Those who would love to see the lesser spotted Laura Robson back competing on a tennis court are learning that it is a question of hope trumping expectation . Having withdrawn from the qualifying event of this week ’ s Miami Open , she has now removed herself from the entry list to next month ’ s WTA Tour event in Bogota , and the new target for her return appears to be the French Open in May . That suggests she is going to be left with at least 16 months of catching up to do when her troublesome wrist is deemed fit for full tournament play again , having not played since the Australian Open in January last year . Former British No 1 Laura Robson protects her wrist while out in London . Nobody is more frustrated about this than Robson herself , now 21 and without a world ranking . She would dearly love to be in Miami now , but instead is back practising over in Bradenton near Tampa at the IMG Academy . Perhaps encouragingly , she posted a picture of herself on Twitter doing a full , tendon-testing handstand . Robson admitted last summer that she has shed tears over this hiatus in her career , which has proved longer than feared since she played her last match in Melbourne before eventually undergoing wrist surgery . Here this week her manager , Max Eisenbud , issued a positive-sounding update while preaching patience : “ I ’ m happy with the way it ’ s been going and she ’ s been hitting the ball great in practice , ” he said . “ It ’ s a question of waiting until the coaches think she can play five matches in a week . It ’ s all about when she is ready to compete . We don ’ t want to put her in a situation where she can ’ t play a full tournament. ” . Among Eisenbud ’ s other clients include Maria Sharapova , whose intermittent struggles with her shoulder have informed his approach . “ I learned a lot from the whole experience with Maria , and that ’ s why I feel strongly about not rushing it . Laura is still young with a lot of time ahead. ” . Sharapova seems to have won her battle , but there are other examples of players who show just what a tough road lies ahead for Robson - and that on the assumption that she shows a full-on appetite for hard work that has not always been evident . When she finally decided to go for surgery last April to repair a minor tendon tear she sought the advice of 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro , who has had operations on both wrists . She used the same specialist at the Mayo clinic in Minnesota . Ironically this has turned out to be the Argentine ’ s own comeback event and on Thursday evening he lost 6-4 7-6 to Vasek Pospisil . The fact that this was just his second tournament in fourteen months after an abortive return in January shows just how infernally complex wrist injuries are for tennis players . He was just delighted to be back on court : “ It 's not 100 % free , but I felt even better than Sydney tournament in January , ” he said . “ It 's only two months after my second surgery and my left wrist . I feel better week by week , but it 's still very early to feel 100 % . “ Mentally you must be strongest enough to deal with the problem and get up every morning to do your treatments and rehab and stay calm , looking forward for the future . I 'm not hurried to be in the top 10 very soon . I want to play tennis . It does n't matter how long it 's take me to be in the top again. ” . Being absent for a long period of time with any injury brings with it problems in a tennis world that constantly evolves . An example of this is 2010 Wimbledon finalist Vera Zvonareva , who was out for 17 months following the 2012 Olympics due to a shoulder problem that required surgery . Robson has sought the advice of 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro . Del Potro made only his second tournament appearance in 14 months at the Miami Open . Since returning at the start of last year the talented Russian has not got past the third round at any event and her ranking still languishes at 153 . She lost another first round here this week . So it could be hard for Robson whenever she returns , although on her side is that she does have bags of natural ability and is a superb ball striker . That much was clear when , enjoying a rare spell free from injury , she became the first British player since Jo Durie to reach the world ’ s top 30 in the summer of 2013 aged only 19 . It might yet make more sense for her to wait until the season begins on more forgiving grass rather than arduous clay to make her return . When she does she will have a new clothes sponsor in Nike after being dropped by adidas , and will be coached by Colombian Mauricio Hadad , a former guide of Heather Watson . The 22 year-old from Guernsey plays world No 15 Angelique Kerber in the second round while Andy Murray will take on America ’ s Donald Young .
Laura Robson has not played since Russian Open in January 2014 . The 21-year-old troubled by wrist following surgery in March last year . Robson forced to cancel plans to return in the WTA Tour event in Bogota .