Emma Raducanu says she feels “reborn” as the former US Open champion prepares to return to competition next week at the Auckland Classic following ankle and wrist surgery.
The 21-year-old, currently ranked 298th in the world, missed most of last season due to wrist and left ankle surgeries. Raducanu has not played on the WTA Tour since losing to Jelena Ostapenko in Stuttgart in April.
“Yeah, I feel reborn in a way. I feel fresh, I feel ready, I feel happy, I feel excited,” Raducanu said. “Overall, I feel positive and relaxed.”
A year after she tearfully retired with a sprained ankle, Raducanu will return to Auckland in a protected ranking. She added: “I think in the two years after the U.S. Open, I probably felt like there was a little bit more weight on my shoulders, but now I feel completely fresh.”
Raducanu, who reached a career-high world ranking of No. 10 in July 2022, missed out on a wild card entry into the Australian Open, which begins on January 14. She must pass qualifying rounds to enter the championship – just as she did during her historic win at Flushing Meadows in 2021.
The former British world number one has not reached the second round of a Grand Slam since winning in New York, but is delighted to be back fit and ready to play again in New Zealand from Monday after recovering from multiple surgeries Contest.
“I’m glad you don’t have three casts on you,” she added. “So just walking around, taking a shower, [doing] Everything you really appreciate, being able to do your own hair and stuff like that. I’m excited to come back and play. “
Osaka ready for return, on and off the court
Naomi Osaka says she feels more confident “in myself as a person” ahead of her long-awaited return to tennis at the upcoming Brisbane Internationals.
Osaka won four Grand Slam titles, including two at the Australian Open, before taking a break to prioritize her mental health. The 26-year-old last played on the WTA Tour in late September 2022 and gave birth to a daughter in July this year.
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“I feel like I’m more confident,” Osaka said. “I had never tried talking to other players before, and I thought I must have put up a big wall. Now I find myself interacting with people. It’s really cool.”
Osaka has opened up about coping with depression and anxiety, adding that she was nervous about the physical demands of returning to elite tennis. “I wasn’t in my own body. I was driving the wrong car, if that makes sense,” she said.
“Slowly, step by step, we put in a lot of effort to get to where we are now,” added Osaka, who faces Tamara Kopaci in her first match on Monday. “If I wasn’t ready, I wouldn’t be here. I don’t want to disappoint the people who are excited about my return, and I don’t want to disappoint myself.”
