Kaja Juvan, 22, says she is experiencing “the hardest time” of her life after her father passed away due to cancer this past December. Juvan, a Slovenian tennis player, owns an 8-7 record in 2023 as last week she achieved her best result of the year in San Potosi – where she reached the semifinal.
But Juvan remains greatly impacted by the death of her father and she has announced that she “decided to slow down with playing normal tournaments for just a few weeks or whatever will feel right.” According to Marko Hraster, Juvan could still play next week’s Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers against Romania.
In a lengthy message posted on her social media, Juvan opened up on the last couple of months.
Juvan on her father losing his battle with cancer
“Some of you may know that I lost my dad to cancer in December. It’s been a really challenging time since then, as losing such a close person to me has been the hardest thing in my life, and also something that no one can ever prepare you for.
Along with that, the grieving process has been really hard for me. I feel really tired and overwhelmed on most days from just even normal functioning, which makes training and competing sometimes feel really difficult. That being said, some days are better and some worse, but for now the pain and the sadness are still very much there.
I don’t think they will ever completely go away, but in time I am learning that the pain is coming from a place of love and I feel like the painful memories are slowly turning into memories that I just are there. There has been so many different and strong emotions (a few more negative ones) over the last period which makes it a bit harder to compete and be consistent in my matches than normally.
Everyone that have seen me play in the past knows how much I love tennis and winning and how much I always try to fight on the court. This is the part that has been very challenging to do lately. Some days I feel very motivated and some just really stressed out and sad.
My dad loved tennis and watching me play a lot and he really wanted me to continue playing normally even after he was gone. That was also one of the reasons that I continued playing tournaments normally when he died. I managed to win a few matches lately of which I am really proud, but I also see that I have been getting more and more tired,” Juvan wrote in a message posted on her social media.
Kaja #Juvan rarely goes out with a long post explaining her current situation, but the past few months have taken their toll ðð Source: Instagram
She’s still ‘IN’ for @BJKCup clash with Romania next week though per Slovenia NT captain pic.twitter.com/4fzvzUXvMD — Marko Hrastar ð¸ð® (@Markohrastar) April 5, 2023
