Riske admits time off hurt her on court in 2020

This week, Alison Riske came on Tennis Channel Live to chat about her hopes for the 2021 season with Steve Weissman and Lindsay Davenport.

The 30-year-old American admitted that all the time off she enjoyed in 2020 hurt her on court, as she went 1-4 after the tour resumed.

"I chose to take some time off," Riske said. "And you know what? In hindsight I don't necessary regret it because I loved every second. Its’ something that I never had in my career, but I really believe that I paid for it when I came back."

During the summer, Riske did take part in a few exhibition events including UTR matches in West Palm Beach and the Charleston team tournament. But she'd lose in the first round of the Western & Southern Open, Rome and Roland Garros, and win one match at the US Open.

She spent the extended off-season training with family close at hand and her brother-in-law Prakash Amritraj helped her stay busy in the gym.

Still ranked inside of the Top 30, the American will be heading to Melbourne soon—though at the time of the interview she wasn't sure on flight details—for one of the WTA 500 warm-up tournaments. Last year, she reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open.