Former Australian Open semi-finalist Danielle Collins says undergoing recent surgery has exceeded her expectations and helped get rid of her back pain.
The world No.50 is playing in her first tournament at the French Open since undergoing a procedure to treat her endometriosis. A long-term condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb starts to grow in other places, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes. Symptoms include pain in the back, heavy periods and it could even affect a person’s ability to get pregnant.
Collins has been living with the condition since 2016. In a recent interview with The Telegraph she spoke about a cyst the size of a ‘tennis ball’ that was removed from her ovary during the surgery. It is suspected that the cyst could also be the reason behind her back pain in recent months due to it pressing on her spinal nerve.
“Since surgery I’ve just felt so much better, especially with my back pain. Like I’m not having any type of sciatic nerve pain, which I was dealing with for a couple of years,” Collins said following her first round win over Xiyu Wang at the French Open on Sunday.
“I always thought it was more joint related. I consulted with my doctors and kind of had some misdiagnoses along the way. And so now I’m just kind of relieved to just be feeling good consistently.”
The 27-year-old is playing in only her fourth French Open main draw where she is hoping to improve on her run to the quarter-final last year. She has been ranked as high as 23rd in the world but her progress this season has been slowed down to her physical problems. Roland Garros is only her fourth tournament of the season and first since Miami.
“It’s been a real weight that’s been lifted off my shoulders since having the surgery because I kind of got used to it (the pain) and kind of thought that it was normal to be dealing with. I didn’t realize that I would feel this much better after surgery, so I’m really relieved.” She said.
Since speaking out about her experience with Endometriosis, the tennis star says various people have reached out to her. Her hope is that her story will serve as both comfort and inspiration to others.
“It’s been kind of nice to have that sense of community because I think when you’re living with these types of things, sometimes it can be very isolating because you feel alone and that you’re dealing with these problems. Sometimes there isn’t a light at the end of the tunnel. So if I can ever be a friend to somebody and share my experience, hopefully that can offer them some knowledge or information that maybe they didn’t know before,” she concluded.
Collins will play Ukrainian qualifier Anhelina Kalinina in the second round of the French Open.
