Emma Raducanu makes ‘grateful’ admission as she opens up on injury struggles
Emma Raducanu has revealed she is “more grateful for my health than results” as she reflected on her lengthy injury layoff last season – amid her current struggles with a foot issue. Raducanu has not played since the Korea Open in Seoul, retiring from her quarter-final clash due to a ligament injury – and withdrawing from five events since then. However, her current struggles pale in comparison to her nightmare 2023 season, where she was sidelined for a total of eight months.
The 21-year-old underwent wrist and ankle surgery and missed three of the four Grand Slam events, slipping down outside the top 200 of the WTA Rankings. The Brit has climbed back inside the top 60 in 2024 but, in a video with sponsor HSBC, she detailed the difficulties of what she had to deal with last season. “I was out for eight months and I had three surgeries, and the rehab wasn’t as straightforward as everyone planned,” she said. “Initially the return to play was only meant to be four months and it ended up being double because I came back a bit too quickly and then did more damage. So I think I also learned a lesson in patience and trying to rush things.
“In terms of coming back, it takes a while to get up to the speed of the game. The match is different from practice as well and introduces unpredictability, so I think now I’m just more grateful for my health than results. “When you’re on the sidelines watching everything go past you and yeah it was difficult, I just had to shut it off and I actually couldn’t watch anything.” It remains to be seen if Raducanu will return to court in 2024, having most recently withdrawn from the Hong Kong Open, which begins on Monday.
Withdrawal from that tournament means that the former US Open champion has played her final official WTA match of the season, with the 2024 season ending at the WTA Finals next week. However, the world No 55 is still hopeful of representing Great Britain at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Malaga later in November. Raducanu played an instrumental role in her nation sealing a place at the Finals, winning both her rubbers in Britain’s 3-1 victory over France back in April. Should she play she would be Britain’s No 2 player in the pecking order, behind current British No 1 Katie Boulter.
