Raducanu ‘feeling good’ before Australian Open return

Emma Raducanu has allayed any fears about her fitness before making a Grand Slam comeback at the Australian Open.

The 21-year-old Briton returned to competitive action in Auckland last week after eight months out following operations on her wrists and ankle.

Raducanu pulled out of two exhibition events in Melbourne this week but has practised and shown no signs of issues.

“For a few days after the matches I was sore but I’ve bounced back from that and I’m feeling good now,” she said.

Raducanu is playing in the first Grand Slam of the 2024 season using an injury-protected ranking of 103rd in the world.

She moved directly into the main draw, without needing to qualify or receive a wildcard, after several withdrawals from higher-ranked players.

Raducanu will play American Shelby Rogers – who the Briton beat on the way to winning the US Open in 2021 – in the first round on Monday or Tuesday.

“I did a lot of good work in the off-season. But regardless of how good I may feel on the court on a particular day or in practice, getting that level of consistency is going to require more time,” Raducanu said.

“I’ve been doing the right work, doing it consistently. I just need to keep going more and more.”

In her pre-tournament news conference on Friday, she added: “I think my level, to be honest, is just too good not to come through if I put consistent work together.”

Raducanu opened her comeback tournament in Auckland with a win against Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse, then produced a high level against Wimbledon semi-finalist Elina Svitolina before fading physically in a deciding set which she lost 6-1.

Afterwards Raducanu had some soreness and decided it would not be in her best interests to play in the exhibition matches – one at Melbourne Park as part of the Australian Open’s fan week and another against Russian 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva at the Kooyong Classic.

Instead Raducanu did full practice sessions at Melbourne Park this week and hit with British number two Jodie Burrage on Friday.

“She was absolutely creaming the ball. She was proper going for it. It was a good practice,” Burrage said.

“It’s nice to see her back on the court, back playing some really good stuff as well. It will be really interesting to see what she does this week.”