Emma Raducanu is practising once again after her positive return to action in the opening month of 2024.
The 2021 US Open champion played at a good level as she played her first matches since stepping away from the sport in April of last year to undergo double wrist and ankle surgery.
Her return to action in Auckland saw her win a long first round match and then play at a high level against Elena Svitolina.
Emma Raducanu then went on to beat Shelby Rodgers in the opening round of the Australian Open before a defeat against 6-4 4-6 6-4 Wang Yafan, in a match that lasted two hours and 55 minutes.
She left Australia greatly encouraged for what is to come as she told reporters: “There were doubts whether I would be able to make the Australian Open trip, so it was a bonus to play there.
“As I said before, I’m more focused on level and the practice days, trying to win the day rather than focusing more on win or loss.
“I know the difference between me playing okay and me playing good or me playing great are just really, really in the details, like doing a few things just 5% better. I think it makes a huge difference.
“I’m feeling very positive. I really just want to play a full season.
“The encouraging thing is, even though I played two back-to-back three-setters in Auckland, a three-setter today, body-wise, strength-wise, I didn’t come up with any random niggles.
“I’m very positive, very happy with how my body is. I think the wrist in particular was something that I struggled with in the coming back because, yeah, I just had a setback for a few months, so I couldn’t play till late November again really.
“Now I feel good. Ankle feels good. Yeah, I think if I keep my work consistent, like I said previously, I have a good shot.
“This is obviously only my first trip back. I think that tidying up some of the areas, tidying up a bit of technique and things, also just getting used to playing matches outdoors.
“Yeah, I need to spend more time on tour, spend more time training, and putting good weeks together.”
She also suggested she would be open to playing lower level tour events, including ITF World Tennis Tour tournaments, the level below the WTA Tour.
“I really believe that the level in these quote “lower-level tournaments” and these tournaments is not that big because you gain so many skills, you’re playing in these conditions, the wind here was a prime example,” she added.
“My opponent (Wang) played a lot of ITF and got a lot of matches under her belt, but the level really isn’t that different. I would play whatever suits my schedule, whatever suits the plan.”
Raducanu has a protected ranking of No 103 as that was where she sat in the WTA standings when she stepped away from the court last April.
That ranking would not be enough to guarantee her entry to Grand Slam events or the prestige WTA 1000 tournaments, but she has appeared on the entry list for the Indian Wells Masters that is set to take place in early March.
She has also confirmed that she would like to enter a tournament before that and her move to accept an wildcard into the WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi will see her return to action in the first week of February.
She is on the entry list for the WTA 250 event in Austin, Texas, that gets underway on February 26th.
With slightly lower-ranked players competing in that event, it could allow Raducanu to ease back into competitive action in America before playing at Indian Wells and Miami.
She is also set to play at the Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart in April, which is an event backed by Porsche, one of her leading sponsors.
