Sergei Bubka Jr., who in November 2012 fell out of a third-story window in Paris and needed nine hours of surgery for broken bones, explains what occurred that evening. The Ukrainian is now back on tour after two weeks in the hospital, six weeks of bed rest, six months on crutches, and many hours of rehab. Bubka has only played a handful of matches since the accident; for some time he did not think he would ever return to tennis.
“From such a shock, the doctor said that parts of memory goes because it’s very painful for the brain, they’re erased,” the 27-year-old told Sport 360. “But the main things I remember. I was locked inside the bedroom, I tried to get out of the bedroom, the door was locked, I couldn’t open it, couldn’t break it, and I found a window… it’s difficult to explain. Basically in the window, there was a very long window sill which was a metal plate covering the air conditioning unit. So it looked like a floor because it was very wide and it was made of metal. So I leaned on it and it collapsed. I’m afraid of heights, so it’s ironic I think.”
Bubka only began playing daily again last December, when he hired Jack Reader, the former coach of Alex Dolgopolov and coach of the currently suspended Viktor Troicki.
“It’s already a success that I’m here,” he said. "But I’m coming with expectations. I want to go further than before. I’m 27. This is really my last chance to reach the goals I dreamed about as a young kid. I’m definitely not doing this just for fun.”