Comeback trail brings tennis pro Stevenson to Dorchester

Not only is Stevenson not “that girl,” she is also not playing in those events — at least, not right now. While much of the tennis world fixed its gaze on the Wimbledon finals last weekend, Stevenson was in Dorchester at Sportsmen’s Tennis Club, playing in the Empire/United States Tennis Association (USTA) Women’s $50K Pro Challenger tournament.

After that 1999 Wimbledon semifinal appearance, Stevenson worked her way up the professional ladder, reaching a career-high ranking of number 18 in the world in October 2002. But she suffered a labral tear to her right shoulder in 2003, underwent surgery in September 2004, and spent three and a half years rehabbing the injury.

As she worked to return to form, she fell all the way to the bottom of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings, which are based on points earned through performance at tournaments. After spending years playing in WTA tournaments, Stevenson has spent this season playing in USTA events. She’d like to be back in the big time.

“These tournaments suck,” Stevenson said. “They’re the dregs of tennis.”

Stevenson quickly added that the Sportsmen’s tournament is the exception to that rule, explaining that Sydney Cooper, event director and head of tennis instructor at Sportsmen’s, makes it enjoyable for the players.

“You go to these country clubs [where tournaments are held] and they never have ball kids,” Stevenson said. “[Cooper] worked really hard to have the kids, and the kids are really funny.”

Sportsmen’s is a breeding ground for young Boston-area tennis players, many of whom were roaming the facility during the tournament. The club provides tennis lessons for urban youth. Stevenson liked the urban atmosphere, and said she can identify with the kids, referring to her 2002 injury when she “had everything taken away” from her.

As a result of her injury, Stevenson lost not only her ranking, but also her sponsors and her clothing line, among other things. She spent a lot of time alone while rehabbing her shoulder, much of it stewing over her unfortunate circumstances. Eventually, her frustration was replaced by a fierce determination.

“It’s just life,” Stevenson said. “It happened. I’m upset about it, but you can’t hold a grudge against what happened to you.”

The rededicated Stevenson is quickly climbing back up the rankings, currently standing at No. 234. She considers her comeback her second career. She is now 27, an age she says the tennis community considers old, despite the fact that her peers and friends, Serena and Venus Williams, age 26 and 27, were the finalists in Wimbledon last weekend. If that is considered old, Stevenson counters, with her three-plus years of injury-induced inactivity, she’s technically only 23 in tennis terms.

The second career hit a bump in the road last Friday, as Stevenson lost in the quarterfinals of the Sportsmen’s tournament to Anna Tatishvili, an 18-year-old from the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. Stevenson said she would have won if not for the lingering effects of a minor injury in her left thigh (a pulled adductor muscle) suffered a week earlier in the Wimbledon qualifying rounds. She expects the injury to heal in about a week, and says she doesn’t think it will be an issue after that.

Nor will ambition. Stevenson’s drive goes beyond tennis. A recent graduate of the University of Colorado, where she took online courses to earn her degree in sociology, she is writing a blog for ESPN.com called “My Journey Back,” and says she is working on a fictional book about a “20-something girl living life, trying to get through,” which she says will be written by December. She also says she hopes to get into acting and would like to start her own clothing line.

(p1)