Tennis star Emma Raducanu has revealed that she feels ‘better than ever’ ahead of her return to the court in 2024. The 21-year-old is set to feature in the Auckland Classic, the tournament where she last featured before deciding to endure a spell on the sidelines to address her recurring injury problems.
Raducanu was last seen on the court in tears in Auckland after rolling her ankle in a second-round match. Following the injury, it was soon ruled that the 2021 US Open winner would undergo surgery on both of her wrists and an ankle, and her road to recovery is edging ever closer.
She will soon compete in a qualifier before facing off against either Caroline Wozniacki or Elina Svitolina. After such an extended spell away from tennis, Raducanu will be hoping to make an impact upon her return.
Speaking ahead of her clash, she told Sky Sports: “Physically, in practice over the last few weeks, I’m hitting the ball really well. I think I’m a better tennis player than I was before the break. The people around the LTA, for example, everyone can see that I’m training and playing really, really well.
“And physically, I’m pushing weights, pushing things that I wasn’t doing before. In my body, I actually have confidence in it, which is really nice and tennis-wise I feel good too.
“It’s just about now putting it into a match, which is obviously completely different to practice. I know that will come in time though – as long as the level is there and improving.”
Raducanu then admitted that her spell away from the sport was a truly gruelling battle due to how she was somewhat immobile, explaining: “It was hard, especially in the first few months. When you’re so used to being active and moving around all the time, then to all of a sudden have everything just cut off from you.
“I had like two wrists and one foot [injured] so I couldn’t even use crutches. I basically had like a scooter kind of thing and you would push yourself around with one leg. It was really difficult. I couldn’t really go anywhere. I couldn’t go to the supermarket; imagine being that immobile. I think it definitely reignited the fire to get back out there competing and made me appreciate just being healthy.” It remains to be seen whether Raducanu is able to hit the heights of 2021 upon her return, having slipped to world No. 298 during her absence.
