Djere’s unplanned Hong Kong tennis trip banishing memories of ‘disastrous’ end to 2025
Serbian Laslo Djere into Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open first round after a gutsy pair of qualifying wins
After marrying long-term partner Tamara in the off-season, and winning two Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open qualifiers, Laslo Djere has begun to banish memories of the “disastrous” end to his 2025 campaign.
In a desperate attempt to cling to his top-100 ranking and main-draw entry for this month’s Australian Open, Djere, who has spoken movingly about losing both his parents by the age of 23, hurried back after sustaining a stress fracture of his left shinbone last July.
The Serbian acknowledged he came back “poorly prepared”, but said he did so because of the need for ranking points to qualify for the first grand slam of the year.
“I played seven more tournaments, but I have never felt worse physically on the court in my life,” Djere said. “I somehow managed to get those few points, but I was really happy the season ended.”
Between his return at September’s Shanghai Masters and season-finale in a Lyon Challenger Tour event two months later, Djere won only two of nine matches.
“It was really rough for me … just disastrous,” he said. “I can still feel some sensations [in the shin] but I am calm, I’ve had a couple of MRIs and the bone is healthy. The tissues around it need to adapt.”