Emma Raducanu appears to be on course to play at the Australian Open after she posted images of her recovery from her latest injury setback on her Instagram page.
Raducanu pulled out of what should have been her first tournament of 2025 last week, with another injury halting her ambitions to compete in the ABS Classic in Auckland. “Tried my best to be ready,” Raducanu said on the WTA website as she confirmed her withdrawal. “I love Auckland and the fans here but unfortunately picked up a back niggle and won’t be ready in time.”
The news came as a blow to Raducanu, who stated her aim for this new year was to get herself on court more after two years dominated by injury issues. Her more to hire renowned fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura was part of that plan and she flew to Australia early to begin her preparations for the first Grand Slam of the season.
Yet the back issue she suffered in Auckland inspired fears that her ambitions to play more matches would be scuppered by her physical issues. There was a suggestion that Raducanu’s decision to pull out of the Auckland event was a precautionary move and the images she posted on Instagram confirmed she is back in training already.
She also included an image of her standing on a tennis court at Melbourne Park, suggesting she is back on court for limited practice sessions. The move to pull out of the tournament in New Zealand means Raducanu will not get any time on court in competitive action ahead of the Australian Open and that has to be a concern.
She had a similar story ahead of the US Open last August, as she failed to play in warm-up events and then looked rusty as she lost in the first round in New York against Sofia Kenin. Raducanu will be eager to avoid a repeat of that story in Melbourne and if she can get through to the second week of the tournament, a return to the top 50 of the WTA Rankings will be assured.
“I want to play more than I did this year,” said Raducanu last month. “I think now, with my set-up, I’m in a place where I can continue work on the road. So I don’t necessarily need to come back to continue good physical work. “I can do it pretty much every day, like microdoses. And I think that’s actually going to be a great addition for me next year, which I’m excited about.
“Also with my tennis, I’m in a pretty good spot. I feel like I just want to see how much I can do, fulfil my potential. I’m curious about what my level can get to. I really want to play more. And I think a big part of that is just staying healthy.”
Raducanu is likely to play competitive practice sets against top players as they start to arrive at the Australian Open site over the next few days, with former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash telling Tennis365 that the Brit still has a lot to prove. “It’s been interesting to watch her play. She has certainly got the talent to compete at the top level,” Cash told Tennis365 in his role as an ambassador for the Bank of China Hong Kong Open 2025.
“I was at Queen’s Club the other day and some highlights popped up on the TV of her winning the US Open and it was just phenomenal to remind yourself how good she is. “She has had some issues with her forehand from time to time and maybe the stress of it all contributed to those injuries.
“She’s had half a decent year when she was able to play matches, but we have an opportunity here for a player like Emma to come through. “On both the men’s and women’s side of the draws, we have one or two players right at the top who have separated themselves, but there is a gap below that and players can come through to the latter stages of tournaments.
“We saw Emma Navarro come through this year and Raducanu is definitely a better player than her. “You just have to hope Raducanu stays fit and can get matches under her belt because she certainly has the talent to do very well.”
