Laura Robson will be about “patience” tomorrow when she makes her long awaited return to action at Wimbledon.
The 21-year-old, who was given wildcard entry to the All England Club, has been out of action for 18 months with a wrist injury, only making a return to competitive tennis at Eastbourne last week.
Robson, from Wimbledon, faces world number 101 Evegniya Rodina from Russia in the first round.
It was another Russian, Daria Gavrilova, who restricted Robson to just one game in a heavy defeat at Eastbourne – but if the same happens again, Robson will not be too concerned.
“My coach, my trainer – we’re all very patient, and if I don’t play well, then it is not the end of the world,” she said.
“We all learn in tennis that there’s always next week. There’s always going to be another week for me because I am injury free that is the main thing.
“If it doesn’t work out after this tournament, I’m going to play some challengers in America, but it’s going to take a while.”
Robson, who hit a career high ranking of 27 in 2013, missed last year’s Championships, having reached the fourth round in 2013.
But now she is starting from the bottom again, although she was out-classed at Eastbourne, she is just happy to be back.
She said: “I don’t think anything is worse for an athlete than being out for a year doing rehab.
“So even though last week I got absolutely pummelled, getting pummelled is better than not playing anything at all.
“I would have preferred to start at smaller tournaments than Wimbledon, but I am pretty realistic that my level is not at the point it was before I was injuried.”
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