Kateryna Bondarenko left the WTA tour in 2012, thinking she had accomplished everything she could in a sport where she had been a Top 30 singles player, Australian Open doubles champion, and US Open quarterfinalist.
Four years and one daughter later, who’d’ve thought the Ukrainian veteran would back and close to breaking new ground in Melbourne?
“Yesterday, before I went to sleep, I was thinking about how I’d never passed the second round at the Australian Open,” she told WTA Insider.
She actually reached the third round once before, losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2009. But the 29-year-old woke up on Wednesday morning and did it again, getting her revenge on the former No.2 and Apia International Sydney champion, 6-1, 7-5, to reach her first third round at any major tournament since 2011.
“It’s amazing. I didn’t think I’d come back because in 2012, I was already tired of tennis and I decided to stop.
“Then I got pregnant, so definitely I decided to stop.”
One half of Ukraine’s preeminent tennis sister act, Kateryna and Alona Bondarenko played some of their best tennis in the late 2000s, coming together to capture the Australian Open women’s doubles trophy in 2008 and backing it up with a run to the semifinals of the French Open a few months later.
Alona had the higher career-best singles ranking when she retired (No.19), but Kateryna had the better Grand Slam finish, upsetting former No.1 Ana Ivanovic in a thrilling three-setter on Louis Armstrong Stadium and double bageling Gisela Dulko en route to her first major quarterfinal at the US Open.
“The tour has become even stronger; if you don’t practice all day, you won’t be able to play a normal match on the court because everyone is getting stronger. Every year, it’s stronger and faster.”
Bondarenko played the last match of what she considers her “first career” in Flushing back in 2012; she got married and gave birth to daughter Karina soon after. It wasn’t long, however, before she felt the urge to return to the game.
“I missed tennis so much and it was boring at home, doing nothing. The emotion when you win a match or even a point is great. You miss these emotions.
“So I decided to play tennis again. I didn’t think that I could make it because in the 25Ks, I was losing in the first round – passing through the qualifying, but still losing first round. I was thinking, ‘Ok, why did I start again?’
“Now when I have a good result, it’s just amazing to be a good player again.”
Eighteen months into her comeback, the former World No.29 re-entered the Top 100 thanks to a solid run at the US Open that took her through qualifying and into a quality second round encounter with No.2 seed Simona Halep.
“Before, I was just focusing on myself and all my thoughts were on the match, and that’s it. Now it’s kind of different, better, because now I always have my husband and daughter. I have to take care of them and I also have to practice all the time.
“It’s a little bit difficult but still it’s nice to have them with me.”
One of the few traveling mothers on tour, Bondarenko admits it’s not always easy, but at nearly three years old, her daughter is enjoying the ride, and between herself, her husband and a plethora of relatives, a veritable village is on hand to help her raise her child.
“She’s always by my side, always with me. We travel to every tournament together with my husband. Most of the time, we take somebody to take care of my daughter because mu husband goes with me to the court for practice and matches. It’s good to travel with the whole family.
“She likes to travel. We’ll tell her, ‘We’re going to go to America and then Australia,’ and then when we’re in America she says, ‘Now I want to go to Australia!’ As long as she’s with her parents, she likes it.”
Back in position to reach the second week of Grand Slam tournaments, Bondarenko doesn’t see herself as an inspiration, but rather believes her balancing act has made her an even tougher competitor eager to keep up with an ever-improving WTA cohort.
“It’s difficult to start over; I don’t think many people could do what I’ve done.”
Photos courtesy of Christopher Levy and Getty Images.
