Emma Raducanu reflects on emotional comeback win after being left unable to walk

02 January 2024 , 12:06

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Emma Raducanu is relieved to be fit again after several injury problems (Image: Sky Sports)

Emma Raducanu insists she's just "grateful to be able to move my body" after overcoming her eight-month injury hell.

Raducanu, 21, made her return to the tennis court on Tuesday to beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse at the Auckland Classic. The Brit missed two match points in the third and final set but recovered to win 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 before revealing her relief at being fit again.

The Toronto-born star had surgeries on both wrists and her left ankle in May to resolve long-standing injury issues. She's best known for her stellar 2021 campaign, in which she reached the fourth round of Wimbledon and won the US Open as a qualifier.

Raducanu has failed to live up to expectations since her remarkable triumph in New York but is hoping to finally get her career back on track after going under the knife. "It's pretty amazing to just be out here and playing," said Raducanu after Tuesday's win.

"I'm just really happy to be back on the tour and can't wait to start this season and carry on hopefully injury-free and healthy. It's difficult after having such a long hiatus, but I'm grateful to be healthy, grateful to be able to move my body, not bed-ridden and in a wheelchair."

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Raducanu has slipped outside of the world's top 300 in the rankings and needed a wildcard to enter the Auckland Classic. The returning star's next opponent is Ukraine's Elina Svitolina, the second seed who is a two-time Wimbledon semi-finalist.

Raducanu secured her first win of 2024 on Tuesday (Getty Images)

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The Auckland Classic will act as preparation for the Australian Open. The first Grand Slam of the year starts on January 14, although it's still unclear whether Raducanu will be involved because she's still not guaranteed of a spot in the opening round.

Raducanu will need to go through qualifying if she's not handed a wildcard for the tournament. Yet that's something she's used to, having become the first ever qualifier in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows in September 2021.

"I feel reborn in a way. I feel fresh, I feel ready, I feel happy and I feel excited," said Raducanu. "Overall, I'm feeling positive and lighter. I think that for two years after the US Open I felt maybe a bit more weight on my shoulders, but now I feel completely fresh."

Andy Murray, meanwhile, made a poor start to 2024 by losing in three sets to Grigor Dimitrov at the Brisbane International. The three-time Grand Slam winner, 36, won the first set 6-4 but failed to capitalise. Murray is a five-time runner-up at the Australian Open.

Tom Blow