Nicole Knudtson covers enough ground on the tennis court that the average passerby likely wouldn’t take much stock in the bulky ankle brace she wears on her left foot.
But due to a rare bone condition, what was once a bright and promising future playing tennis is no more for the Union junior. Shortly after she turned 12, Knudtson was diagnosed with osteochondritis dissecans of the talus bone after being sidelined by a recurring piercing pain in her ankle.
But she’s determined not to let it define her — nor stop her from making a run at the 4A tennis state championship.
Last season, as a sophomore, Knudtson and partner Elysha Fu finished third at state.
Knudtson repeated as district champion on Saturday with her partner Anna Foster. The two are competing in Thursday and Friday’s 4A bi-district tournament at Boeing Employees Tennis Club in Kent.
Even though she’s been limited to doubles, neither Knudtson nor her partner have seen her condition as a limitation.
That said, the condition limits the types of exercise she can do, so Knudtson takes a conservative approach to her training. She chooses not to run for fear of aggravating the injury and stops what she’s doing when she feels the slightest pain.
“There’s no point to push myself now and not be able to walk when I’m 50,” Knudtson said. “I want to take care of it now so I can have a future.”
Despite having to navigate her condition, Knudtson has found her groove on the court.
Off the court, she’s found balance.
Knudtson played tennis nonstop growing up. It was her main sport, and she traveled as far as Texas to compete in United States Tennis Association tournaments.
When she first felt a piercing pain around age 12, she was concerned. After months of doctor visits she was told the pain was the result of osteochondritis dissecans of the talus bone, a joint defect acquired over time. Her father Greg Knudtson said the lasting impact could have been lessened if Nicole did not play on her already hurt ankle for six months, resulting in the bone to lose blood flow and partially die.
Long-term, he said, she could struggle with recurring pain and is susceptible to osteoarthritis.
Sure, Knudtson knew at the time that she’d be back on the tennis court after her recovery, but she didn’t know her days playing singles and dreams of playing in college were over. She’d started playing tennis at age three, competed at USTA tournaments growing up and, according to her mother Tomoko Knudtson, was the No. 1 ranked player in the Pacific Northwest among 14-year olds, when she was 12. She was ranked in the top-40 nationally at the same time.
“It’s hard to accept,” Nicole Knudtson said, “but in a way it’s a good thing because it made me realize there’s other things that I could do for myself other than tennis and I didn’t know that before.”
To makes things more frustrating, the pain was just something she developed over time. There was no isolated injury she could point to for where it started.
“It is a big blow to a talented kid,” Greg Knudtson said. “Mentally she has taken to it as well as anyone could”
But through her condition, Nicole Knudtson realized there was more out there than tennis. She joined the swim team at Union and competed for three seasons. She did modeling on the side. Having a job, she said, was liberating.
“In a way it’s a blessing in disguise, even though it’s really hard,” Nicole said. “In a way it’s good.
“Once (tennis) ended, I realized there was more. I became a lot more social. I got a lot better with my family life, too. I got to spend a lot more time with both my parents.”
Foster, her fellow state-bound doubles partner, joked that Knudtson’s arms are long enough to make up for her limited mobility.
Foster has a point. Not much gets by the doubles duo.
In anticipation for this season as Union’s No. 1 doubles team, the two began practicing on the same side of the net back in October at Vancouver Tennis Club/Center, and played twice a week leading up to the season.
For practice, they’d play against their parents, and their parents’ friends — all of whom provided ample competition.
They wanted to ensure that by the time season came around, they had played against all types of competitions together. Leading up to state, Knudtson and Foster still play against their moms, and though it was not the case at first, they claim they’ve been consistently beating their elders ever since the high school tennis season began.
“It’s always fun, we’re always laughing, but we’re both the exact same mindset of being competitive, and that’s what we find fun,” Foster said. “It’s just a power team out there.”
Regardless who they’re playing against, the hope their chemistry translates into a state championship.
After that, Knudtson knows she won’t be eligible to play in college. But she’s determined to keep tennis with her for the rest of her life, and has a message for anyone specializing in a sport at a young age.
“If (you) really love a sport, then definitely go through with it and work as hard as you can, but if you ever feel an injury, or pain, take a step back, even if it’s for a month, and really work on fixing it before it gets to the point where it’s completely broken,” Nicole Knudtson said. “I would tell them that there’s so much more out there than just a sport.”
Editor’s note: Nicole Knudtson’s regional and national ranking at age 12 has been updated to state that she was the No.1 in the Pacific Northwest, clarifying a previous claim that she was in the top-10.
