Michael Venus’ elbow doubts are behind him ahead of Wimbledon

Michael Venus believes he has finally turned the corner after elbow surgery as he prepares to launch his 12th Wimbledon campaign, with the doubles veteran saying he is free of the doubts that lingered throughout the early months of his comeback.

The former Wimbledon doubles finalist returned to the tour in March after elbow undergoing surgery last year, but admits getting back to full confidence took far longer than simply being cleared to play.

“After the surgery, and being out that long, you have doubts along the way, whether you’ll actually get back to playing, and what that will look like,” Venus said.

While he and his regular partner, India’s Yuki Bhambri, have already reached a semifinal and a final together this season, Venus said the clay-court swing was also spent regaining confidence in his elbow.

“It took me a long time to get comfortable with the serve and the motions over my head and I was battling that through the clay courts [season], trying to work through it and find answers and solutions, while also trying to get up to speed and competing.”

The problem was significant enough that he often avoided serving on practice days between matches.

But Venus says everything changed after the French Open and the focus turned to Wimbledon.

“We’ve continued to work at it and try to solve the problems and find solutions,” he said of himself and Bhambri. 

“I feel like can actually really release on my serve now and let it go.”

Just as importantly, he says the mental burden has disappeared.

“It’s helped free up my mind these last few weeks, or so, and taken away that doubt about what’s going to happen when I hit the serves.

“ Am I going to feel something, is it going to hurt? Now I can actually just go up and hit my serve, like I know I can, and be ready to compete and play the point.”

The 38-year-old believes that has coincided with an improvement in his partnership with Bhambri, even if recent results haven’t always reflected their level. Over the grass court season, they have had two wins and three defeats.

“We’ve had tough losses, but to really good teams. We feel with the standard of how we’re playing and the things we’re doing, we’re quite comfortable out there.”

Having seven months out at Venus’s age, he acknowledges the leap of faith Bhambri took in agreeing to continue to partner him while his recovery remained uncertain.

“That’s a big call for him to do that, especially when he’s at a career-high ranking (18 in February), to take a chance on a bit of an unknown, with exactly how I’m going to come back.”

The pair had stayed in close contact throughout Venus’ rehabilitation, but Bhambri had not seen him hit a ball before committing.

“When we agreed to play, he hadn’t been on court with me or seen anything, so he took a leap of faith, that when I said I think I’ll be right, and able to do what I can to a good level, he accepted that.”

Venus and Bhambri’s first-round opponents changed on Tuesday, with the pair now due to face Jean-Julien Rojer and Theodore Winegar on Thursday, after the alternate pairing was promoted into the draw.

Rojer won the Wimbledon doubles title 11 years ago and Venus is expecting a difficult opening assignment.

“He’s always done well on the grass and knows the best way to implement his game. He’s always been a very good competitor and brings good energy.

“So, we know what to expect from him. His partner’s a younger guy who’s moving up through the rankings. I’m sure they’ll be fired up and wanting to play well, so it’s going to be a tough match, and we’re going to need to be ready to go from the beginning.”