Tímea Babos: My goal is clear, to get back to the top 100!

– What was the reason that you had to give up the final in Hamburg?
– Unfortunately, my hip hurt during the semi-finals, and we didn't think it was worth forcing the injury to recur. I knew I had to be careful, I knew I wasn't 100 percent fit, but I did the best I could out of the competition. My goal was to try out my legs and hips live under a series load – it was successful.

– Your finalist opponent Antonia Ruzic is only 18, which is why she is at the back of the rankings. What is your experience with her? Did you play well? Will we hear more about her?
– I think we're going to hear about her because she's young, sassy, and she's playing without fear, but she has a long way to go.

– Have you managed to gain confidence thanks to the four wins?
– I'm very happy that I played five matches because the match situation can't be perfectly simulated in training. The factors in a match are stress, excitement, the unknown opponent – I obviously somewhat already know my training partners – and the list could go on. Even though I've been training a lot, I've had muscle pain after matches, which proves the different nature of the situation. The total prize money for the tournament was smaller, with lower-ranked players taking part, but since I need a series load, we found this to be the right solution.

– Have you had the opportunity in the past three months to relax and think about the sequel?
– I've been asked many times what it was like to exist without tennis, what it was like to get out of the spinning-like-a-squirrel-in-a-wheel feeling. An injury in an elite athlete's life doesn't mean they are sitting still. It's not like I sat at home hanging my legs while I was being served. If I wasn't working on my fitness, I was doing rehabilitation exercises, and then I ran from doctor to doctor, from specialist to specialist, looking for a quick recovery solution as soon as possible. For 24 hours a day, I was wondering how I could recover and how to get back on the court as quickly as possible. It was a very stressful time psychologically, but the work did not end there – I have to take care of it in the future; I have to live with it.

– Have you found out exactly what kind of hip injury caused the problem?
– Yes, the main problem is that the labrum in my hips has been torn off, among other cartilage problems, and since there is no proper blood circulation there, rehabilitation is a very lengthy process. Surgery is not the perfect solution either, in fact, the success of the operation is questionable, but rehabilitation can be one year long, so this is also not an option for me at the age of twenty-eight.

– What is the condition of your Achilles tendon?
– A chronic inflammation has been diagnosed in my Achilles, but it's a recurring problem and has been around for years. Because of my hips, more weight is put on other parts of my body, which means it's a collateral injury, but luckily, I don't have a problem with that right now.

– Which tournaments will you be competing in this year?
– I'd participate in a tournament in France this week. I hope the pain eases a little bit. There's not much left of the year, but I'd like to play a lot of matches in smaller tournaments, so I'm ready for next year. December is questionable because of the Australian Open, but I think there are still a lot of question marks in the minds of a lot of players and even directors about the way it's going to go. The entry guidelines have been changed several times in recent weeks, I wonder what the final version will be.

– Do you know who your doubles partner will be in the main competitions in 2022?
– The negotiations are taking place. My plans definitely include achieving the best possible results in the doubles competitions.

– What do you want to achieve next year? What will be your number one goal?
– The most important thing is to be able to play through the year healthy. My goal is clear: to get back to the top 100. In addition, it would be nice to collect more doubles trophies.

Translated by Vanda Orosz