Emma Raducanu says she feels “reborn” as the former US Open champion prepares to return to action at next week’s Auckland Classic after ankle and wrist surgeries.
The 21-year-old is now ranked 298th in the world, having missed much of last season after operations on both wrists and her left ankle. Raducanu has not played on the WTA Tour since April, when she lost to Jelena Ostapenko in Stuttgart.
“Yeah, I feel reborn in a way. I feel fresh, I feel ready, I feel happy and I feel excited,” Raducanu said. “Overall, I’m feeling positive and lighter.”
Raducanu will return to Auckland with a protected ranking a year after she exited the event in tears having rolled her ankle. She added: “I think that for two years after the US Open I felt maybe a 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 wildcard for the Australian Open which begins on 14 January. She will have to reach the tournament via qualifying –just as she did on her historic run to the title at Flushing Meadows in 2021.
The former British No 1 has not progressed past the second round of a Grand Slam since her New York triumph, but is happy to be fit and ready to compete again in New Zealand from Monday after recovering from multiple surgeries.
“It’s nice not to have three casts on you,” she added. “So just moving around and showering, [doing] everything you really appreciate, being able to do your own hair, stuff like that. I’m just happy to be back playing.”
Osaka ready for return, on and off court
Naomi Osaka has said she feels more confident “with who I am as a person” before her much-awaited return to tennis at the upcoming Brisbane International.
Osaka won four grand slam titles, including two at the Australian Open, before taking a break to prioritise her mental health. The 26-year-old last competed 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 never tried to have conversations with other players before and I think I definitely put a large wall up. Now I find myself interacting with people. It’s just really cool.”
Osaka, who has spoken openly about dealing with depression and anxiety, added that she had felt 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 so much work and got myself to where I am now,” added Osaka, who takes on Tamara Korpatsch in her opening match on Monday. “I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t feel ready. I didn’t want to disappoint the people who were excited for me to come back and didn’t want to disappoint myself.”
