Starting all over again

Once No. 48 in world, Bardina begins climbs back up tennis ladder in Palmetto Pro Open at PTC

Keith Gedamke / The Item Vasilisa Bardina returns a shot during a practice session at the Palmetto Tennis Center on Friday. Bardina, once ranked as high as No. 48 in the world before suffering injuries, will be playing in the Palmetto Pro Open, which begins Sunday at the PTC.

By PATRICK ENZOR
Item Sports Writer
penzor@theitem.com

Vasilisa Bardina had to feel nearly on top of the world in mid-January of 2007.

She had just made the finals of a tennis tournament in Hobart, Australia, with wins over two top-38 players in the world and made the main draw of the Australian Open. She rose up to No. 48 in the world and faced off against No. 8 Kim Clijsters in the opening round of the Australian Open.

Before she turned 20, she had played at all four Grand Slam venues. Now at 21 years old, Bardina is having to start over from scratch after suffering injuries, and it begins at the Palmetto Pro Open on Sunday at the Palmetto Tennis Center.

“I was ready for that,” she said. “It’s just a part of my life that I have to go through — again. If that’s what it takes, I will do it.”

A string of bad luck hit after Wimbledon in 2007. Bardina, who is now No. 1,021 in the world, discovered a stress fracture in her shin that developed before Wimbledon, followed by a knee injury and then shoulder problems which forced the Russian out of the sport.

“When I got injured, I had some other issues,” said Bardina, who resides in Houston now. “I was kind of thinking to stop. Then when I got injured I was disappointed because I didn’t want it. I took a couple months off and was in rehab for my stress fracture. I was looking at the U.S. Open draw and said, ‘I miss that. I want to be there. I want to compete with those girls because they are my friends.’

“Mentally, it is tough,” she

added. “You think, ‘I use to play there (in Grand Slams).’ For right now, the main thing for me is to just forget about it and start over. My advantage is to have that experince in climbing this hill to get to the top.”

She hasn’t played in a tournament since Oct. 14, 2008, but admitted that she wasn’t ready and just wanted to play. Her last win came in June 2008 and now she’s on a quest to regain all her points that she lost and climb the rankings once more.

“It’s just a matter of time,” said Bardina, who said she is at about 80 percent. “I just need to start playing tournaments to get back in rhythm and win, win, win.”

The PPO is a women’s $10,000 event on the United States Tennis Association circuit. Before her injury, the last time Bardina played in a $10,000 event was in October 2004 in Lagos, Nigeria, which she won as the No. 6 seed.

“It was so hard for me, so I said when I get back in shape, I’m going to start playing again,” said Bardina. “That was my goal. If it takes me playing $10,000 again — which I haven’t done in many years — I will do that.

“I knew I would have to start from zero again,” she added. “It’s easier to say than to do. When you’ve played all those big tournaments and come back here....it’s something I needed to do.”

She feels that she is still a few months away from being 100 percent. That hasn’t deterred her goals for this week.

“I have in mind to win this tournament,” she said. “We’ll see what’s going to happen. I am happy with my game, we’ll see how I compete with the girls.

“Even if I don’t do well in this tournament, I’m not going to quit,” Bardina added. “It’s just another step in my career. I know I will make it.”