Edmund all set to take his time on comeback
KYLE EDMUND is determined to be patient with himself as he prepares to contest his first grand slam singles match for two years at the US Open.
The former British No.1 is working his way back from close to two years out with a knee injury that required three operations.
After playing mixed doubles at Wimbledon, he finally made his long-awaited singles comeback at the end of July, winning his first tour-level match in Washington since the US Open in 2020.
Edmund, who is ranked 666th but entered the year’s final grand slam using a protected ranking reserved for those who have had long injury lay-offs, is still early in his return but is encouraged by how things have gone so far.
“The matches, the practice, overall my knee has held up pretty well,” he said. “I’ve been able to play matches. It’s been up and down, some weeks felt really good, some weeks not so good.
“There’s not been too much where I’ve had to stop but I’ve just had to manage it in terms of my load. But I think that’s sort of expected after such a long time out. And the reality is it is going to be a managing thing.”
So long had he been out that Edmund, who reached the Australian Open semi-finals and a high of 14 in the rankings in 2018, had seemed the forgotten man of British tennis.
He has been feeling his way back into tour life, saying: “The first few weeks when I played tournaments, it felt strange to be around the venues and just do the tournament things, like waking up on match days, getting on the bus, you practise two hours before your match, eating.
“Just all those little things that I’ve done all my career. And being in the locker room, seeing all the players again. It has been a positive. It is nice to be here.”