As the clay season continues this week in Portugal, it marks another step in what has been a long way back from injury for Svetlana Kuznetsova. The tenacious Russian claimed a huge upset over Simona Halep at the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart last week, and she is looking to continue her momentum as the French Open nears. At 29 years old, it seems as if Kuznetsova will not only be racing against time to reach her physical best but also will find herself navigating a field that is arguably, the most competitive in the WTA over the past decade. More important than the result she registers at the Portugal Open is s ensuring she feels good on court and avoids injury.

It has not been easy recently for the Russian, who missed a great deal of 2012 and 2013 due to a number of injuries. After an uncharacteristically meek loss to Sara Errani in the fourth round of the 2012 French Open, Kuznetsova was forced onto crutches after suffering a debilitating knee injury. Apart from a feeble attempt to protect ranking points one month later at Wimbledon, she was pushed to the sideline for the rest of the year and eventually underwent surgery.

In those seven months she missed during the 2012 season, Kuznetsova slid from world No. 28 to world No. 72. This meant that the Russian would have to overcome much tougher draws as well as placate an ailing body. However, against the odds, she was able to fight her way back in the 2013 Australian hard-court swing. Starting with quarterfinal appearances in Sydney and at the Australian Open last year, Kuznetsova was able to work her way back up the rankings. She rose to world No. 45 before her three-set quarterfinal loss to Serena Williams at the 2013 French Open.

Disaster then struck for Kuznetsova after that strong effort as her season was again thrown into disarray by an abdominal injury. Luckily, she was sidelined only for the grass season and was able to maintain her ranking while competing in the American hard-court swing. Unfortunately for the Russian, her momentum ended during that span. Kuznetsova’s best performance after her abdominal injury last season came with a semifinal appearance in her season-ending event in Moscow. Despite how hard she has worked to maintain a ranking within the world’s top 30, she has struggled to register any meaningful result in 2014. And she will welcome the change in surface after faltering during the Australian hardcourt summer.

The European clay season always has held fond memories for Kuznetsova, on which she will rely to propel herself into the 2014 clay season. The French Open has consistently been Kuznetsova’s best Grand Slam, where she won the title in 2009 while registering three quarterfinal appearances, two semifinal appearances, and a runner-up result. She’ll take great confidence from her surprise upset over Halep in Stuttgart last week, which appeared to reveal a Kuznetsova circa 2009 as she outmaneuvered and outfoxed the world No. 5. However, despite her win over the 22-year-old Romanian, the one issue that will be troubling Kuznetsova is the emergence of this younger and faster breed of opponent.

Players who are up to eight years her junior, like Halep and heralded Canadian Eugenie Bouchard, are finding their feet in the WTA and beginning to dominate the professional circuit. As her season continues to unfold, Kuznetsova may find she won’t only have to battle her body, which has shown a propensity to break down. She’ll also have to find a way to deal with stronger and fitter opponents.

Regardless of her result in the Portugal Open, Kuznetsova will do well to meticulously manage her fitness with the goal of being fully fit once the French Open starts in May. While she would love to stamp her authority over the rest of the field with a win in Oeiras, she would undoubtedly cherish another deep run in Paris much more.