Jodie Burrage went under the knife after speaking to Emma Raducanu about her wrist surgery (Image: Instagram @jodie_burrage)
Jodie Burrage is gearing up to make her Grand Slam return, using her protected ranking to enter the main draw of the Australian Open.
The British star was on a high before she picked up two injuries earlier this year, quickly making the decision to have a wrist operation.
Burrage has now told how helped her act fast to go under the knife after making the mistake of putting off surgery for her own injuries.
Burrage reached a career-high ranking of No. 84 shortly before her season became derailed by a wrist injury. Sharing a photo from her hospital bed after going under the knife, she wrote: “My first practice in San Diego, I hit one backhand and felt something pop in my left wrist. After advice from multiple doctors and surgeons, surgery was the best option.”
Then, while preparing to return at the French Open, the 25-year-old injured her ankle, delaying her comeback. In total, Burrage spent six months on the sidelines. But it could have been much longer had her colleagues and rivals not encouraged her to take the surgery route.
As well as Raducanu, British No. 1 and former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic also provided plenty of support to Burrage.
“I’m really close with Boults and a few of the other players. Her and Freya [Christie] are my best friends and Olivia Gadecki, an Aussie girl who I live with. They were so, so supportive of me and kept checking in with me,” the current world No. 179 told Express Sport.
“Me and Boults have had conversations before with injuries. I’ve been through my fair share of ankle [injuries]. That’s where it was good to chat with Emma about wrist injuries because that’s what she’s had before.”
Emma Raducanu shared her own experience with Jodie Burrage (Image: Getty)
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Raducanu has also struggled with similar issues. In 2023, she ended her season in spring to have surgery on both wrists and one ankle. And she advised Burrage not to make the same mistake she made by trying to play through the pain.
The recent Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge champion continued: “Obviously we had very different injuries. But I remember chatting to her about whether I should get surgery or not and she tried not to and ended up getting surgery so it was good that I chose surgery first and didn’t kind of waste time.
“I actually spoke to Belinda Bencic the other week, we were at the same tournament, she’s had the exact same surgery as me on both wrists and she said as well, ‘Oh I tried to go the conservative route and it didn’t work and I ended up getting surgery in the end. I wish I’d gone for surgery to start with’.”
Getting their approval meant a lot, helping Burrage push through the difficult period when she was resting and recovering post-op. “[That] is what I did and was what I basically didn’t want to [regret] when I chose surgery,” she added.
“So it was actually really nice speaking to unfortunately other people who have gone through the same kind of injuries as me, knowing that my decision was obviously good and knowing that both of those players have come out the other side.”
While she made the right decision, it was a brutal few months for the British No. 7, especially when the ankle injury threatened to ruin her progress. Burrage continued: “The wrist [injury] was my left wrist which was why I could actually do quite a bit, I just couldn’t hit backhands.
“So I was in a cast for a long time but even then I was still playing and just slicing my backhand. But then when I did my ankle it was my right ankle and that just took it out of my whole body as well, to be honest.
“I could really, really feel two serious injuries trying to recover from both of them at the same time. I was absolutely knackered most days and having left wrist, right ankle is not the most ideal. But we got through it, so it’s fine.”
Sharing her daily routine during her layoff, Burrage said: “It was a good two hours and stuff of rehab in the morning and then whatever I could do on court. It was kind of mismatched with both of the injuries.
“Then whatever gym I could do as well, just in terms of upper body, lower body. I went from not being able to do stuff with my arms to not being able to do stuff with my legs too much. It was long days, slow days.”
Jodie Burrage is a Del Monte ambassador (Image: Del Monte)
Burrage is a Del Monte ambassador, something that proved crucial while she was sidelined through the summer. “Nutrition is very, very important in terms of rest, recovery, rehab and trying to stay fit when you can’t do too much,” she noted.
“That’s where De Monte fruit and their resources were really good for me, being a partner with them, because they helped that side of it because I know from previous injuries that it’s not always easy to be the healthiest or to get access to those foods and stuff. So that was really good whilst I was injured.”
The Brit has already started her comeback, returning to lower-level ITF tournaments in September. She has since lifted two doubles trophies and won her biggest singles title at the W100 in Dubai. Burrage is now ready to get back on the WTA Tour with her protected ranking of No. 85.
She concluded: “I know all I need is matches. I need to get back being competitive and that’s what I tried to do for this year to then use my protected ranking next year of No. 85 which is obviously a great protected ranking and it’ll get me into Aussie Open and all of those big tournaments – Indian Wells, Miami – which is really exciting and which is where I want to be.”