After missing majority of the first part of 2016 season, Yuki Bhambri cannot wait to get back on the tennis court to get the feel of his racket.
The 24-year-old Delhi lad was the talk of the town at the end of last year when he broke into the top-100 world rankings.
As a result of which Yuki was able to play in the main draw of the season opening first Grand Slam Australian Open, where he lost in the first round to Tomas Berdych.
However, things did not go well from there on for the Indian players as he had to miss the next two Grand Slams — French Open and Wimbledon — through injuries.
So it is not surprising to see him frustrated with his injury layoff.
“It (injury) is the most frustrating thing. You want to be there and play. It’s one of the frustrating times. If I play and lose, then it is fine but this is different,” he said.
The elbow injury first surfaced for him at the end of last year and he could not shake off the injury and missed the 2016 season starting Chennai Open.
Even though Yuki got back in time for the Australian Open, the injury resurfaced for the Delhi player again around April and since then he has been sideline by it.
As a result of the injury he will also not play in the Davis Cup Asia Oceania group-I tie against South Korea from July 15 to 17.
Now Yuki has only one thing in his mind — returning back to the court as soon as possible.
“The goal is to get back on the court soon. I have been working hard on rest of the body. I expect to get back on tour by the end of July,” he added.
The immediate target for Yuki after getting back from injury is to take part in the US tour and use it as a preparation for the final Grand Slam of the year — US Open.
“I will then take part in the US tour — to prepare for the US Open,” he said before adding, “I will play in the qualifiers and through it hopefully I will make it through the main draw of the tournament.”
Beyond US Open, Yuki has only one target, which is to play throughout the year, without any disruptions.
“I want to get out there and play for the rest of this year,” he said.
As far as long term goals are concerned, the 24-year-old wants to break into the top-100 once again.
“My goal is to get back into the top-100 and play with the best players and participate in all the Grand Slams,” he said.
However, he added that there is no time limit set for him to achieve his target.
“I have no time set. Hopefully, next year, I get to play all the Slams after having a good second half of the season,” he said.
With Olympics round the corner, Yuki, who is currently ranked 148, feels India have a good chance of winning a medal at Rio.
“India have a good chance for medal in Olympics, since we have a good doubles and mixed doubles team,” he said.