Amy Williams' blog by Amy_Williams

The last time I said hello to you all I had just come back from Africa. Well I have spent the last few weeks in Bath enjoying some time at home. I had keyhole surgery on my knee three weeks ago and have been taking life a little slower as a result. It was a pretty quick decision to go ahead with the surgery, but it needed to be done. I had been training really hard, and I’m sure most of you would agree that as we get older our joints begin to creak a bit! My knee kept jarring and the decision was taken to have a little clean out! Now my time is taken up with rehabilitation, a word most athletes do not like to hear. It means a lot of time with the physio and doctor and extra time doing little exercises to get the muscle working again. It's all going well so far, so fingers crossed it stays that way ahead of the new season.

I did manage to get myself to Wimbledon to watch some tennis which proved a pleasant distraction. I was lucky enough to get an invite last year and was thrilled when I received another this year. It really is a grand day out and an early start to get dressed up with my good friend Vicky, who joined me for the occasion. We got to Wimbledon in good time and were met at the gates by lots of sports fans wanting autographs; they would have got a good number, as I was joined by many sporting greats such as Jonathan Edwards, Mark Foster, Sir Steve Redgrave and Martina Navratilova. It’s always lovely to be standing next to fellow athletes whom you admire so much. I was also invited to the Royal Box along with many service men and women from the Armed Forces who received a wonderful standing ovation from the crowd. This was an extremely poignant moment and made the day all the more memorable. The tennis was superb and I was fortunate enough to see both Roger Federer and eventual winner Novak Djokovic.

Watching the tennis made me think about all the components needed to compete against the best in the world at any sport. As an athlete who has now reached the highest level of my sport, I know the dedication and hard work that goes into reaching that level. One important part of sport that often gets overlooked is the technology, research and development of equipment and training techniques. I admit I know nothing about tennis as a sport, apart from the scoring system! But when I saw Federer suddenly change his racket halfway through his match, I couldn’t help but think; “Does he know exactly how many times he can hit the ball before the tension in his racket changes and starts to have an effect on his power?” And I also thought; “I wonder if tennis players work with cricketers? Is there a cross-over with putting spin on the ball and how to hit it?” Maybe they already do all of this, but it certainly made me think!

I also made an appearance on Top Gear recently – the first episode of the new series. A few months ago I flew out to Lillehammer to race James May in the new Mini rally car down the track on my sled. It was great fun although hard work as we filmed for two nights solid from 6pm -7am and I was shattered by the end. I was invited to the studio for the last bit of filming and for a little chat with Jeremy Clarkson. I didn’t actually get to say too much in the end, but it was great fun nonetheless!