MELBOURNE, Australia — Casey Dellacqua, a former top-10 player and major finalist in women’s doubles and a Grand Slam champion in mixed doubles, is returning to tennis this week at the Australian Open after nine months away because of a concussion.
While concussions have become a hot topic in recent years in contact sports like football, hockey and rugby, the injury is much rarer in tennis, even if it is a sport where balls can whiz past the head at speeds around 100 miles per hour. Doubles players, in particular, take hits all the time, but not usually to their heads.