Foot Fault!

It has been almost four years since Anna Chakvetadze and her family were burgled and robbed at knifepoint in her own home on new years eve. In the years that have followed, the Russian’s once glittering career has fallen into the gutter, with the oft-discussed loss of the form that took her to number four in the rankings swiftly followed by the double hammer-blow of Chakvetadze encountering serious health problems. And while it appears melodramatic to suggest that the one remote incident on the eve of 2008 played a role in all of Chakvetadze’s woes that have followed, it’s tough to overstate just how pivotal the gruesome burglary and subsequent events have been for Chakvetadze in the four years that have followed.

Most have heard about the incident that took place; about the six masked men who gained entry by knocking the houemaid out cold and gaining entry through her quarters. After battering the 24 year-old’s father, Djamal, with a pistol and putting a knife to her mother’s throat, the thieves made away with over $250k dollars and many more valuables. The attack left Djamal Chakvetadze in need of surgery on both his shoulder and hand, while Anna was left with an injured wrist.

Sadly, this hardly signaled the end of the ordeal. Afterwards, Shamil Tarpishchev used his political influence to reach out to regional governors in order to find the thiefs and put them to justice. But all that has followed is a trail of corruption, with the police bribed into picking up six innocent men off the streets and torturing them in custody until they confessed to crimes they never committed. Djamal was eventually tipped off to the fact that the men indicted for the burlary were innocent, but even with the names of the guilty and DNA evidence of the intruders, the police continue to refuse to pay him any attention.

Thus, in addition to her tennis falling apart after the incident and her health following suit throughout this year, Chakvetadze continues to live in fear with her attackers still roaming the streets without fear of rebuttal for their crimes. Her father revealed that she still struggles to sleep and regularly wakes up in shock at 3am each time - the very time the burglars stormed their property. And considering the criminals pledged to return again to the Chakvetadze household as they made their escape, it’s hard to believe that those nightmares will be stopping anytime soon.

(via Novaya Gazeta)