Emma Raducanu claimed she will play this season without carrying “a backpack of rocks” before she makes her Grand Slam return at the Australian Open. And the 2021 US Open winner, who has been dogged by injuries since her New York triumph, claimed: “I think my level is just too good not to come through if I put consistent work together.”
Raducanu is playing her first Major for a year after undergoing ankle and wrist surgeries in May. Now down at world No.299 and playing here on a protected ranking, she played two matches in her comeback event in Auckland and will face world No.156 Shelby Rogers in the first round. Raducanu beat the American on her way to her shock Major title win over two years ago.
And speaking to the British media for the first time in over eight months, the 21-year-old said: “I feel a lot lighter now than I did for a long time after the US Open. I feel like I’m not playing with a backpack of rocks. I feel pretty light and happy.
“Reflecting on the past, I think people are very important, like the people who I surround myself with, maybe sometimes even more so. I think surrounding yourself with competent and knowledgeable people is of course really important, but also the type of person and their character is big-time, just making sure we really get on and intentions are really good.”
Raducanu split with German Sebastian Sachs during her rehabilitation in June and is working with her childhood coach Nick Cavaday, 37, in Melbourne. “In the off-season, when I was in the UK training, I started in October retraining because I had a bit of a setback and started with rehab, then fitness in the month of November, then kind of started hitting again late November, December,” she said.
“Being in the NTC, of course I was working alongside the LTA, who helped me big-time. They did a lot for me in the gym and also physio, tennis. Then Nick was also around. I asked him, because he coached me when I was between 10 and 12. He was there. Yeah, it’s just been working like that.
“We’re just taking it how it goes. It’s been working really well so far. I of course hope to continue with him because I feel very comfortable with him. I know his sister (Naomi) really well because, like, everyone is from Bromley. It’s pretty good.” Raducanu rolled her ankle in Auckland last January but played through the pain at the Australian Open before stopping her season – and missing the last three Majors – in April.
“I think success to me in the long-term is, for the rest of the year, to play a full season, to be healthy throughout, to be able to train consistent weeks,” she said. “I know my level is there, I just need to keep working on it to make it more consistent.
“I think that will come with time in the gym, time on court, being able to play the calendar, not thinking about ‘Will I have to pull out from this one? Does that hurt?’ Just being able to go consistently throughout the year. I think my level, to be honest, is just too good not to come through if I put consistent work together.
“Physically I feel good. I did a lot of good work in the off-season. But I think that regardless of how good I may feel on the court on a particular day or in practice, I think to get that level of consistency is going to require more time. So, yeah, I’ve been doing the right work, doing it consistently.
“I just need to keep going like more and more. But I feel good on court and in the gym.” Raducanu hit for an hour with Jodie Burrage today and the British No.2 reported: “She was absolutely creaming the ball. She was properly going for it. It is nice to see her back at the level. It will be interesting to see what she does this week.”
