IW ’15: Tough times for Kimiko Date-Krumm

INDIAN WELLS – At times, you wonder why Kimiko Date-Krumm keeps on keeping on, other than she loves to compete.

Her effort at Indian Wells, coming on the heels, as it did, of a retirement and a withdrawal during tournaments in Mexico leading up to it, makes you wonder even more.

During a first-round qualifying match against American Lauren Embree, the 44-year-old’s left arm was already tape/wrapped/encased, because of an elbow issue. And then her right shoulder went on her. Last fall, it was the hip.

After getting some treatment, she went back on court and tried. But she was just puff-balling. She was done.

Finally, at 2-6, 2-5, she retired. And she was fairly upset, to the point that even her coaches were consoling her.

Here’s what it looked like (some exclusive Open Court stuff right here).

As of a week ago, Date-Krumm said on her blog that the pain in both the elbow and that shoulder was much less – which is not to say it was gone. Hardly. But she couldn’t get it done, despite being more competitive in the second set of her first-round qualifying match in Miami against Chanelle Scheepers. Scores were 6-0, 6-4.

She’s playing the doubles Friday – with a partner like Karolina Pliskova, she might be able to get away with a few things. (Update: they lost 62 67 (5) [13-11] to Babos-Mladenovic)

Date-Krumm added that the toughest part was sleeping; the shoulder starts to throb, and when she rolls across to sleep on her other side, the left elbow hurts. She added that when she’s moving around, she doesn’t feel it as much.

None of it sounds great. At all. Date-Krumm has not won a main-draw match this season, and only two matches overall (in qualifying). Her ranking is No. 122, and that pretty much means the qualies at the French Open and Roland Garros unless she can put some wins together.

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