Bradley Klahn shares his thoughts with Team HOTSHOT before he competes in the 2022 French Open tennis championship.
Before Roland Garros, It had been over nineteen months since I last competed on the ATP Tour. After undergoing my third back surgery in December 2020, there was much uncertainty about my ability to return to professional tennis. Through months and months of rehab, I gave myself a chance to hit again and stepped foot on a court in January 2022 with a renewed determination to make my return to the tour a reality.
Each month since January has been a progressive step forward, increasing the load my body can withstand until I reached my normal training volume in early March.
What did I do to prepare my body?
Physio
The day of the week was often blurry, with each day looking monotonously similar. 30-45 minutes at the start of the day on the physio table to make sure all the joints were mobile and my muscles loose.
Gym
I took my HOTSHOT for Muscle Soreness after the table work and 1-1.5 hours in the gym followed, consisting of a blend of weights, dynamic movements, and conditioning to regain some of the speed and strength I lost after surgery.
All this was done to prepare my body to maximize the 1.5-2 hours a day I spent on court honing the skills, strategy and movement I know is required to have a fighting chance on court against the best in the world.
Stretching
The day’s never complete without 30-45 minutes of stretching and a contrast bath (alternating every few minutes between hot and cold tubs), as well as a massage 1-2 days a week.
Pilates
Add in Pilates on the weekends to count as an “active recovery” day and you have yourself a typical training week.
What were some of the other challenges?
The schedule laid out above doesn’t account for the mental toll of coming back from surgery and asking the body to perform at the same level you’re accustomed to before the injury. Some days my body wasn’t where I needed it to be, and it turned into an unplanned off day, which was the toughest mentally because I would feel lost and like I was falling behind.
Some weeks I felt like I was back to square one, running through workouts I had done 2-3 months out of surgery. Slowly, however, those recovery periods shortened and I gained more confidence in my ability to adapt and respond.
After experiencing a similar process returning from surgery in 2016, I knew the importance of a firm date to shoot for my return. I had put in the work for over a year and it was time to trust the work.
I circled Roland Garros on my calendar.
Why?
Clay has always been my weakest surface.
Last time, I started at the challenger tour in qualifying, trying to build confidence by playing as many matches as possible in a lower-stakes environment. Now, I will be starting back on tour at one of the four majors on my weakest surface.
When I thought about this choice though, it’s the right and obvious call. This comeback isn’t about achieving a certain ranking or winning a certain number of matches. It’s about rewriting a story, creating a new narrative in a place that has been a struggle for me over the years. With this in mind, and my goal to break down barriers, what better place to do that than Paris?
As I write this from my seat on the flight to Paris, I’m overcome with emotion, realizing this day has finally come. I’m returning to the tour to do what I love for the first time in 19 months. The only goals I have for this event are to soak in every emotion and memory from this experience, stay healthy, and compete my tail off.
I feel that childish exuberance again that I had when I first started playing tennis. This is what I dreamed of as a kid growing up, to compete in majors. The road may have been bumpy, but I’m back and can’t wait.