Tennis Fans Rally Around Elina Avanesyan Amid 'Difficult' Diagnosis
Earlier this season, Elina Avanesyan seemed on her way to becoming one of the top players on the WTA Tour. However, she has won just one match since March 21.
Avanesyan, 22, dropped her first-round matches at the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. She also failed to reach the second round at the Madrid Open and Italian Open. It's been a disappointing stretch, but there's a reason for it.
On Sept. 13, Avanesyan revealed that she was diagnosed with mononucleosis in March. That impacted her conditioning right before the start of the 2025 clay court season. As if that wasn't bad enough, she dealt with wrist and shoulder injuries.
"Back in March, I was diagnosed with mononucleosis. At first I didn’t fully realize how much it would affect me, but soon I was feeling exhausted all the time, with no energy, and even the simplest training sessions became really difficult. This was especially hard to accept because the first two months of the season had gone so well. I was competing at a high level, feeling in great shape, and truly enjoying my tennis. To go from that to feeling so weak and unable to perform was incredibly frustrating," Avanesyan wrote.
"Then in Miami I started to struggle with significant wrist pain, which took a long time to recover from. Just when I thought I was getting better, I faced another setback with shoulder pain, and it has felt like one thing after another ever since. These physical issues have been very difficult to manage, especially because my body hasn’t fully recovered from the illness. It feels like everything has taken longer than usual to heal, which makes the process even more challenging."
Coming back stronger.
With all four Grand Slam tournaments in the books for this season, Avanesyan is hoping she'll be able to recover and get back to playing pain-free tennis.
"Being able to play matches again has been a big step, but competing while not feeling like myself on court is really hard. More than anything, I miss being able to fight at my highest level and enjoy the game the way I know I can. That is what keeps me motivated every day to push through this process," Avanesyan continued. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart to all of you who continue to support me through the ups and downs. Your kind messages and encouragement mean more to me than I can put into words. They give me strength on the hard days and remind me why I keep fighting."
Tennis fans will certainly be cheering for Avanesyan over the next few months.
"Sending you so much support during this tough time. Your strength and resilience are truly inspiring. Keep pushing through, and remember that you're not alone in this journey We can't wait to see you back on the court, stronger than ever," one fan said.
Sending you so much support during this tough time. Your strength and resilience are truly inspiring.
Keep pushing through, and remember that you're not alone in this journey
We can't wait to see you back on the court, stronger than ever 💪❤️— Girish Menon Photography (@wildlifegiri) September 13, 2025
"Take care Elina. Take time to recover and then we will all look forward to seeing you compete again. The way you were playing earlier in the year, it looks like the best is still to come for you," another fan wrote.
Take care Elina. Take time to recover and then we will all look forward to seeing you compete again. The way you were playing earlier in the year, it looks like the best is still to come for you. @ElinaaAvanesyan
— Greg Olsen (@olsenggregory) September 13, 2025
Avanesyan has dropped to No. 104 in the live WTA rankings. She'll need a strong start to the 2026 season in order to get back inside the top 50.
That being said, Avanesyan can't worry about the rankings too much right now. What matters is that she gets her body back to full strength.
We're wishing Avanesyan a full and speedy recovery.
This story was originally reported by The Spun on Sep 13, 2025, where it first appeared in the Tennis section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
