The smile on Laura Robson’s face told us everything we needed to know. “It’s been a while,” she said, back at a grand slam event for the first time in almost 18 months after surgery on her left wrist. After a number of aborted comeback attempts, first in Australia this year and then at the French Open, Robson returned in the Aegon International in Eastbourne and though she was beaten easily in the first round of qualifying, the 21-year-old was given a wildcard for Wimbledon.
“I’m very happy to be back here,” she said of a return that, she admitted, had been emotional. “I would have liked to have come back sooner but it doesn’t always work out like that. It’s been a lot of seeing everyone all over again for the first time in ages, and a lot of: ‘How’s your wrist?’ I’ve got my go‑to answer. It’s super exciting. It’s nice to see everyone again from the locker room attendants to the ladies who work at accreditation. It’s a good feeling.”
The go-to-answer is that the wrist is “perfect, and there’s no pain”, which can only be good news for her return, a comeback that will require a lot of patience. In an ideal world she would have played a number of smaller events before coming here, where home expectations will be as high as always, even if she knows that her best form may be several months away.
“I’m pretty realistic that my level is not at the point where it was before I was injured,” she said. “We weighed it up [the idea of returning at lower-tier events] and the disappointment I would have had not being here again, two years in a row, outweighed the whole thing.”
Robson faces Evgeniya Rodina, a Russian ranked 101 in the world who has not won a grand slam match since 2011, although she did push Simona Halep harder than expected in the first round of the French Open last month. Just getting through the match unscathed would be a success for Robson, who said she was determined to keep a lid on her hopes, even if she knows she can play so much better.
“I know how well I’ve played and practised but it doesn’t always translate to matches,” she said. “My coach, my trainer, we’re all very patient. If I don’t play well, then it’s not the end of the world. There’s always going to be another week for me, because I’m injury‑free, that’s the main thing. If it doesn’t work out after this tournament I’m going to go play some challengers in America. It’s going to take a while.”
Robson is one of 10 Britons in the singles draws, a healthy number, even if seven of them required wildcards. In the women’s draw, Heather Watson, whose season has been one of highs and lows, is the lone direct entrant. The world No64 takes on France’s Caroline Garcia in a tough first-round match but is happy with her form. “I feel very, very good about my game,” she said. “I just had a little lapse in the clay court season. But back on the grass I’m feeling great. Today at practice is the best I felt so far with my game.”
Johanna Konta would have had high hopes after reaching the quarter-finals in Eastbourne only to be drawn against Maria Sharapova in round one. The other Briton in the women’s event is Naomi Broady, who plays Colombia’s Mariana Duque-Mariño.
On the men’s side, home fans will get a close-up look at the British No2, Aljaz Bedene, who recently switched nationality from Slovenia. The world No74 takes on the Czech veteran Radek Stepanek in round one. James Ward, struggling with a foot injury, faces a very tough opener against the eighth seed, David Ferrer, of Spain; Brydan Klein, who switched allegiance from Australia in 2013, plays Italy’s No25 seed Andreas Seppi. Liam Broady and Kyle Edmund, the two youngest Britons in the draw, face Marinko Matosevic of Australia and Alexandr Dolgopolov respectively.
