Former tennis great Wilander recovering after fall

Jan 17, 2012, 10:52 GMT

Stockholm - Former Swedish tennis great Mats Wilander was on Tuesday recovering in hospital after sustaining kidney injuries after a fall at the weekend in Melbourne, Australia.

Wilander's company, Wilander on wheels, said on its Facebook page that the seven-times Grand Slam winner 'sustained a laceration to one of his kidneys. This caused internal bleeding. The bleeding has ceased as of 7 AM this morning.'

Long-time friend Joakim Nystrom was quoted as telling the Stockholm daily Aftonbladet that Wilander slipped late Saturday in the bathroom of his rented apartment and hit his stomach and ribs on the bathtub.

The report said Wilander, 47, initially thought he had hurt his back when he woke up in great pain and on Sunday consulted one of the physicians on the ATP Tour who advised him to immediately have an X-ray.

Nystrom said Wilander believed he would be in hospital four, five days.

Wilander was captain of Sweden's Davis Cup team 2002-09, and has in recent years also worked as a commentator for sports network Eurosport. He was in Melbourne for the current Australian Open, a tournament he won three times during his career.

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