Five years ago, a then-21-year-old Petra Martic was ranked No. 42, with guaranteed main draw Grand Slam entrances and big hopes to rise much higher. Instead, she slipped out of the Top 100 the following year, and wouldn't return to it for four years.
Struggling with injuries, and backing up her 2012 results, Martic was forced to retreat quietly to the ITF Pro Circuit, as her ranked stayed outside the Top 100. She won her third career ITF title in 2013, and then nothing for four years.
To make matters worse, at Wimbledon last year the 26-year-old suffered a serious back injury that had her doubting whether or not she'd ever compete again. She would stay out for 10 months and return in April with a ranking of No. 667.
"When I got injured I thought it would take maybe two, three months the most," Martic said in Paris. "And whenever I got to that point, it was like, okay, one more month. Okay. One more, one more. And then, in the end, it was a full year.
"And I started doubting if I could ever play again and that was the toughest part for me because, yeah, if I knew at the beginning, okay, it's going to take one year and you'll be back, it would have been easier. But all this uncertainty, it was really, really hard for me."
