Casey Dellacqua is ready to compete in this weekend's Fed Cup, after spending six months in recovery following a freak accident.
Casey Dellacqua at Wimbledon last year, before her accident. Photo: Getty Images
Dellacqua told SEN she was on court in October when she fell and hit her head.
I was in a constant cloud of drowsiness, I couldn't remember things, I was doing testing with my doctor every couple of days.
The 31-year-old had been losing a match in China but had fought back and had match point.
"I was just really desperate to win and was chasing a ball and fell over my feet and couldn't get my hands down," she said.
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Dellacqua said she suffered a concussion and could not remember much of the following 15 minutes but had thought she would be able to recover quickly. However her symptoms continued and she missed the Australian summer of tennis.
"I was in a constant cloud of drowsiness, I couldn't remember things, I was doing testing with my doctor every couple of days," she said on Tuesday.
"I had pretty much a consistent headache, I couldn't sleep, it was actually really bad."
Dellacqua said her recovery required a lot of rest and very little else.
She recently began playing doubles matches but did not feel ready for the demands of singles tennis.
Australia will play the US in the Fed Cup in Brisbane this weekend with the aim of rejoining the world group – made up of the best eight countries.
Dellacqua said the team, which also included Samantha Stosur, Daria Gavrilova and Arina Rodionova, was strong.
"Our new addition, Dasha (Gavrilova), is a huge plus for us in terms of singles," she said.
"Sam's been a trooper for for us in singles over the years ... it's nice that she's got someone else to take a bit of the pressure off her."
Friend Ash Barty recently returned to tennis after a stint in competitive cricket.
Dellacqua said Barty needed time away from the sport but tennis was her "true calling."