week’s Mubadala Citi DC Open on a protected ranking.

What happened to Jennifer Brady?

Chronic foot and knee injuries that had no recovery timeline put Brady in an extremely difficult situation, both physically, mentally, and financially, as she revealed in an interview with Christopher Clarey. There were times when she had no energy to train, since it was hard to find motivation when there was no comeback in sight. In her darkest moments, she would just lie on the floor and cry. Costly doctor’s visits and lack of income only added to the pressure and mysery. What helped her stay afloat financially were her big checks earned shortly before her injury layoff, when she reached the 2020 US Open semifinals and the 2021 Australian Open final.

Friendship with Mackenzie McDonald

Besides receiving psychological help from the WTA, Brady has also leaned on her long-time friend Mackenzie McDonald, an ATP player that she has known since they were juniors. Brady says that he is like her brother and she’s even lived at his place since selling her house in November, as she found it very hard to be alone all the time.

Comeback

Brady was supposed to make a comeback at the 2023 French Open, but a new right foot injury forced her to withdraw from the Grand Slam. She then decided to skip the grass-court events and return for the summer hard-court season.

The 28-year-old played her first competitive match on July 18 at an ITF $100,000 tournament in Granby, Canada, where she won one match. Now she’s ready to return to the Hologic WTA Tour, at a new WTA 500 event, the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington D.C. In singles, her first opponent will be Anhelina Kalinina, while in doubles she’s teamed up with Madison Keys and they will face Petra Martic and Maria Sakkari in the opening round.

“Lots to improve, and it won’t be easy coming back to where I was when I got injured,” Brady said, realizing that she may never again play pain-free. “But nothing in life is easy, right?” Training smarter and not harder is the approach she has now adopted.

July 31, 2023
Jennifer Brady joins lists of absentees at Australian Open

Last year’s finalist Jennifer Brady will not travel to Australia at the start of the 2022 tennis season due to a left foot injury.

The Australian Open announced that Brady would miss the event in 2022 and wished her a speedy recovery. The world No.25 American will also not play warm-up tournaments leading up to the season’s first Grand Slam.

The 26-year-old Brady joins the ever-growing list of Australian Open withdrawals, which already includes Bianca Andreescu, Serena Williams, and Karolina Pliskova.

The last tournament that Brady played was the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati in August, where she retired in the second round against Jelena Ostapenko.

The 2021 Australian Open was Brady’s first ever and so far only runner-up finish at a Grand Slam. She lost to Naomi Osaka in the final. (photo: Jimmie48)

December 19, 2021
Asics women’s tennis apparel and shoes for 2021 US Open
Asics has revealed women’s tennis tank, skirt and shoes that Iga Swiatek, Caroline Garcia and Jennifer Brady will wear at the 2021 US Open. The collection is inspired by the lights of New York City at night.

The 2020 French Open champion Iga Swiatek, the brand’s leading WTA representative, will sport the Asics Fall Match Tank, which features a modified V-neck and elliptical cutout at upper back. The item is made with recycled materials and includes multiple mesh panels for increased ventilation. The navy shade is called peacoat.

The bottom of the Pole’s outfit is the Asics Fall Match Skort, an all-around pleated design with a drawcord waist tie that provides an adjustable fit.

Swiatek’s tennis shoe of choice is the Asics Gel Resolution 8 model. These sneakers have made the Best Tennis Shoes of 2021 list, standing out in the stability/durability category.

Caroline Garcia of France and Jennifer Brady of the United States will wear the same apparel, while when it comes to shoes, the latter is opting for the Asics Solution Speed FF 2s, voted as best lightweight kicks in our 2021 tennis shoes guide.

MORE 2021 US OPEN WTA FASHION:
August 23, 2021
Mertens, Sabalenka, Pavlyuchenkova, Muchova complete quarterfinal line-up in Madrid

Third-round action wrapped up at the Mutua Madrid Open on Tuesday. Elise Mertens, Aryna Sabalenka, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Karolina Muchova completed the quarterfinal field in the bottom half of the draw.

Elise Mertens of Belgium

Elise Mertens upset Simona Halep on the Romanian’s favorite surface, recovering from a one-set deficit and then a break down in both the second and third sets.

Simona Halep of Romania

The 2016 and 2017 Madrid champion Halep was up a break at 4-3 in the second set and twice in the third set, at 3-2 and 4-3, but Mertens didn’t let the deficits get the best of her. Mertens showed resilience as her third-seeded opponent piled up a few too many errors late in the final two sets. The 13th-seeded Belgian rallied to win 4-6 7-5 7-5 in two hours and 34 minutes and record the equal-biggest win of her career.

