British number two Emma Raducanu enters the French Open unseeded (Picture: Getty)
Emma Raducanu has opened up on having to overcome her ‘biggest phobia’ of needles in order to get herself fit for the French Open.
There had been fears Raducanu may be forced to miss the tournament after being treated for a spasm in her lower back while competing at the Internationaux de Strasbourg tournament last Wednesday.
Raducanu two cruised to a first-set victory over the United States’ Danielle Collins, but appeared in serious discomfort after falling 5-0 behind in the second.
The British number two went on to lose the round-of-16 contest 6-4 1-6 3-6.
However, Raducanu has since confirmed she will be featuring at Roland Garros, despite not being at ‘100 per cent’ ahead of her first-round meeting with China’s Wang Xinyu on Monday.
The 22-year-old is currently ranked 41 in the world and enters the tournament unseeded.
Asked for an update on her back problem, Raducanu told BBC Sport: ‘It feels OK, it feels good, not 100 per cent yet, but we’re working towards that. I still have a couple of days.’
The former US Open champion had been managing a similar problem prior to the Australian Open at the start of the year.
In order to cope, Raducanu has been using a combination of dry needling and heat therapy, despite being ‘so scared’ of needles.
‘I would say the one before Australia was worse. I feel like this one I kind of caught before it fully locked up,’ she added.
‘At the start of the year I was so scared of needles. It was my biggest phobia.
‘That was the only way I was going to be able to play Australia.
‘Since then, I’ve been kind of dipping my toes into it because I know it helps even though I’m really scared of them.
It has been a long road to recovery for Raducanu, who underwent ankle and wrist surgery in 2023.
The Toronto-born Brit believes she was pushed too hard at times and wishes she had listened to her body sooner.
‘I just kept pushing through because people were telling me I wasn’t tough enough, like I need to just work through it,’ she explained.
‘Like it’s normal I’m feeling fatigued because I’m training so much, when in reality I knew there was pain, and I knew it kind of felt more than just soreness.
‘I wish I would have listened to myself sooner. I would have saved myself maybe like eight months, 12 months of struggling, but I guess I can learn from that.’
Last month, Raducanu revealed that was working with childhood mentorMark Petchey on an ‘informal’ basis as he coach.
