‘Always in my corner’: Aussie ace addresses Open snub amid resurgence
By Nick Wright
Arina Rodionova has cast aside the frustration of missing out an Australian Open wildcard – despite her standing as the nation’s No.1-ranked tennis star at the time.
Fresh off a giant-killing run to the quarterfinals of January’s Brisbane International – which featured a straight-sets victory over former grand slam champion Sofia Kenin – Rodionova was a shock exclusion from Tennis Australia’s nominations for automatic inclusion in Melbourne.
Arina Rodionova was a shock snubbing in Tennis Australia’s Australian Open wildcards.Credit: Getty Images
The 34-year-old, who expressed her angst on social media following the decision, lost in the qualifying tournament, and at the time believed she had “given Tennis Australia something to celebrate” by doing so, adding it was “clear to me that I am not liked”.
But Rodionova rebounded to briefly move into the world’s top 100 for the first time, and has earned selection for the Billie Jean King Cup leg against Mexico.
Speaking before the tie, which begins at Pat Rafter Arena on Friday, Rodionova rationalised that with her breakout 2023 form, she had every opportunity to seal her own fate for a grand slam spot before falling short at the final hurdle.
“In the end I didn’t qualify, I probably should have, and I didn’t, so that’s on me,” Rodionova said.
“If I want to give myself an opportunity to play on big courts then I should win more often, so I’ll try and do that again.
Rodionova revealed she had long held the support of Australia team captain Sam Stosur and had put the snubbing behind her.
“Sam was always in my corner, it was not really Sam’s decision and I haven’t really had any conversations with anyone about that, but again it’s two different things.
“Whatever happened in January happened in January ... it’s not like I’m here being like ‘What happened in January, it was pretty bad’.
“I’m just happy to be here and really happy to be part of the team again after a few years.”
Arina Rodionova is in line to don the Australian colours at this week’s Billie Jean King Cup leg against Mexico.Credit: Getty
Rodionova feared the chance to don the green and gold again, in Brisbane, would never come again.
While she flew the Australian flag at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 – the same year she last represented the country in the BJK Cup (then called the Federation Cup) – a series of injury setbacks threatened to end her career.
A wrist concern on the eve of Wimbledon in 2022 whipped her off the circuit for eight months, leaving the veteran in limbo and pondering whether she would reach the big stage again.
But Rodionova returned with a vengeance, winning seven lower-tier ITF singles titles, with the current world No.103 hunting a rankings boost in the coming months in a bid to feature at the Paris Olympics.
“I think I was just excited to be playing tennis again. It’s something you can never take for granted – one day in 2022, four days before Wimbledon, I broke my wrist and didn’t know if I would ever play tennis again,” Rodionova said.
“Once I started it was pretty special to be on the court every time. I kept having fun, kept fighting.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re playing on this beautiful court or if you’re playing somewhere in Portugal where no one is watching, the game is still the same.
“It’s really tough every time you have a big injury … of course you’re going to have doubts, even when you start again it takes time to trust your body again.
“I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get back to the level I was, and I’m really happy that I proved to myself that I did, and I belonged here.”