SPORT JASON’S TOUGH ROAD Injuries take toll

Jason Kubler never takes an Australian Open for granted.

He knows better than anyone just how fickle life as a tennis player can be.

The world No.113 has ridden a rankings rollercoaster during his whole career.

It is part and parcel for an often injured top-50 talent who has world-class bad luck.

In April last year, he reached a career-high singles ranking of No.63. Four months later, he was struck down by another knee injury.

A strong run in Melbourne would boost Kubler back inside the top 100 to join eight of his fellow Aussies, including 2023 Australian Open-winning doubles partner Rinky Hijikata.

At 22, Hijikata has the tennis world in front of him.

After a rapid rankings rise last year, his eyes are set squarely on a top-50 berth and ATP titles.

He wants to be the best Aussie in the business.

Kubler, meanwhile, is no longer fussed about being the top dog.

After years of living a lonely existence on clay courts in Europe, he is happy just being part of the pack.

“Rinky is quite competitive, so I could see him thinking, ‘this guy made a third round, so I want to do something like that’,” Kubler said.

“But man, Rinky is so much younger than us, he has nothing to worry about.

“We all want to do well but I wouldn’t say – at least for me – that there’s a rivalry.

“For me it’s more … I want to play tournaments where my friends are at, and right now all my friends are in the top 100, mostly top 70, so I need to have good results to get there.

“Because of my history, I was playing a lot on clay, so I was mostly by myself as the only Australian there.

“I think something deep in me wants to be around my friends, so if that means I have to do well, then I’m going to try as hard as I can to do that and be in the same tournaments as them.”

Kubler made his Australian Open debut in 2010. For the next seven years he avoided Melbourne Park like the plague.

If not for his self-imposed exile, he might not be playing at all.

Seven serious knee injuries have conspired to cruel the former junior world No.1’s professional career, to the point where it would have been easier to quit altogether.

Count them: seven knees, two elbows, an ankle and a wrist. Kubler has spent almost as much time in rehab as he has on the court.

Born with a hereditary knee condition that weakens the meniscus around the joints, he spent four years playing exclusively on clay courts to minimise the risk of more injuries.

After his most recent injury last August, this time to his “good” right knee, he was asked if he considered pulling the pin. Silence.

For Kubler, quitting never been an option.

The boy from Brisbane has repeatedly pulled himself up by his bootstraps, doing anything and everything possible to continue playing the sport he loves.

Over a seven-year span between September 2010 and 2017, he competed in just four non-clay events.

Panama, Barranquilla, Biella, Lima and Dusseldorf claycourt Challengers felt a long way away from home.

The tennis prodigy once dubbed the “right-handed Nadal” at one point had just 14 cents in his bank account.

Yet through the physical, emotional and financial toil, Kubler has always found a way to stay positive.

When his career-best 2023 season was cut short by another knee injury, this time the left one, he was almost thankful.

“At least it wasn’t the other one but it’s been tougher than I thought it would be,” he said.

“I thought because it was my has ‘good’ knee, because I’d had a lot of problems on the other one, I thought this recovery would be pretty smooth.

“But probably by week seven, week eight (after surgery) it wasn’t responding as well as I wanted.

“I had the Turin doubles (ATP Finals) coming up, so I sort of put a bit of a deadline on myself, which was tricky to manage.

“Luckily we got through and were able to play three matches in Turin.

“Singles-wise it probably wasn’t where I wanted it to be but the past three, four weeks it has really improved.

“Now I’m playing sets and able to back up, which is good, but the journey has been a bit up and down.”

He will roll into Melbourne this week with a wildcard to the main draw and a smile on his face.

There now.

His incredible run to a maiden grand slam doubles title with Hijikata this time last year fuelled the fire to compete with and against his mates.

The pair will no doubt capture the imagination of Aussie fans once again.

But while his young doubles partner has a list of goals a mile long, Kubler is keeping things simple.

“Right now I’m really vague just because I’m coming back from the knee,” Kubler said.

“The biggest thing for me is to stay healthy. For my whole career that’s been the biggest thing.

“If I can play a full year without any hiccups, that would be pretty good.

“Once I know I can play as many matches as it takes, that’s when I can go: ‘All right, this is what I want to do today’.” are fond memories