What now for Tamarine Tanasugarn? Her ranking has slumped to 56 in the world, her worst placing in five years, after having kicked off the season at 32.

She has suffered seven first round defeats in 10 tournaments, including a surprise early exit at the Australian Open where it was expected that she would reach at least round three. She has been on tour for more than a decade and will turn 27 next week. Is Tamarine approaching the final chapter of her career?

Recently, The Nation sat down to talk with the country’s No 1 female player about concerns that her tennis had gone downhill over the past five months. Is she now too old to pursue her dreams, and what could be a final challenge for her before she throws in the towel?

It was just a standard day for the tennis star, and she was taking a break from practice which had been interrupted by a tropical shower. She still looked relaxed, amiable and cheerful as always, having put behind her all the disappointing results of the first quarter of the year.

“I had a bad start this year losing the first round in Melbourne, my worst result there in many years. When I was about get back to my best, I had this ankle injury in Hyderabad,’’ Tammy said in explaining why she had plummeted out of the top 50.

On the way to defending the only trophy of her career in the Indian city, Tamarine collapsed on court while playing China’s Zheng Jie in the quarter-final. Although she managed to survive that contest to earn her only semi-final berth this year, the injured Tammy was in no condition to cause any problems to Russian Maria Kirilenko in the next match in which she surrendered tamely 3-6 2-6.

The injury also forced her to retire mid-match in Dubai and she withdraw from a tournament the following week in Doha. Since then she has gleaned just one win out of four matches in the United States.

“It was the wrong decision to go to the US when I was not well-prepared after that injury. So, I’m taking a break now to build up my physical condition for the French Open,’’ said Tammy who has skipped three significant clay court tournaments in Europe. She is scheduled to have her only warm-up on the slow red dirt in Strasbourg before heading for Roland Garros.

Like Paradorn Srichaphan, Tamarine is vulnerable on clay as the surface slows down the speed of her attacking shots and restricts her movement. However with her eyes firmly fixed on being among the top 32 seeds at Wimbledon, Tamarine cannot afford early round exits in the two clay events.

“I need to win matches, especially in the French Open and I’m working hard now to make that happen. I am focusing on strengthening my thigh muscles because you have to slide a lot on clay. After playing a couple of clay tournaments in the US, I felt so stiff on those muscles and realised how much I need to improve them,’’ said Tamarine who has managed to win only one out of five matches on clay since last year.

The Thai number one probably can’t wait for the clay court season to end and the grass season to begin, for it’s on this surface that she feels more at home.

“I always feel lively once the grass season starts. I feel very comfortable on it. It suits my game and it makes me feel like hitting the balls,’’ said Tammy, obviously keen to talk about her favourite surface.

After peaking at 19 in the world exactly two years ago, Tamarine has been nowhere near the top 20 since. At the age of 27 and having just experienced a frustrating run of first round exits, the question has to be asked: Is her time coming to an end?

“Definitely not,” she shoots back. “No one can keep up their good form all the time. But what’s more important to me is that I haven’t reached my goal yet. So I can’t see myself hanging up my racquet in the near future.”

A singles crown in Hyderabad last year, wins over elite players like 1997 French Open champion Iva Majoli and world No 4 Amelie Mauresmo, five straight fourth round berths at Wimbledon and the emergence of the Thai Fed Cup team in the World Group Play-offs. What remains the ultimate challenge before she says farewell to tennis?

“I want to reach the top 10. I know it’s not such an easy thing to do at 27 when I can’t recover from exhaustion as quickly as when I was younger. But I will try step by step and start with Wimbledon where I feel quite confident,’’ said Tamarine, who draws inspiration from the legendary Martina Navratilova who refuses to give up. “If a 47-year-old like Martina still has the fire to play, then I shouldn’t feel weak or discouraged. Although I don’t think I could be as strong as she is when I’m 47, I take her as a role model for not letting age stand in my way.”