After overcoming serious health challenges that saw her sidelined for several seasons, Zoe Hives takes some hard-gained resilience into her Australian Open qualifying campaign.
Melbourne, Australia, 10 January 2023 | Vivienne Christie
It took all of Zoe Hives’ grit and determination to progress through the first round of Australian Open qualifying on Monday, the Australian eventually toughing out a three-set win over Harmony Tan after more than two hours on court.
But the eventual 6-2 5-7 6-1 progress over the Frenchwoman, who stunned Serena Williams in the first round of Wimbledon last year, was nothing compared to the resilience required for Hives to even take to the court at all.
The 26-year-old Victorian is targeting a place in the main draw of her home Grand Slam for the first time in four years, after a health challenge that saw Hives at times struggle on the most basic level – let alone focus on her promising tennis career.
While Hives recorded a career-high world No.140 ranking late in the 2019 season, she also started experiencing some baffling symptoms, including dizziness and crippling fatigue.
Hives was initially diagnosed with glandular fever and as that condition dragged on, she learned she was suffering from Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia syndrome – more commonly known as POTS.
“It’s been very long,” said Hives of managing the energy-sapping blood circulation disorder, which saw her retreat for a period to the family farm at Kingston, just outside Ballarat. “The cows, the dogs – they have kept me sane through this whole process. (I’ve been) reading, watching a whole lot of shows.
“When you have chronic fatigue, you can’t do a whole lot, so they have kept me sane.”
And yet there was never any question that Hives, who represented Australia as a member of the junior Billie Jean King Cup team as a teenager, would resume her professional career.
“To be honest, I always thought I would get back to this,” Hives told tennis.com.au at the inaugural United Cup last week in Sydney, where she was delighted to represent Australia for the first time in a professional tournament.
“I didn’t actually realise how long it was going to take. I thought by now I’d be well and truly over it, but I never really doubted that I’d get back to this stage.”
Persisting through various challenges has provided some life-changing rewards for the Victorian, who was thrilled to compete before a…
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