exclusive interview
Injury recovery, the mental side of tennis and being a student of the game: an exclusive interview with Paul Jubb
The beginning of a new season usually promises excitement and anticipation in the life of a professional tennis player, but for British star Paul Jubb, an injury off the back of Australian Open qualifying meant a very different start to 2023.
The road back from injury is always unique for any athlete, no matter the sport, and Jubb has given us an exclusive insight into his recovery process so far and how he’s been working to improve his game away from the court.
“I ruptured my ligament on the outside of my ankle and had a deep sprain on the inside,” Jubb explained. “I was just moving out to hit a forehand, rolled on it and heard a pop and yeah, it was really painful.
“I’ve been out for four weeks now but I’m at the stage where I’m starting to build up hopefully, but recovery is going well.
“For me, at the beginning it was all about just getting the swelling down so I just had to limit movement, keep icing but try to do what I could to keep fit. I could still do upper body so I was in the gym wearing my boot doing what I could to still feel like I was progressing.
“It was a tough time period being on one leg, but the main goal was just getting back to walking again at that stage. From there it’s a step-by-step process, building up to being able to get back out on court again, but as with any injury you can’t rush it because otherwise, you’ll just do more damage.”
When you’re used to spending every day on the court – practicing your trade – having that suddenly taken away from you can be quite a shock to the system. However, during his time in recovery, the young Brit hasn’t strayed too far from the game, using much of his time to watch, analyse and study various matches.
“While I’ve been off, I have spent some time watching old matches back to see if I can pick up on anything,” said Jubb.
“I still watch a fair bit of tennis to be honest – I’m still a student of the game. When I watch all the other guys on the tour I like to look at what they’re doing well. It goes in ebbs and flows but sometimes when you aren’t playing you can still feel connected to it and visualise yourself in those situations.”
Coming off the back of a season where he won his first ATP Challenger title, rose inside the world’s top 200 and took Wimbledon finalist, Nick Kyrgios to five-sets at SW19, Jubb’s injury has meant he’s had time away from the court to focus on other areas of his game.
“During this time period it’s been a bit more about trying to focus on the mental side,” Jubb explained. “One of my mental floors is trying to put too much pressure on myself and wanting to get to my destination too soon. With an injury, all you can do is take it day-by-day and having that patience is important. I don’t want to get too down or too stressed about not playing.
“Being able to work on that has been a blessing in disguise, because I needed that. Tennis is such a mental sport so you have to be in a good mental place as much as possible.
With his recovery now on the up and as he continues to progress towards getting back fighting fit to play on tour, Jubb is most looking forward to getting back to his daily routines.
“I just don’t want to take that time on court for granted,” the 23-year-old said. “When you do something every day, it’s easy to fall into that box ticking. I try and make every day a good day in the sense of getting better but sometimes you feel like you just want to get through out.
“I guess, this time has made me realise how valuable the time on court is because you don’t know when you’re going to stop or what roadblocks you might have. The time you have to progress every day and get better, you need to make the most of that and I want to use it in a way to be my own encourager rather than my enemy.”