Team GB star Ryan Wyatt has revealed he is facing a race against the clock to be fit for the XVI World Padel Championships in Dubai on the last day of October.
The 29- year-old has been battling a forearm injury that first surfaced before the World Cup European Qualifiers at We Are Padel in Derby last weekend.
After seemingly recovering Wyatt took part in the HOP Pro Tour event at Hampton court a week before the qualifiers only to damage the arm again.
Unable to train in the week leading up to Derby, Wyatt sacrificed himself to play in the tie against Portugal after the GB men’s team suffered a personnel crisis just before their all-or-nothing third versus fourth clash with old rivals Germany.
Subsequently the injury has flared again and now Wyatt, who is a Dubai resident, is receiving round-the-clock physio since returning to the Middle East in a bid to beat the clock and fly the Union Jack high at the Dubai Duty Free Stadium on October 31.
Wyatt revealed: “So I had this injury about a month before the tournament, I then got rid of it and then the weekend before the qualifiers I played the warm up at the HOP Hampton Court and the injury – which is a forearm issue – came back then and I just couldn’t shake it off before Derby.
“It was hugely frustrating. I got to play against Portugal but I didn’t want to play against them and to be honest in hindsight if knew what was going to happen with my arm I would have pulled out and let someone else take my place.
“In the training leading up to the tournament I had to pull out, which meant we weren’t getting proper training matches in, I felt like I was letting the team down as we were down to three players on court and we couldn’t train properly.
“So the whole way through the qualifiers I was side-lined but we lost Christian Murphy, as he had to attend his sister’s wedding then Sandy (Farquharson) also couldn’t play due to another commitment.
“That meant we were down to six players including myself for the Portuguese game and I was down to play with Chris Salisbury at third couple in what was a dead rubber and we lost to Miguel Oliveira, their No.1, and his partner, three and one and really it was a pointless match as the tie was gone.
“But the reasoning was that the final match against Germany was due to start at 2.30pm and Christian wasn’t landing until 2.30pm and John (Leach, Head Coach) wanted to extend the time in between matches for as long as possible.
“But it aggravated the arm and at the moment I am not even sure what is the exact problem with it as I have seen a few different physios and had treatment since I got back to Dubai and it is now a bit of a race against the clock for the finals.”
Elaborating on the injury Wyatt admits things have been made worse by the fact it is only a problem on the forehand side which is the area he specialises in: “The good thing is I only get the pain on the forehand side. So forehand volley, bandeja, groundies I get a lot of pain but on the backhand side I am pain-free. Unfortunately I only play on the forehand side which isn’t a great help.
“Now it is a tricky one as it is about balancing recovery as well as training and staying sharp and in shape, so I was back at the physio Monday when I arrived back in Dubai and was back there yesterday. The key is getting the proper recovery and that is a balancing act.”
Wyatt’s need for a speedy recovery has been exacerbated by the fact that fellow Team GB mate Nikhil Mohindra is due out on October 12 to train with him: “Nikhil is arriving on the 12th, we will be training and working together, and I just hope by then it will have cleared up and we can get down to real preparation for the finals.
“With it being Dubai I am desperate to play and my family are coming out to watch me, so I will do everything I can to make it.
“Obviously I was proud to be part of the GB squad who qualified but I’m just gutted I couldn’t play a proper part in helping us achieve that.”
Wyatt moved to Dubai after GB’s defeat to Belgium consigned them to a seventh placed finish at the Europeans last year and is based at the Padel Point Club, which was the first indoor padel club in Dubai.
So he is the ideal man to provide the lowdown on the conditions the British can expect at the showpiece Dubai Duty Free Stadium for the six days of the World Championships.
He said: “The Worlds are being held at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium which holds the biggest ATP tennis Tournament in the Middle East each year and I think they are customising it into a 5,000-seat venue.
“In terms of weather at the moment at the peak of the day, 2pm or 3pm it is 37 to 38 degrees and exceptionally humid.
“But in around two weeks’ time we will drop into the mid-twenties, it just happens almost overnight. So by the time we get to the tournament starting on October 31, I’d imagine we will be late-20s in terms of temperature.
“That will be perfect for padel given it will be outside and there is very little wind over here. The heat in itself is very humid and if it were to be played right now then by the time you step on the court, took your racket out of your bag, and hit two shots from the baseline you’d need to change your top, it is that humid. You’d be drenched like you just had a shower in fact!
“But in a month I’d expect it to be perfect temperature-wise and heat-wise. But padel is huge over here. Within a 20-minute radius you could be talking 20 plus indoor clubs which all have from 5 plus courts maybe going up to 12.
“So there are maybe 200 indoor courts within 20 miles.”
It would certain be a fitting return to action if Wyatt could recover in time to represent his nation on ‘home turf’.
