Peng not rushing return to competition

Tennis star Peng Shuai poses with boys' champion Su Yutang, a 12-year-old from Zhejiang province, at the Mercedez-Benz 'Weekend With the Stars' training camp in Beijing on Sunday. Provided To China Daily

Watching from the sidelines as a group of kids hit balls to each other during a junior clinic, injury-plagued Chinese ace Peng Shuai resisted the urge to join them on the court after sitting out for more than five months.

"I wish I was a few years younger and healthier so I could enjoy the game without hesitation, like the kids," Peng told China Daily at the Mercedez-Benz "Weekend With the Stars" training camp in Beijing on Sunday.

Peng, China's highest-profile tennis player following the retirements of Li Na and Zheng Jie, has been on the mend since undergoing back surgery in July.

Players competing on the Women's Tennis Association's loaded tour schedule grow accustomed to ankle and shoulder strains, but few would risk rushing back from an injury that could potentially leave them in a wheelchair.

Peng was fortunate the operation went smoothly, but the road back to competition is even more challenging than a Grand Slam final.

"I am no longer young, so I really have to be patient with my body. It's really a big and scary surgery for a tennis player. Though I am keen to come back, I will listen to my body's reaction and I won't push as I used to do," said the 29-year-old.

With two-time Grand Slam singles champion Li retiring last year, Peng emerged as a legitimate successor after making the semifinals at the 2014 US Open. Before that, she and doubles partner Hsieh Su-wei of Chinese Taipei triumphed at the French Open.

The strain on her lower back started earlier this year and eventually forced her to retire for the rest of the season. Peng is now ranked No 117 in the world - her worst rating in 10 years.

"Whether I can recover to my top form or not, I don't know. To be honest, I don't ever expect to," said Peng.

"But I wish at least I can come back through tough rehab and be able to play at the Olympics next year in Rio de Janeiro. At the end of the day, I still love the game like before."

Peng said she will start low intensity exercise in two weeks and she will try to play some minor tournaments ahead of the Australian Open in January.

Meanwhile, Chinese tennis continues to look for a new generation of stars. For the first time in a decade, this year's China Open, a premier mandatory WTA event, saw no homegrown players make the 64-seed main draw through rankings.

Three of the four wild card holders crashed out in the opening round of the singles competition, leaving only Wang Qiang, 23, to face former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the second round.

"Tennis is an individual sport and every player is different. I can't judge their performance but I believe they will grow as they have more opportunities to play high-level events than we had," Peng said.

After not playing in the home tournament for the first time since its launch in 2004, she said she missed both the cheers and the jeers of the crowd.

"I really miss playing," Peng said. "I am yearning even for some of the harsh critiques."