After more than a year on the sidelines, Zoe Hives got through her first tennis match unscathed.
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The Ballarat tennis player shook off her cobwebs against world ranked player Daria Gavrilova on Friday.
It marked the first match in 14 months for Hives, who fell ill with glandular fever and postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) in 2019.
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Hives fell in straight sets to Gavrilova while playing for MCC Glen Iris Valley in the Melbourne premier league.
"I put myself in the deep end pretty quick," she said.
"I lost but I was pretty happy with the match overall. I started slow but by the end I got better."
Hives took five games off Gavrilova but was unable to withstand a 6-2, 6-3 defeat. However she said overcoming her nerves made the loss a win in itself.
"Matches are so different to training and she was a different level to what I'd been practicing with, so it took me a little while to rise," she said.
Symptoms during Hives' health battles were fatigue and dizziness, which forced her off the court completely. After plenty of rest, she got back to training in April and has gradually worked her way through to competitive match play.
Luckily, she had her world singles ranking frozen after falling ill, meaning she will still be eligible for numerous Women's Tennis Association events as well as two grand slam qualifiers.
While the Australian Open remains up in the air due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, Hives is keen to play in the tournament in 2021.
"I'm planning on playing," she said.