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Darian King.

Darian King eyeing Australian open after surgery

By Corey Greaves

Barbados top tennis player Darian King is on the road to recovery, though it is taking longer than he had anticipated.

King who turned professional in 2010 almost broke into the world top 100 in 2017 with his highest ranking of 106.

The right-handed player who is on the way back has played the qualifying round of every grand slam and has been the only tennis player to represent Barbados at a Grand Slam.

He made the tough decision to take a break off the court and have surgery to deal with his troublesome left wrist, which he mentioned doctors had told him was “a lot of inflammation acting on the wrist” and it was restricting his range of motion, as well as being painful.

In a facebook post in September, King was hard at work on the tennis court after not having played in a professional tournament since last November.

“I’m hoping to get into the Australian open, which I am hoping, because of the pandemic, commences in January but I’m not sure of the timeline.”

King had earlier hopes of kickstarting his season two months ago but it did not happen and he said that he is “gradually taking time – because when I get back out there I want to be 110 percent, so I am just waiting to see when is the right time to be back out there.”

One thing that the pandemic and the surgery has allowed him, is time to spend with his family because as a professional athlete he is always on the go.

“Family love is key in my life and I’m getting a chance right now, because of the pandemic, to enjoy it, so that when I get back out I can clear my mind and be ready.

His passage on the professional circuit saw him first travelling alone and then eventually getting enough funds to travel with his team.

“It is not easy – when you go away you see guys travelling with their full team,” said King about the earlier times he travelled to play tennis.

“I am glad that I have reached the stage now, that I can use some of my finances to try to have some people accompanying me and help me be more professional.

“I think that made a big difference for me when I made the big jump. I used my funding and stuff to the best of my ability with my trainer and coach. Everyone was travelling and I had my full team at that point. I think that made it easier for me but for the Caribbean the funding is not easy to get and hopefully it picks up but I will utilise what I have and try to the best of my ability,” King said.

As he looks to the future of the sport in Barbados he thinks that sports in schools is a good thing and said the National Sports Council had been doing a good job before the pandemic.

“Prioritise more sports in schools and the community,” he said, as he believes that the hard work and pushing oneself will help despite the challenges faced with lack of funding.

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