Emma Raducanu shares her strange injury recovery routine involving buckets of rice

Emma Raducanu has revealed that rice played a crucial role in her recovery. The tennis star underwent surgery on both of her wrists and one of her ankles which ruled her out for the majority of last year, only returning to the court at the Billie Jean King Cup in April. Raducanu has made it no secret that her road to recovery was tough, sharing photos on social media of her in hospital and opening up in interviews about how her limited movement led her to question whether she would ever return to the sport.

However, thanks to a staple food item, the 21-year-old is back enjoying her tennis and setting her sights on hitting the heights that made her one of the most exciting prospects previously. Speaking to Tennis Magazin, Raducanu revealed that ‘rice therapy’ was instrumental in her recovery, which involved soaking her arm in buckets of the grain for extended periods of time. She explained: “When someone comes into the rehab room with a bucket of rice, you don’t really think that it’s for wrist recovery. I put my hand in the bucket of rice at least twice a day, up to 75 minutes, and I moved my hands, twisted them, squeezed them, and pressed them.

“It actually helps. You feel a burning sensation in your forearm. It strengthens the muscles in your hand, wrist and upper arm. Every little muscle in your hand is used.” Given how frequently Raducanu would have to spend time with her arms swimming in a bath of rice, many would expect her to be put off from eating the carbohydrates – but that is far from the case. Asked whether she has stopped eating rice because of the treatment, she replied: “No, not really.

bucket of rice and think: Not again, because the rehab session took up a lot of time. But I still love eating rice. I’m sticking to that.” Raducanu went on to explain that, ironically, she is ‘fresh and hungry’ to succeed and hopes that she will be able to bounce back to winning ways by returning to her usual training schedule. She concluded: “After the break, I was eager to get back to playing. It can be exhausting playing on the tour week after week and taking on all the responsibilities that come with being a tennis professional. For me, the best solution is to do things my way. Before I came on tour, that was the best way for me. It worked well.