Graham Sees Better Days Ahead

Debbie Graham had just lost serve and was trailing, 3-2, in the second set of her match against Kathy Rinaldi-Stunkel on Monday at the Acura Classic in Manhattan Beach, yet her thoughts were not on the coming serve or even tennis.

“It was the middle of the match, and I was watching this usher who was trying to kick my friends out of their seats in the corner,” she said. “I’m getting so mad, thinking, why can’t this usher just let my friends sit there.

“It’s so bad to lose your concentration like that, but I was just so mad at that usher. And that happens a lot. I just can’t keep my concentration.”

Her friends eventually sat somewhere else, and Graham ushered Rinaldi-Stunkel out of the tournament at the Manhattan Country Club, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, but the former Stanford star and Newport Beach resident played poorly.

She couldn’t put shots away, felt off balance and again felt she was not as well-conditioned as as the player across the net. Against Rinaldi-Stunkel, Graham said she felt tired, had cramps, and the heat, although not as bad as most matches, affected her.

“I’m not where I want to be,” she said. “I’m not there yet.”

“There” is somewhere before July of last year, when Graham suffered a massive blood clot in her lungs that was so severe doctors said it would have killed most people.

While Graham, 25, was flying home from Wimbledon, fragments from a blood clot in her left leg blocked off blood vessels to both lungs and cut off about 70% of lung function. She had seizures and went into cardiac arrest for about 10 seconds in the ambulance that transported her to a San Francisco hospital. She has since had to take blood thinners to combat the problem.

Before the incident she was considered one of the most promising performers on tour--a big server, and at six-feet, one of the tallest players. But now she is playing catch up.

As a senior at La Quinta High, she was the nation’s best 18-year-old, and an NCAA champion in 1990. And in 1991, the year she turned pro, she reached the third round of the French Open.

Graham, ranked as high as 35th in 1992, walked onto the court Monday ranked No. 197.

“The first thing people ask when they find out you are a professional tennis player is, ‘What is your ranking?’ And I remember a few years ago when I was [ranked] like 50, and I would tell people and be embarrassed. And now I am like a hundred and whatever. I don’t even know. And all I can think about is getting back to 50.”

But, understandably, Graham has been thinking about more than tennis. After the scare last summer, she took inventory and determined what are some things she really wanted to do.

“Roller-blade,” she said. “I am not one of those people who would go sky-diving, but I skated when I was young and [roller-blading] was something I always wanted to try. The problem is I am one of those people who can trip on a ripple of air. So all my friends are saying, ‘Don’t do it. You could die.’

“But I bought some [roller-blades] and all the pads I could find. I didn’t care if I looked like a dork. And I did it.”

As for tennis, Graham said, “I have set small goals. I just wanted to win a match here, and I did.”