Twelve months ago, the conversation around her career had shifted from “when will she return to form” to “should she retire.” Two knee surgeries in eighteen months, a ranking that had fallen outside the top 80, and a string of first-round exits had given her critics plenty of material.

She had other plans.

A Run Nobody Predicted

Entering the tournament unseeded and largely absent from pre-tournament previews, she moved through the first four rounds with a methodical efficiency that recalled her peak years. The serve — once the most reliable weapon in her game before the injuries — was back, averaging 186 km/h on first delivery and winning 74% of first-serve points.

“I stopped trying to play the way I used to play. I started playing the way I play now. They’re different, and that’s fine.” — post-match press conference

The quarterfinal, against the tournament’s third seed, was the performance that reframed the narrative. Dropped the first set 3-6, she responded with 6-2, 6-3 — a dismantling that was clinical rather than emotional.

What Changed

Speaking to reporters across multiple press conferences, she pointed to a shift in her physical preparation and, more significantly, her relationship with pressure. After the second surgery, when the outcome was genuinely uncertain, something about the high-stakes atmosphere of major tournaments changed for her.

“When you’ve wondered whether you’ll play again, a fifth-set tiebreak feels different. The pressure is the same. Your relationship to it changes.”

Her coach noted tactical adjustments as well — a greater willingness to attack the net, a more varied return game, and a serve-and-volley pattern reintroduced specifically to disrupt opponents who had studied her baseline tendencies from earlier seasons.

The Final

She fell in a closely contested final against the top seed, 4-6, 7-5, 5-7, in a match that went to two hours and forty minutes. The loss was met with a standing ovation — a response usually reserved for victories, but appropriate here.

No ranking points from the two lost seasons can be recovered, but the trajectory is clear. She’s back, and opponents who dismissed her as a past-tense player have been put on notice.

What Comes Next

The clay season begins next month. On that surface — historically her strongest — the implications of this week’s performance are significant. The draw will not underestimate her again.