Alicia Molik recalls how she was struck down in the prime of her tennis career by a devastating inner-ear infection.
Molik soared to a career-best ranking of world No.8 after an impressive run to the Australian Open quarter-finals in 2005.
Just months later, her life would be turned upside when she was diagnosed with vestibular neuronitis - an inner-ear nerve disorder that can disrupt your sense of balance, vision and energy levels.
“Vestibular neuronitis was damaged to my middle ear,” Molik told This Is Your Sporting Life.
“It took a long time to diagnose it, but I remember waking up for a tennis match in Charleston, South Carolina.
“I woke up for a match and I basically fell into the wall.”
“I fell into the wall and I felt like everything was moving. I felt like I was in space and everything around me was floating, I couldn’t get a sense of where I was.
“I hit the ball off at a right angle over the fence. I couldn’t coordinate my body, let alone see the ball. It was the most unique feeling that I’d ever felt.”
The three-time Olympian was reluctant to put her career on hold after breaking into the world’s top 10 for the first time.
“It was a really crap time,” Molik added.
“David Taylor was coaching me at the time, it was after the summer of 2005, we spoke about how much I like to push myself to the brink physically.
“After the Australian Open in the summer of 05, I had such a remarkable summer. It was high-intensity, but I was also on a roll and wanted to keep playing.
“I was on a roll and didn’t want to fall off that track that I was on and the trajectory too. I felt like if I took time out from the sport or had a break, I might not get back.”
The ear virus and a spate of niggling injures forced Molik into retirement in 2008 before making a comeback to tennis a year later.
Her final match was a second round loss to Nadia Petrova at the 2011 Australian Open.
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Listen to Alicia Molik's chat on This is Your Sporting Life with Peter Donegan in the player below