True champions leave their blood, sweat and tears on the court, an aphorism that resonates deeply with junior Jessica Nguyen of the Stanford women’s tennis team.

Last February, Nguyen appeared to be headed for a promising sophomore campaign with the Card, which was gunning for its third consecutive national title.

Then, Murphy’s Law struck.

Nguyen developed a stress reaction in her left foot due to the over-pronation of her left ankle, which placed too much pressure on her arch.

“I woke up in the morning and couldn’t step on my foot because it was just so sore,” Nguyen said. “It hurt to walk and basically do anything. I tried to come back, but it was too painful to put pressure on it.”

Fortunately, doctors diagnosed the stress reaction before it turned into a stress fracture, but didn’t have any remedies for Nguyen other than rest.

Nguyen, who has played tennis nearly her whole life, had to stop all tennis-related activities for the following four weeks.

“It was the longest time I had ever taken off,” Nguyen said. “It was during finals time so I could focus on school a little bit, but it was difficult to sit there and watch everyone practice, knowing that I couldn’t be doing it.”

Even worse, there was no time frame for her recovery — Nguyen was out indefinitely.

After four weeks of inactivity, Nguyen came back to practice with only two weeks left until the NCAA Championships. She gradually increased her court time from 15 minutes to 30 and then 40.

“I really wouldn’t know when the pain would come back,” Nguyen said. “Basically the doctors told me, ‘Play and if you feel pain, stop, take a break, go back again the next day and play a little less to try to find your threshold.’”

In the middle of April, the pain returned, and Nguyen received a cortisone shot. But she persevered with the help of her teammates.

“The team has been really supportive,” Nguyen said. “Every time I saw them, they would ask me how it was coming along or how my doctor’s appointments were. It just really helped to have a supportive group of my best friends being there for me and never putting pressure on me.”

With her teammates behind her, Nguyen returned to tournament shape in time for the NCAAs. To help her with her injury, she began wearing custom orthotics in her shoes, but the rough material of the orthotics combined with heat and sweat ravaged her foot.

“The newly made orthotics just ripped through the bottom of my foot,” Nguyen said. “They were raw and sore and had blisters the size of quarters on them. But I kept playing on them because I had to.”

Nguyen tried taping her foot before matches, spending up to an hour beforehand taping to the point where she could barely fit her foot in her shoe, but the orthotics ripped through and the pain continued.

After each match, Nguyen’s sock would be bloody from the broken blisters. Nguyen would have to constantly bathe her foot in iodine to clean it out and recounts showers as being “probably the most painful thing ever.”

Despite the pain, Nguyen kept playing.

“I wanted to play through any pain I had for the team,” Nguyen said. “I just kept playing through it because we needed all six girls in our lineup.”

Nguyen won all of her matches in the Championships, but the Card fell in the semifinals to UCLA, ending the team’s bid for a third consecutive title.

But the season was not over yet. Up next were the individual NCAA Championships for Nguyen and her teammates.

In the second round, the pain finally caught up with Nguyen, and she retired in her match against Florida’s Megan Alexander.

“I was disappointed after because I had just managed to get through a long two-setter,” Nguyen said. “And in the second match, I had to finally retire because I just couldn’t play anymore. It was too painful.”

Thus, Nguyen’s inspiring run ended, but her pain persisted.

After the season ended, Nguyen took another month off from tennis. She tried to come back and play a bit more, but felt pain in her foot again.

“It was really disappointing because I was hoping to play a lot this summer,” Nguyen said. “I took off more time and didn’t start playing tournaments again until August.”

In August, Nguyen returned to tournament play in Tokyo and eventually headed back to the Farm in September ready to test out her feet.

Judging from Nguyen’s performance this season, it appears that her troubles are well behind her.

Last weekend, the junior captured the team’s first singles title at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northwest Regional Championships. With the win, she earned an automatic berth as the lone Stanford representative in the Indoor Championships in Columbus, Ohio.

More importantly, Nguyen played ten matches in four days at the Regionals without feeling any pain in her foot.

Reflecting on her journey to recovery, she is thankful for her experiences.

“It was definitely mentally challenging to get through it,” Nguyen said. “Injuries really make you stronger to have to play through them or take time off and come back strong.”

Moreover, her positive attitude has rubbed off on her teammates.

“It’s also made our team stronger as a whole to come back from injuries and to know that to be the best we just have to stay healthy.”