A rather odd thing happened last week, as Marat Safin announced the retirement of his younger sister who is sidelined by persistent back problems. The Russian former number 1 is currently taking time off, trying to recover from an injury that is threatening to end her proffesional career. As strange as the fact that Dinara let her brother do the talking might have seemed, what stroke most was that she posted an official statement contradicting Marat and making it clear that she is not retiring.
It's pretty unfortunate how things have unfolded for her. Her star was shining brightly in 2009. She fough her way to the top of the ranking, she was playing great tennis and, although she lost three Grand Slam finals, it seemed only a matter of time before she would grab that ultimate success. As Simon Reed pointed out, there weren't many players with Safina's desire and ambition. She longed for a Grand Slam trophy so badly, that it started working against her. On those big occasions though, her nerves got the better of her and she blew all her chances. It was the defeat to Kuznetsova in the 2009 Roland Garros final that led to a mental breakdown. Her game completely fell apart after that, her ranking dropped and after months of struggling to cope with an ailing back, she finally decided she cannot continue like this.
Not that she was a joyful person to start with, but lost all glimpses of joy on the court. Watching her play was like seeing a terrifying Hollywood drama in which although the leading character is pouring her heart into completing the task, you know she will probably not last until the end. "If you live with this pain for a year and a half, it's not fun anymore. Whenever I start to think I'm going to have this back pain again, it's just frustrating. So for me, I just want to have a normal life", she admitted in a recent interview.
We don't know what led to this miscommunication between the two siblings, but Safina is rock solid on her position. When asked how long she plans to continue playing on the WTA Tour, she was quick in replying: "Until I die".
It seems that the Russian's stubborness surfaced once more. Judging by how much she wants that elusive Grand Slam title, it's clear that she has no plans of giving it up. "I will continue to use therapy to try to treat my back injury and hope to return to competition eventually." Hope everything works out in the end for her, as she is epitome of a fighter who would go through Hell to see her dream come true.
photo: GETTY IMAGES
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