‘Totally Agree With Stress’ – Chris Evert Talks About Mental and Physical Battle of Players at the Italian Open

Belarusian tennis player Aryna Sabalenka is currently enduring a tough season in 2022. Today, at the Italian Open semi-final, she faced  another demoralizing loss to the world no.1 Iga Swiatek.

Moreover, there could be another major concern for the Belarusian tennis player as she suffered a back issue during the second set. Interestingly, players like Emma Raducanu also sufffered from the same during the tournament. Legendary American tennis player Chris Evert thinks stress could be a resounding factor, which could be the reason why players are suffering back injuries. 

Chris Evert thinks mental and physical stress is enormous on tennis players 

Earlier, a fan on Twitter talked about the possible reasons why players are suffering from back injuries. In one of the tweets, she stated, “Trainer out for Sabalenka. Another back issue. Makes me wonder if the base underneath the Rome courts is harder, or has less give than in Madrid.”

In another tweet, she said, “The other thing is stress – which I don’t know about you guys, goes straight to the back. They’re all one week closer to the big one.”

Her second opinion could be a valid theory as 18-time Grand Slam champion Chris Evert agreed with this theory. Moreover, she further talked about both mental and physical stress.

“Totally agree with stress…also, every round is a battle, mentally and physically…” Evert replied to that earlier tweet. 

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Notably, during today’s semi-final between Swiatek and Sabalenka, the Belarusian suffered a back issue in the second set. As a result she had to call the trainer, trying to fix her back. Despite all that, she could not stop the Polish player as Iga won the match in a dominant fashion. 

Italian Open has been a great tournament despite player injuries

Earlier, reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu had to withdraw from her opening round match against Bianca Andreescu due to a back injury. Later, 21-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal suffered a foot injury during his quarter-final match against Denis Shapovalov.  Now, Sabalenka had to battle physical adversities at Rome. 

Coming to Iga Swiatek, she cruised through to the final without losing a set. On the men’s side, Novak looked like his previous self as he reached the semi-final. 

Which player will win the Rome Masters in men’s and women’s singles? Let us know in the comments. 

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