A year ago, when another Wimbledon fortnight finally began, some tennis fans caught a brief glimpse of Emma Raducanu at the All England Club. She was there early in the game to fulfill some brief sponsorship obligations, where she shook hands and interacted with fans.
Other than that, she has no ties to the 2023 event. In the aftermath, her injuries meant she could barely complete her daily tasks, let alone play tennis, without her mother’s help. Missing Wimbledon is painful enough, but actually being so close to the game feels even worse.
“I was so horrible. Like, this was so horrible! I think I’m just grateful to be on the other side. I think going there does rub salt in the wound, but I guess it’s part of my obligation and I’m glad Being able to actually compete,” Raducanu said.
A year later, the 21-year-old returns to the All England Club and appears to have learned the necessary lessons from his absence. She said she was hungrier and had a broader perspective than before after being deprived of competition for so long.
Most notably, her time away has given her space to think beyond focusing on the negative aspects of her 2021 U.S. Open victory and instead view it as a great and unique achievement.
“I think it’s refreshing for me that it’s less about missing out and more about, okay, I’m excited to play because I feel like before I would have looked at the U.S. Open in more of a negative light. , and now I’m like, okay, that’s crazy.
“Now that I can keep playing, I feel more relaxed, which is great, and I think my attitude, my daily routine, has changed a lot in the last two weeks and I think I’m just enjoying myself, Enjoy tennis more.
That positive outlook has yielded positive results so far in the grass-court season. She reached the semi-finals of the Nottingham Open, but lost to eventual champion Katie Boult in an exciting match. She earned her first top-10 win in a lopsided victory over Sloane Stephens in Eastbourne this week, saving a match point with a sublime forehand winner, then Defeated Jessica Pegula in three tense sets.
If these results suggest Raducanu is on the right track, her straight-set victory over Daria Kasatkina on Thursday highlighted the work that needs to be done. Her inability to cope with the windy conditions and maintain the high level of the previous rounds demonstrated the importance of running through the race to maintain consistency in consecutive races and better cope with challenging weather.
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A tough first-round battle awaits at Wimbledon. She will face No. 22 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova. The Russian is an attacking player with a straight, accurate groundstrokes and a solid grass court player who won two titles at the Dutch Championships in ‘s-Hertogenbosch before reaching Wimbledon last year Round 4. Raducanu will head to the All England Club ready to fight, but also hopes viewers will realize how much she is enjoying the event.
“I would say, I really hope they see me show my personality on the court, my character, lively, happy, energetic. I think you can really see the difference, especially for me. Say, when I’m in a good place, versus when I’m having more trouble with confidence or whatever.
“I think now I hope they see me being happy – certain involvements in big moments, for example I remember 2021 being a good example. I won the point, I thought it was a practice session and I put The racket fell off and I was like, how did it fly out of my hand? But it’s moments like this where I just really play the game and enjoy the game.
