Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova is back in action after months away from the tour resting a troublesome and painful knee injury – featuring in this week’s World Tennis League exhibition.<br /><br />And she took time away from the practice court to chat with Alizé Lim in the latest episode of Major Talk.<br /><br />“This is the first time I’m coming back from a tough and long-term injury,” she revealed, adding that she wasn’t even sure she’d be able to return to her previous level, having never done it before.<br /><br />She also opened up on her earliest years on court and the difficulty of being coached by her father, plus her continuing ambitions to win a Grand Slam.<br /><br />KEY MOMENTS<br />0.26 – “This is the first time I’m coming back from a tough and long-term injury,” says Pavlyuchenkova.<br />1.17 – Pavlyuchenkova talks about the detail of her injury and how she has recovered from it.<br />4.47 – “I always put pressure on myself before every match I play,” says the Russian.<br />6.34 – Pavlyuchenkova agrees with Lim that tennis players are addicted to playing and winning.<br />8.18 – They discuss the impact of ageing on tennis players, and Pavlyuchenkova adds: “I feel like I’m 19 still!”<br />10.03 – Lim asks about Pavlyuchenkova’s ranking in 2023 – and she replies that she will drop all her points after the Australian Open.<br />11.21 – Pavlyuchenkova says she will play ITF events if need be: “Yeah, if I have to, no problem.”<br />12.29 – Pavlyuchenkova talks about the team that travel with her, including her brother, plus working with a psychologist and physiotherapist.<br />16.31 – Pavlyuchenkova says she has also been making efforts with her nutrition – but she hasn’t been consulting a dietician because she knows what needs to be done.<br />17.42 – Lim and Pavlyuchenkova discuss whether Roland-Garros 2021 could have been different had her knee injury been less painful.<br />21.23 – “Since 2008, when I started to play pro, I’ve never had a break until this year, so maybe over the years I got exhausted and I was hitting the wall,” Pavlyuchenkova says. She talks about being coached her her father as a junior, and the difficulties that caused.<br />23.54 – Pavlyuchenkova says her goal is still to win Grand Slams. “Of course, I always wanted to be on top of the game and be No 1, but I think that’s like the dream of a little girl.”<br />25.31 – Pavlyuchenkova talks about how she began playing tennis as a small child, and her family’s sporting background – as well as her dad’s harsh criticism. “He would sometimes throw a ball at me…then I’d take the ball and throw it back at him,” she says.<br />31.17 – Lim asks Pavlyuchenkova for her plans after she hangs up her racquets – and perhaps a collaboration will follow? “Maybe I’ll be interviewing people!” she says. “I like to talk!”
