After being virtually locked out of the country for the past 18 months due to COVID, the Wagga product jumped at the chance to return home after a tough 2021.

Things started well on the court after making the shift to Texas Tech, but her knee complaint was far worse than first thought and required surgery in August.

"I had no cartilage left in my knee so I was having bone defects as I'd been playing with bone on bone for so long," Staines said.

"The operation was a tibial osteotomy where they broke my shin bone to realign my leg and I had a complete patella transplant so I have someone else's kneecap as well.

"It is a little bigger than what I hoped for but at least I'm on the road to recovery and am walking now."

The 21-year-old wasn't able to bear any weight on her left leg for 10 weeks.

The fact she lives on the top floor of her building didn't help matters.

"I had three flights of stairs so I tried to avoid going on crutches down the stairs too often as it would take me like an hour to get down," Staines said.

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However she's already looking forward to getting back on court.

"If I'm on the right path they will clear me to play in August," she said.

"I'll be a little rusty by then I'm sure but I'm definitely looking to get back playing.

"The surgeon said it's not guaranteed I could play at that high level again but I'm stubborn and I'd like to prove that wrong.

"I'm ready to get back into it as this is definitely the longest I've gone without playing.

"It's been since May so I might need to find some new hobbies."

Staines has one more semester of her psychology degree to complete and is unsure if she will remain in America in the long run.

However she jumped at the chance to return home.

"As soon as they opened the borders I was back here real quick," Staines said.

"I'm absolutely loving it and it's just been nice to catch up with everyone again.

"It's mainly family but I'm trying to get used to the heat as it is winter over there."

After initially playing with Tennessee, Staines had a new experience in a different conference.

Staines was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year with her efforts in singles and doubles.

Despite contracting COVID early in the year, Staines and her teammates made it to the NCAA tournament before her surgery setback.

"It was a different playing world with it all," Staines said.

"We made the last 32 but lost to UCLA and it was a tough draw to get them in the second round."