On the verge of becoming JOP's #2 ranked 12U girl in Japan, on a three tournament win streak, and playing the best tennis of her young career, Angelyna Tatsuko suffers a broken back in an off-court accident! X-rays confirm that her L3 Lumbar Vertebrae was fractured. Fortunately, she has no nerve damage at this point, but she will be restricted in her mobility for up to two months. At risk, she may never be able to play competitive tennis again (something I don't feel a doctor has a right to tell a 12-year old prior to parental awareness)!

With her confidence at an all-time high after defeating the reigning 12U national champion and a top ranked player in the country, Angelyna Tatsuko was in shock when the doctor informed her of her career-threatening injury. However, within an hour of learning she could not play tennis, she showed her true love for the sport by informing her father/coach that she would even play in a wheelchair if she couldn't walk, and rather than simply taking a break from the sport, wanted to increase her mental training and study the strategic side of tennis to return better than before!

As the excruciating pain in her lower back subsides, Angelyna Tatsuko realizes a growing pain in the spinal cord of her neck and extending into her left shoulder. Her doctor confirms that she also suffered an undetected injury to her neck and that there is nerve damage through her left arm. X-rays also reveal that she has a "straight neck" condition, which leaves her more prone to spinal-related injuries and makes recovery more difficult.

Fortunately, with the fracture in her lower back healed, the doctor clears her for light training due to the importance of upcoming overseas tennis events. Care is given for her shoulder pain, however, after only three days of soft hitting with only low-pressure 'green balls,' Angelyna Tatsuko suffers massive pain from a backhand stroke and is unable to use her left arm prior to her departure to South Korea.

Unable to recover from the damage to the radial and median nerves from her neck to left shoulder, Angelyna Tatsuko trains to play completely one-handed (she uses a two-hand backhand AND forehand), as any attempt to use her left arm strenuously may cause permanent nerve damage. She begins daily treatment from a chiropractor, but with the extent of the nerve damage unknown, there is no time-table for her full reocvery.

With acupuncture needles in her neck and left arm to reduce the pain, Angelyna Tatsuko attempts her comeback in South Korea. With her left arm able to do no more than make a service toss, she endures the pain for as much as she can, but in the end is forced to retire.

Angelyna Tatsuko undergoes daily chiropractic therapy to treat the ongoing nerve damage to her neck and left arm, but there is little progress on the pain front. The acupuncture needles help little, and abandons them in search of alternate ways to support her shoulder. While she does have greater range of motion in her service toss, she has moments of great pain, reduced strength or numbness mid-game (as seen to the left). As a result, she develops a top spin and slice underhand serve that she can use offensively when necessary to play until the pain subsides.

Although she does manage to complete some matches and even reaches the finals in Oiso, she is forced to retire in the first three tournaments of September. However, just 14 weeks after suffering her broken back, Angelyna Tatsuko takes the title at Takahara Lobbing in Izu and reaches a career-best #2 ranking in the 12U Division!!

Angelyna Tatsuko continues daily chiropractic therapy to treat the ongoing nerve damage to her neck and left arm. While she does go several days without pain, she can suffer pain at any time if she overextends her service toss and any attempt to use her two-handed backhand results in debilitating pain. She begins to use a shoulder supporter, but it does little to prevent the pain at the source (neck).

She improves the consistency of her forehand and has even managed some 200-hit rallies with Christyna Seiko, her younger sister, but the big progress is in the one-handed slice backhand that she begins to hit offensively. Her new, hard, skidding slice backhand becomes especially dangerous when Angelyna Tatsuko can successfully mix it with her touch game, as evident in her second, post-injury, tournament title at Sugita!

After months of treatment, Angelyna Tatsuko's doctor states that he can do little more than pain management and that the nerve damage is non-repairable for a chiropractor. He knows of no specialist that he can refer for corrective treatment, and that the nerve damage may be permanent. While her pain treatment will be ongoing as she wishes to continue to play even with only one arm, we will need to consider other remedies, such as surgery, in hopes of restoring her to 100% health.

She does have a slightly greater range of motion in her service toss, but she is still unable to toss as high or consistent as she did before. And while we attempt to limit her exposure to serving as much as possible, moving her up to play in the 16 & Under division against stronger opponents has her pushing to compensate for her service toss and has now caused pain to her shoulder joint. But even through her pain and restrictions, her game and confidence steadily improves. And as most people play tennis with a one-handed forehand, those who don't know her have no idea that she is handicapped and playing injured.