Soderling’s future in doubt

An unfortunate year for Swedish tennis star Robin Soderling has been made somewhat worse after he confirmed that he will be unable to play in the upcoming Wimbledon championship and will also be unavailable for the London 2012 Olympics later this summer. Soderling has been out of action since July 2011 and has fallen from number four in the men’s world rankings to fifty six after he was taken by glandular fever last summer. Soderling had already announced he would not be available for the French Open this week, but further absences from the tennis circuit has come as a real blow to the twenty eight year old.

The immobilizing illness has caused significant damage to the Sede’s Thyroid and adrenal glands and has caused chronic fatigue which has stopped the Swede from training and competing. World number three Roger Federer battled with the illness at the start of 2008. But Soderling seems to have suffered a great deal more from the infliction. At twenty eight Solderling has plenty of years of tennis left and many expect him to climb up the rankings quickly following his recovery which would hopefully see him return for the start of next year’s grand slam season.

The two-time French Open runner up stated that although he has no plans to quit the sport, the illness has made it difficult to set a date to return to the game as once he has recovered he will need plenty of time to recapture both his form and will need plenty of experience before returning to the performance level required for major tournaments. Tennis start around the world have wished him a speedy recovery, but with his body unable to complete training, he is worried that it may be over a year before we see him return to the court.