A season-ending injury and complications with the NCAA were not enough to keep Long Beach State women’s tennis player Klaudia Malenovska off the court.
Since moving to Long Beach from her native Slovakia, Malenovska, who plays at No. 2 doubles and No. 5 singles, has been on the tennis team for three years despite having to sit out her entire first year at LBSU and half of last year’s season.
As she prepares for possibly her last match of the season against Arkansas at UCLA, she is trying to compete at her highest caliber.
“It’s kind of tough to start playing with something that wasn’t there before,” Malenovska said about overcoming her injury and subsequent eight month break from playing. “You are used to your standards of how you play but all of a sudden you can’t play like that anymore.”
She tore her ACL, a rare injury among tennis players, during the second match of last season’s Big West Conference tournament. She spent six weeks on crutches and about eight months off the court.
“She worked as hard as I think I’ve seen any athlete work rehabbing an injury,” ‘Niners head coach Jenny Hilt-Costello said. “That’s why you see her in the lineup helping us win matches right now because of her hard work behind the scenes to come back and be ready. She’s risen to the occasion.”
While recovering from her injury, Malenovska was unable to walk for three weeks and had to get injections in her stomach every night to prevent blood clots.
“Injury is painful, but it’s more about the mental than physical side,” Malenovska said. “You have to stay tough, but then you’re asking yourself, ‘Why me, why now?'”
That was an especially pertinent question for Malenovska, since her injury happened only 10 matches after she started playing following a suspension for violating NCAA rules.
Malenovska was suspended from competing and practicing with the team because she signed a contract to be paid expenses for a league she played in Germany in 2009. She also must pay $3,000 to various nonprofit organizations.
She was just adjusting to life in the U. S. at the time and wasn’t aware of the stringent NCAA rules, since Slovakia doesn’t have a similar system.
“I didn’t know because it’s different in Europe,” she said. “If somebody would have told me how it works here, I would have behaved differently, because it’s terrible – being on the team and not playing and competing. You’re part of the team, but not really.”
In what could have been the end of her tennis career, Malenovska worked to improve and maintain her skill.
“Maybe some people would separate themselves, or isolate themselves,” she said. “I was trying to be involved. And you can have positive from every negative thing. Those negative things have a lot of positives in them for the future.”
Since Malenovska remained dedicated to her sport, she was able to continue doing what she is passionate about. She never lost any interest in the game, or the aspects, both mental and physical, that keep her interested.
“I think tennis is one of the toughest sports because it’s so mental,” she said. “You have to be there, 100 percent focused.”
Malenovska said playing doubles is less stressful for a player than singles because it allows for the players to have more fun with each other. She said she enjoys playing with her partner, senior Anais Dallara.
“With Anais, I’m literally in the zone because specifically in doubles you have to have a connection between two players, and I think we have it,” Malenovska said. “She can laugh on the court. Sometimes, it’s really the hardest thing for some people to laugh on the court, but it’s a game. It’s called a game so we should play.”
Hilt-Costello said she’s happy to have Malenovska back on the lineup.
She’s definitely a fighter,” Hilt-Costello said. “She’s very determined, and we need that kind of energy on the court.”