After concussion scare, Townsend sees the light

“It was bad immediately,” she recalled for Rolandgarros.com after her first-round qualifying win over Japan’s Sara Saito on Tuesday in Paris. “Initially when we did the testing they were like ‘Hey who did you play yesterday?’ I couldn’t remember. ‘What’s the score in your match?’ I couldn’t remember.’” 

Townsend, who played and lost her semifinal three days after the injury, would later find that she was far from out of the woods. 

“When I settled, and normalised outside of the tennis world, I was just like, ‘Whoa. I definitely don’t feel normal,’” she said, recalling symptoms that required restful isolation in order to re-set her body.

“Light sensitivity, dizziness, blurry vision. That lasted for almost ten days – I would have headaches all day long, they would be in different places, behind my eyes and my neck, and I also had whiplash, so my neck and my cervical spine was all screwed up. I couldn’t turn my head."

The concussion was unfortunate timing for the American, who had just put up her best singles result in Miami after a slow start to 2025, but she had to prioritise her health. Townsend says once she stopped having headaches and her symptoms began to clear, she enjoyed being home for a stretch, and spending time with her son AJ and other family and friends. 

“The universe was like, ‘Hey, we need to sit her down,’” the doubles world No.2 says with a laugh. "It was something that I think was almost a blessing in disguise."

Symptom-free for about three weeks, Townsend has a clean bill of health and a fresh brand of energy in Paris, where the former world No.46 hopes to begin rebuilding her game so that she can make a push back into the top 50 by the summer. 

“I really enjoy playing on clay, it’s something that is not easy to adjust to, but I think it gives me an opportunity to get back into the groove of building points and longer rallies, shot discipline and shot tolerance, so I couldn’t ask for a better place and surface to start, after not having played matches,” Townsend said. 

Confidence is not an issue for Townsend, as she’s still not far removed from her top 50 singles debut which came in August of last year. 

“It was very special for me and it was also confirmation that I can do it,” she said of her 2024 season, which featured three top 15 singles wins and her first major doubles title at Wimbledon, alongside Katerina Siniakova.

“As Chris Eubanks said in a recent interview: ‘You just need one win, to do it one time and then you know that you can do it.’ Tennis is a lot of ups and downs, but once you get to a certain place you know that you can do it. For me, I know that it’s possible.” 

Another reason that Townsend is thriving? Her coach John Williams, and the chemistry they’ve developed over the last few seasons. 

“We have such a great relationship off the court,” Townsend said of the man she referred to as a mad scientist. “I trust him literally with anything and everything in my life. Our relationship goes beyond tennis and I really value his information and his insight. The way that he sees the game and the way that he is able to analyse things.” 

Having a confidant and a mentor like Williams is a valuable resource for Townsend, who says she had never before enjoyed the type of support he offers. 

“I’ve had a lot of times in my career where I’ve had people that I’ve given that blind trust to and they’ve led me astray,” she said. “I look up and I’m just like ‘How did I get here?’ With John I know that if I put the blinders on I know that he’s leading me in the right direction.”

With the horror of endless headaches behind her, Townsend is once again ready to resume her rise on tour. 

“I think it’s about: just keep working, just keep going,” she said. “Things may not go the way you anticipate, but you can’t get discouraged. 

“Me and John say ‘Just keep pounding the stone’.

“Because you never know which blow is going to make it crack open. Just keep going, just keep pounding the stone and eventually something will happen.

“That’s my message and that’s the mindset that I take into my life.”

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