“Basically my heart rate just shoots up for no reason” Johanna Konta opens up on her frequent illness and health issues
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Johanna Konta
Former World No. 4 Johanna Konta recently opened up on her health issues which have kept her out of action for a while now. Konta is a former semi-finalist at all 3 Slams except the US Open where her best result came in 2019 when she made it to the quarter-finals.
The Brit after winning the 2021 Nottingham Open, her first title in 4 years, had to skip the 2021 Wimbledon Championships as one of her team members tested positive for Covid-19 and her entire team then had to isolate. She also skipped the Tokyo Olympics due to health concerns and eventually disclosed what battles is she fighting for a while now.
“I sometimes have heart palpitations. Basically, my heart rate just shoots up for no reason. It makes me a bit light-headed. I just needed to see the doctor and the physio to see where it was at. It was very, very high. The first time it happened was in Birmingham in 2017; the second time was in Beijing in 2018, actually in the evening match that day.
“The third time was three months ago when I was doing my practice block on the clay at home in London. So I wouldn’t say that there’s a massive common denominator. It’s been under stressful situations, it’s been under actual no-stress situations,” said Konta to Express, explaining her bouts with health issues.
“It’s unfortunate that it’s happened to me now twice in the past three months”: Johanna Konta
Johanna has played only 18 matches this season and only 3 since her title run in Nottingham. In the 3rd round of the 2021 Montreal Open, Konta had to give a walkover as she did not find herself fit to take the court and then played at the 2021 Cincinnati Open where she lost in the first round itself and did not play on the Tour again.
“It’s unfortunate that it’s happened to me now twice in the past three months. But that’s no indication that it’s going to pick up frequency. I’ve had all the heart tests done you could possibly have, and my heart is absolutely fine. Obviously, it’s not ideal. It’s probably not going to happen again for … a year. It’s one of those things but I’m not worried, no.
“It was very difficult. There was nothing good and nothing fun about having COVID and having to miss Wimbledon and the Olympics. There’s just no way around that. However, I consider myself quite a happy person, quite a positive person, and definitely a pragmatic person, and I like to practice perspective in all the good things I do have in my life.
“So I had to definitely utilise those tools. And at the end of the day, I looked at my life and everything’s okay,” added Konta. While she indeed has had enough rest going into the 2022 season, however, given the unusual frequency, her health will remain a matter of concern.
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Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)