When the world’s best players arrive in Paris this week for the French Open, where the qualifying tournament began Monday, one player in particular will be conspicuous by her absence.
For the first time since she began her comeback in 2008, Kimiko Date-Krumm will not be in the field for a Grand Slam event, neither main draw nor qualifying. At the grand old age of 45 — grandmother territory in tennis terms — Date-Krumm has defied age and conventional sporting wisdom to be competitive on the WTA Tour, but recent knee surgery means the Japanese player faces a long road back if she is to continue playing.