Pavlyuchenkova spoke about her recovery from injury

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has not been competing on the WTA Tour since May 2026. Back then, in the first round of the qualifying tournament in Rome, the tennis player withdrew due to a wrist injury. After that, the Russian athlete was forced to take a break from her career.

Anastasia became a guest on the “Hardcourt” program, where she shared her impressions of the Russian players’ performance at the 2026 US Open and talked about the recovery process.

“I started having problems with my wrist in January. My hand swelled up right before the Australian Open.” A lump appeared; there was a cyst there, and it happened just five days before the tournament—I was already in Melbourne. And they told me I needed to have the fluid drained. I was playing on painkillers and using taping. Now the pain and swelling come and go. And before I think about returning, I’ll see how my body copes. For now, I need to have the fluid drained and work on building up the muscles, gradually increasing the load and monitoring. The most important thing is that I don’t have a headache…

— And how is the recovery process going? Or rather, what are you doing to recover?

— Just don’t laugh. I’m going to cooking school. I can’t train properly yet, so I’m playing at being a housewife. I’ve learned how to cook poached eggs and eggs Benedict — I’ll bring some to try sometime. So far, our training program has only included breakfasts.

— Do you do any training at all? Are you getting in shape?

— Yes, of course, I’m training, I’m playing tennis little by little, I’m seeing how my body reacts, I’m keeping myself in shape. But for now, you can only see me on a cooking show.

Watch the full, latest episode of the “Hardcore” program on the First&Red platforms on YouTube and VK.