This summer, British tennis player Emma Raducanu will return to Auckland to play in the ASB Classic for the third time in a row.
Raducanu, who has been sidelined for the past two months due to an ankle injury, will enter the tournament as a wildcard. She is now ranked No. 58 in the world due to her injury. Raducanu won the 2021 US Open as a qualifier, giving her one grand slam victory.
This year, she had her best grand slam performance at Wimbledon, where she advanced to the round of 16 before losing to Lulu Sun of New Zealand.
Raducanu has lost in the round of 16 on both occasions she has competed in the Auckland tournament. Later this year, she was forced to retire against Slovakia’s Viktoria Hruncakova in 2023 after losing to Elena Svitolina of Ukraine 7-6 6-7 1-6. Raducanu expressed her excitement about returning to Auckland.
She talked about it and said: “The people are very friendly and very hospitable. I always have a great time there. The weather, when it is nice, is really beautiful. One of my best friends lives in Auckland and her family does too, so I think I will be there for Christmas Day. Over the last two years, we have gone an hour north to their beach house and had a barbecue there. It is really wholesome. The quality of the meat and fish is so fresh and I am looking forward to it.”
She further said: “Mentally I feel like I am in a better place to compete now than I ever have been before since the US Open. It’s going to probably take me some tournaments to get up to speed but once I do, I think I am in a better headspace to compete now.”
The return of @emmaraducanu 🫶✨
Crowd-favourite and British star Emma Raducanu is back to make her mark in Jan! 🇳🇿#ASBClassic pic.twitter.com/NET1bRncsY
— ASB Classic (@ASB_Classic) November 12, 2024
Emma Raducanu in 2024
LWWLLWWLWW At the moment ranked no.58, Raducanu played her last match on the 21st of September when she had to retire when playing against world no.9 Darya Kasatkina in the quarter and the scoreline was 6-1 .
During this season Raducanu owns a composed 20-13 win-loss record. Emma Raducanu’s most significant achievement of the year was getting to the semifinal in Nottingham.
Emma Raducanu will play the world no.49 Viktoriya Tomova in the final. Their current head to head is 1-0 for Tomova.
Emma Raducanu |
| Embed from Getty Images |
Emma Raducanu in 2024
LWWLLWWLWW Ranked no.58, Emma played her last match on the 21st of September when she had to retire when playing against world no.9 Darya Kasatkina in the quarter and the scoreline was 6-1 .
This season Raducanu achieved a compiled 20-13 record. Emma Raducanu’s most significant achievement of the current season was getting to the semifinal in Nottingham.
Emma Raducanu will face the world no.49 Viktoriya Tomova in the final. Their current head to head is 1-0 for Tomova.
Emma Raducanu |
| Embed from Getty Images |
