'I was losing my sight' - Breakwell on comeback from illness

BBC News

4 hours ago

Wheelchair tennis player Abbie Breakwell says her Wimbledon ambitions have been put on hold by an illness which affected her eyesight, but the Paralympian insists she will be stronger for the setback.The 22-year-old was forced out of action for almost three months after a cough she developed after catching Covid-19 in February led to her spending time in hospital with bronchitis and vision loss.Her sight was affected because of complications with the neurological condition she lives with called spinal syrinx, which is a ball of fluid on the spinal cord."Because of my condition I have a raised pressure on my brain, and because of my coughing it was making it even higher, so I started losing my eyesight," she told BBC East Midland Today."The hospital was amazing in helping me get back healthy, but it has taken quite a bit of time."My eyesight recovered once the cough had gone, so everything has gone back to normal now."
Breakwell managed to train lightly while recovering and made her competitive return on clay courts in Brescia, Italy, in mid-May after 12 weeks out.And while she proved to be an instant hit in her comeback tournament, finishing runner-up in the singles event and winning the doubles title with Switzerland's Angela Grosswiler, Breakwell says she is now "playing catch up".Victory in the Future Series event in Brescia was followed by a string of wins in the consolation draw at the higher ranked ITF 3 Series tournament in Padova.Despite her layoff and missed tournaments, the Long Eaton tennis player is still ranked fourth in Britain a year on from making her Paralympic debut in Paris.It was in the French capital that she teamed up with hugely experienced British No. 1 Lucy Shuker - who has featured in the women's wheelchair draw at Wimbledon more than any player in the past decade.Playing the Grand Slam event at SW19 remains Breakwell's "big dream", even if her health problems mean that "it's unlikely to happen this year"."Wimbledon has always been a goal for me - playing in front of a home crowd at a Grand Slam is everyone's dream as a player," she said."It is something that I'm still going to aim for, but it hurts that it is going to be delayed. But I will get there."It means I need to make sure that I remain focused on making sure I'm back at full strength, healthy and getting back into the competitions and rhythm of everything."Breakwell described the challenges she faced at the start of 2025 as "extra hurdles" to be dealt with, and insists she will not let it undo the years of work it has taken to establish herself as one of the sport's brightest emerging talents."When you are ill like that and not able to physically train, you can still do the mental training and work on the psychological side. And I did do that a lot," she said."It was very difficult because you are staying away from the thing that you love the most and the thing that makes you feel you. And also, it's the thing that gives you a connection to the world and the people who understand you."It's been difficult at times, especially on days when you are feeling tired, but you just know you have to keep pushing through."Having this time off has really helped me. It has made me realise and given me that confidence to say 'I've been ill, but I can still come back'."I did comeback strong and now it's about continuing with that."