Famous tennis influencer Rachel Stuhlmann has shared a worrying photo on her social media, causing concern among her followers. The snap shows her smiling while wearing a large white neck brace, and she explains the story behind it in the caption.
“Brace yourself.. not my usual post but wanted to share a life update – not too long ago I was in a car wreck,” she penned. “I underwent anterior cervical disk replacement surgery to remove the C5-C6 disc in my neck and replace it with an artificial disc.”
Despite her ordeal, Rachel remains positive and thankful that things didn’t turn out worse.
“As I begin the healing process and physical therapy journey, I’m feeling encouraged, determined, and eager to lean into some qualities that I haven’t tapped into since my competitive playing career 10 years ago,” she added. “Thanking God for a successful surgery.
“And a huge thank you to my amazing family and friends, and everyone who reached out and kept my spirits up. This isn’t a setback! It’s just all part of the comeback and I can’t wait to be feeling 100% again!”
Her fans have flooded her social media with messages of support after hearing about her accident. “Sorry to hear about this tragic event that you had in your life. Glad to hear that the surgery went well,” one user commented.
One of her followers, who had also undergone neck surgery recently, showed their support. “I am totally sympathetic!!! I had L2 L3 and L3 L4 surgery 4 weeks ago. You have a strong work ethic so I know you will be your awesome self in no time,” they wrote.
Before becoming an influencer, the 32-year-old was a tennis player at the University of Missouri. She has a massive following on social media, with over 400,000 followers across all platforms, including more than 300,000 on Instagram alone.
She’s been called the “No.1 tennis influencer” and has attended many events like the US Open and WTA Finals in Cancun. Her popularity soared when she started doing tennis trick shots in 2019. She admires what influencer Paige Spiranac has done for golf and hopes to do the same for tennis.
“Tennis and golf are very similar sports,” Stuhlmann told Maxim in 2022. “I respect what Piage has done for the sport of golf so much! We have similar stories, and I aspire to continue to push the sport of tennis forward while being unapologetically me!”
After a serious car crash, Stuhlmann is now recovering. Her fans can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that she is on the mend. Neck injuries are always serious, but it seems that Stuhlmann is bouncing back from her scary experience.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story. You can report any errors to webhomepage@mirror.co.uk
