Just five weeks on from tearing her ACL, Casandra Alexander is back in action at the Tenerife Women’s Open this week as she looks to pick up where she left off in April and qualify for The Amundi Evian Championship.
The South African star had a memorable home swing on the Ladies European Tour (LET) as she recorded back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Joburg Ladies Open and Investec SA Women’s Open.
Having picked up LET Player of the Month in the process, disaster then struck when Alexander tore the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her left knee jumping in the gym ahead of the Aramco Korea Championship.
Fortunately the 25-year-old year avoided surgery, and after five weeks of rehab Alexander is back in action this week as the LET returns to Tenerife for the first time in over a decade.
“It could have gone south very quickly,” Alexander explained. “But the recovery was very good and I avoided surgery on my right knee. Because I don’t play a high impact sport it wasn’t necessary. I saw the physio every single day for four weeks, got on the hyperbaric chamber and compression boots. You name it I did it. I could chip and putt for the last three or four weeks and returned to the range last week.
“I feel good. No pain at all. I’m just going to get it strapped up to safe and sure. It’s just the side to side action which is a little tricky. I’m lucky really. I’m happy and the team is really happy.”
Thanks to a hot April Alexander still sits seventh in the 2025 Order of Merit. The top seven in the standings as of June 30 will get into next month’s Amundi Evian Championship – something which is big on the South African’s wishlist.
“I’m not expecting to do great this week, but I’m trying my best to get into the Amundi Evian Championship,” Alexander said. “Me not playing the last three events has meant I’ve missed out on points and dropped down the rankings. But I’m playing the next three events so I’ll try to score some points and get into Evian.
“You know how we are, this week I have no expectations then week I’ll expect to win. We’ll see how we go. I just want to enjoy this week. It’s so easy to take things for granted. When you have an injury, you’re able to step back and look at the bigger picture. Whether I play well or not, I’m just chuffed to be here.”
Alexander gets underway at Abama Golf at 10:09am on Thursday playing alongside recent winner Sara Kouskova and Singapore’s Shannon Tan. Despite the injury setback, the 25-year-old is excited for the week ahead.
“It’s my first time in Tenerife and it looks really pretty,” she continued. “My husband is annoyed he couldn’t be here. But I think it will be really cool. We’ll head out into town a few times this week and see what it’s all about. The presentation last night really got me going and I’m excited for the week.”
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