A car accident disrupted her season, but Canberra Velocity's Alison Bai will aiming to gain valuable momentum heading into the Australian Open wildcard playoff.
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The Velocity women's team is unbeaten in the NSW/ACT conference of the Asia-Pacific Tennis League going into this weekend's final two rounds at the Canberra Tennis Centre, Lyneham.
Bai and Sydney import Tyra Calderwood are both undefeated in singles and doubles so far this season, while the Velocity will also be boosted by the addition of world No.402 Alexandra Nancarrow.
Nancarrow has slashed her ranking by more than 500 spots this year after impressive performances overseas.
Bai has been back in Canberra for the past three weeks playing with the Velocity as she regains her confidence following an up and down year.
The week after making the final of a Pro Tour event in Mildura, Bai was sidelined when she was T-boned in her car driving to training.
Bai could not move her neck and still experiences pain on long-haul flights.
"It was the first car accident I had been in and it kind of shook me a little bit," Bai said.
"I was on a massive high and had all this confidence, then I have this car accident and it destroys your confidence a little bit.
"I wasn't allowed to be on the court for a week because I had really bad whiplash.
"It took me a while to get back into form, but I finished off the year pretty well and I'm playing better."
Bai will contest the ATL finals with the Velocity on December 12-13 before going to Melbourne for the Australian Open wildcard playoffs from December 15-21.
The Velocity women's team will face the South East Smashers and Sydney University Lions this weekend, trying to remain perfect in the competition.
"We're pretty lucky that we've got pretty much the same line-up as last year while other clubs have changed a bit," Bai said.
"Ashley Keir has been injured and hasn't been playing, but having Alex Nancarrow coming into the team for the Canberra tie will strengthen our team.
"Alex has had an amazing year - she started the year ranked around 900 and is now in the high 400s.
"It's awesome for Canberra tennis and hopefully we can draw some inspiration for the young kids."
The Velocity men's team are hoping to notch their first win of the tournament after losing their first three rounds.
The Velocity take on the Manly Waves on Saturday and the Sydney University Lions on Sunday.
ASIA-PACIFIC TENNIS LEAGUE: Saturday: Canberra Velocity Women v South East Smashers, 1pm. Canberra Velocity Men v Manly Waves, 1pm. Sunday: Canberra Velocity Women v Sydney University Lions, 10am. Canberra Velocity Men v Sydney University Lions, 10am.
