Emma Raducanu is set to make her comeback at the Abu Dhabi Open on Monday. The former US Open champion feels that this is the right time for her to revive her career.
Raducanu had a disappointing 2023 season, playing in just 10 games and ending with a 5-5 record. In addition to her poor play, the British youngster suffered from injuries, and her season ended in April when she had surgery on one ankle and both wrists.
Raducanu returned to action at the start of the year, winning two of her four matches. However, she maintains that small steps toward progress are what matter most when it comes to reaching peak performance again.
Raducanu expressed her thoughts in a recent interview and said: “I’m still finding my feet on the match court; I’m not fully there but that will come with time. I’m very patient and very grateful to enjoy what I’m doing. I’m just trying to improve my game because I’m not the finished product. I feel like now is the time to start because I’ve had some illness and injuries over a couple of years since [winning the US Open], so I’m looking forward to working on my game, improving my level, and the results will take care of themselves.”
She further said: “I’ve never really had the chance to do proper training weeks back-to-back. For six or seven months, before I ended up having the surgeries, I was only practicing one or two hours a day just to limit the load on my wrists. In a way, it’s frustrating that the last couple of years haven’t been how I’ve wanted but I think we take a lesson from everything and now is the time to start that work, and I’m enjoying it.”
'I'm very patient – if I keep working to improve, results will follow'
Former US Open champion Emma Raducanu talks to The National ahead of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open https://t.co/4CPcACtXKy
— The National (@TheNationalNews) February 4, 2024
Emma Raducanu in 2024
LLWWLWWWLW Now the world no.296, the Brit played her last match on the 18th of January when she was overcome by world no.68 Yafan Wang 6-4 4-6 6-4 in the 2nd round of the Australian Open (draw).
This season the Brit achieved a 2-2 win-loss record.
