Sabine Lisicki returns from knee injury—with a little help from Lindsey Vonn and Andy Murray

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Sabine Lisicki is back on tour, and looking to provide the same inspiration she got from others while sidelined with a difficult knee injury.

The 32-year-old from Germany experienced an ACL tear in November 2020 at the Linz tournament, and only returned in May at minor clay-court events. She reached the quarterfinals on grass in Bad Homburg, her second event back, and is competing in Hamburg qualifying this week. She has won her first two matches, including over the No. 1 qualifying seed, Kateryna Baindl.

With her leg immobilized following surgery and a lengthy rehab, drawing from others gave Lisicki more confidence in her goals of a comeback.

"Lindsey Vonn was a very important and inspiring person. We didn't know each other personally before, but she got in touch with me when I broke everything in my knee that can be broken," Lisicki told Spox. "She had a very serious knee injury herself, and when you have someone like that and you can ask for advice, that's a great support."

Lisicki also saw the Andy Murray documentary on his return from hip surgery, noting his ''incredible passion" for the sport.

"He made it back with a [reconstructed] hip and is playing really good tennis again," she said. "My injury was also so bad that 99.9 percent of the time you wouldn't return to professional sports, so Andy's story is very inspiring."

Lisicki, who reached the finals at Wimbledon in 2011, said she always planned to compete again. Now back, she is finding that she's also providing inspiration for others.

"I can't even say what that means to me, when I hear about it or receive messages," she said. "It's nice to know and feel I can show people what can be achieved with a lot of hard work and focus."

Lisicki, who reached a career-high No. 12, is No. 407 in the rankings.