Emma Raducanu did not look happy when she left the ASB Classic in Auckland last year, so it was surprising to see that she confirmed her comeback event would happen at the event in New Zealand the following month.
After surgery on both wrists and one ankle, the 2021 US Open champion missed the remainder of the 2023 season and hasn’t played a match since a crushing loss to Jelena Ostapenko in Stuttgart in April.
Her chances of making it to the start of next year were doubted until recently, but as she has intensified her training, those doubts have vanished in recent weeks.
She was moved to tears by her experience at this event last year, and it has now been announced that she will compete in the WTA tournament in New Zealand starting on January 1.
After retiring from Aukland last year due to an ankle injury she received during her second-round match, Raducanu had surgery to repair the damage.
Although the British player recovered to compete in the Australian Open, few anticipated that Aukland would serve as the venue for her triumph. She implied that the slippery court conditions were the cause of her problems.
Raducanu’s decision to play in New Zealand was, however, influenced by a wildcard offered by tournament director Nicolas Lamperin.
Lamperin said in a recent discussion: “We kept in touch with Emma throughout the year. She decided to go for surgery in April, after Stuttgart, and it was going to be a long process for her. When we touched base in early July, we didn’t have much of an update because it was still in the early stages. But we kept the dialogue going and said, we know how it works; players who’ve been away from the tour get a protected ranking. “
He added: “However, the number of tournaments they can do with their protected ranking is limited, so whenever they can get wildcards on top of their protected ranking, it gives them longer to get back on the tour. That’s something that helped the discussion. She was obviously in no rush; she wanted to make sure she was fully healthy and ready to come back. She loves this time of year. She had fun in New Zealand and despite the fact she had to retire this year, she was happy to come back.”
Brits getting in some reps at the National Tennis Centre đź‘Š pic.twitter.com/PatLFNToMK
— LTA (@the_LTA) December 8, 2023
Emma Raducanu in 2023
LWWLWWLLWW Ranked world no.296, the Brit played her last match on the 18th of April when she lost to world no.13 Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 6-1 in the 1st round in Stuttgart (draw).
At present, during this year Raducanu has a composed 5-5 record.