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus and Jessica Pegula of the United States

Mertens’ quarterfinal opponent will be fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka, as the Belarusian raced past American Jessica Pegula 6-1 6-2 in just 52 minutes.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia

World No.41 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova wasted a match point in the second-set tiebreak and twice failed to consolidate breaks in the third set, but third time she was lucky and eliminated eleventh seed Jennifer Brady 7-5 6-7(8) 6-3.

As Moo’s Tennis Blog pointed out, this is the first time since the 2020 Australian Open that Pavlyuchenkova has won three matches at a tournament and reached a quarterfinal. Victory over Brady is the Russian’s third Top 25 win at the 2021 Madrid Open, adding up to her best wins of the season — over No.23 Madison Keys and No.9 Karolina Pliskova.

Jennifer Brady of the United States

Late at night, Karolina Muchova completed the quarterfinal line-up with a thrilling 6-0 6-7(9) 7-5 victory over 16th seed Maria Sakkari.

Maria Sakkari of Greece

The world No.20 Muchova has now improved her perfect record against Top 20 players this season to 5-0.

Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic

Here are the 2021 Mutua Madrid Open quarterfinal pairs:

Ashleigh Barty [1] vs. Petra Kvitova [9]
Paula Badosa vs. Belinda Bencic [8]
Aryna Sabalenka [5] vs. Elise Mertens [13]
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. Karolina Muchova

All the quarterfinals are scheduled for Wednesday. Action starts at 11:00 a.m. local time.

May 4, 2021
Barty, Sabalenka move into Stuttgart final

Ashleigh Barty and Aryna Sabalenka booked their place in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix final to set up their second meeting in just 25 days.

Ashleigh Barty of Australia

World No.1 Ashleigh Barty celebrated her 25th birthday with a come-from-behind victory over fourth seed Elina Svitolina to reach the Stuttgart title match on her tournament debut.

Svitolina was serving for victory at 5-4 in the second set, but Barty forced a tiebreak and recovered from 4-2 down in the breaker to take the set. Barty controlled the decider after an amazing break in the third game when she converted her sixth break point and took a commanding lead after breaking Svitolina again at 4-2.

In the semifinal, Svitolina hit nine aces to Barty’s one, still, the Australian prevailed 4-6 7-6(5) 6-2.

Ashleigh Barty of Australia & Jennifer Brady of the United States

Barty is also through to the doubles final. Partnered with Jennifer Brady, Barty defeated Vivian Heisen and Wang Yafan 6-1 7-5. Their opponents in Sunday’s final, which is scheduled right after singles final, will be Desirae Krawczyk and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands & Desirae Krawczyk

Lindsay Davenport was the last player to triumph in both singles and doubles in Stuttgart 20 years ago.

Simona Halep of Romania

Barty’s opponent in Sunday’s singles final will be fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka, as the Belarusian saved all three break points she faced and converted three of her nine break points to defeat second seed Simona Halep 6-3 6-2 in 66 minutes.

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus

Barty and Sabalenka are tied at 3-3 in their head-to-head record. Their last encounter happened just 25 days ago, as Barty defeated Sabalenka in the Miami Open quarterfinals en route to the title.

April 24, 2021
Quarterfinals are set in Stuttgart

Quarterfinal field was completed at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on Thursday. Jimmie48 is bringing us photos from the second-round matches.

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia

Sixth seed Karolina Pliskova hit 21 aces en route to a come-from-behind victory over former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko, who had defeated the Czech in their previous two encounters.

Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic

The world No.52 Ostapenko made nine double faults as Pliskova triumphed 6-7(7) 6-4 6-3 to set up a meeting with top-ranked Ash Barty.

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus

Seeking her first career title on clay this week, fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka swept past Germany’s Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-4 6-2.

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus

Sabalenka’s quarterfinal opponent will be Anett Kontaveit, who eliminated Sofia Kenin on Wednesday.

Simona Halep of Romania

Back in Stuttgart for the first time since 2018, second seed Simona Halep claimed her first win over Marketa Vondrousova, 6-1 6-3. The world No.2 was playing her first match since withdrawing from the Miami Open because of a shoulder injury.

Belinda Bencic of Switzerland

Halep’s quarterfinal opponent will be Ekaterina Alexandrova, as the Russian upset eighth-seeded Belinda Bencic 6-1 7-5.

Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia

Alexandrova is through to her first claycourt quarterfinal.

Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine

Fourth seed Elina Svitolina has now won her last seven encounters with Angelique Kerber, having defeated the German in Stuttgart today, 7-6(4) 6-3. The Ukrainian recovered from 3-1 down in the tiebreak and dominated the second set in every department. Petra Kvitova will be Svitolina’s quarterfinal opponent.

Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine

Jimmie48 also attended one doubles match. Ashleigh Barty and Jennifer Brady took out second seeds Zhang Shuai and Xu Yifan in the quarterfinals, 6-4 6-3.

Ashleigh Barty of Australia & Jennifer Brady of the United States

Keep checking back to Women’s Tennis Blog for more exclusive photos from the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

April 22, 2021
Photo recap: Tuesday’s first-round action in Stuttgart

First-round action continued at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on Tuesday. As usual, we’ll lead you through the day’s WTA happenings with the help of Jimmie48‘s amazing photography.

Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine

Fourth seed Elina Svitolina was all smiles as she flaunted her engagement ring during a press conference. The Ukrainian got engaged to fellow tennis player Gael Monfils earlier this month.

Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine

Our Jimmie48 made sure to capture a closeup of the ring.

Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia

Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova recovered from a set down on her main-draw debut in Stuttgart to defeat Czech Karolina Muchova 4-6 6-2 6-3.

Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic

Muchova is clad in new Adidas collection, just as doubles partners Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic.

Angelique Kerber & Andrea Petkovic of Germany playing doubles

The German doubles team, wearing the Adidas Prime Dope Dye Dress, defeated fourth seeds Jelena Ostapenko and Lyudmyla Kichenok.

Angelique Kerber & Andrea Petkovic of Germany playing doubles

The 2019 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix runner-up Anett Kontaveit recorded a comfortable 6-2 6-3 victory over unranked German Julia Middendorf.

Anett Kontaveit of Estonia

The world No.27 Kontaveit sported Lacoste’s classic elegance, the burgundy V-neck Spring Tank and a timeless white pleated skirt.

Anett Kontaveit of Estonia

For her chat with the media, Kontaveit made cute plaits and wore a girly pink cap with a large green crocodile logo.

Laura Siegemund of Germany

The 2017 Stuttgart champion Laura Siegemund defeated fellow German Mona Barthel 6-4 3-6 6-1 and booked a second-round appointment with top seed Ashleigh Barty.

Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic

Defending champion Petra Kvitova progressed with a 6-4 6-3 win over Jennifer Brady to set up a meeting with Maria Sakkari in the second round.

Jennifer Brady of the United States

Fifth seed Aryna Sabalenka closed the day with a 6-2 6-2 win over Zhang Shuai. The Belarusian introduced the pure black Nike Summer Victory Polo Dress.

Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus

Keep checking back to Women’s Tennis Blog for more exclusive photos from the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

April 20, 2021
Saturday at the 2021 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in photos

Several top players were spotted preparing for the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on Saturday, while the day was primarily marked by the start of qualifying action. Let’s go through some photos that Jimmie48 took in Stuttgart today.

Angelique Kerber

Germany’s Angelique Kerber is back at the tournament she won in 2015 and 2016. On Saturday, she was practicing with her coach Torben Beltz.

Angelique Kerber

The three-time Grand Slam champion Kerber was also busy signing autographs.

Jennifer Brady

Australian Open finalist Jennifer Brady took the court with her coach Michael Geserer.

Julia Goerges

Exactly ten years after lifting the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix champion’s trophy, Julia Goerges visited the tournament as a retired player.

Belinda Bencic and Julia Goerges

The 2011 Stuttgart champion chatted with Belinda Bencic and they took selfies together.

Petra Kvitova

Petra Kvitova took a behind-the-scenes tour of the event.

Andrea Petkovic

Andrea Petkovic was all smiles posing for our photographer in the selfie box.

Noma Noha Akugue

When it comes to qualifying action, world No.787 Noma Noha Akugue of Germany eliminated top seed and recent St. Petersburg finalist Margarita Gasparyan 6-3 6-4 in the first round.

Mona Barthel

Seventh qualifying seed Mona Barthel of Germany defeated Italian Martina Caregaro 6-1 6-4.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands

American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who won the Stuttgart doubles title twice, was defeated by second seed Varvara Gracheva of Russia 6-2 7-5.

Stefanie Voegele

Fifth seed Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland advanced with a 6-1 6-3 victory over German Anna Zaja.

Alexandra Vecic

I like this flying ponytail photo of Germany’s Alexandra Vecic. She lost to sixth-seeded compatriot Tamara Korpatsch 2-6 6-4 6-2.

Check back to Women’s Tennis Blog in the coming days, as we’ll continue to post updates from the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

April 17, 2021