Emma Raducanu says she will leave Melbourne optimistic about her progress after an eight-month hiatus, despite a painful second-round loss at the Australian Open.
The British 21-year-old was eliminated in the second round of the Australian Open for the third year in a row, losing 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 against Wang Yafan of China.
“I’m very positive, very happy with how my body is,” she went on to say. “I think the wrist was something I struggled with coming back because I had a setback for a few months and couldn’t play again until late November. Now I feel better. My ankle feels terrific. If I keep my work consistent, I have a good chance. This is obviously merely my first visit back.”
Raducanu trailed by a set and a break while playing listless tennis before gradually regaining her footing and forcing a third set. Raducanu stated that she began to feel unwell on the court shortly after taking the lead, resulting in her gagging many times between points.
“I think with what I went through last year, you feel awful right now, at some points I couldn’t really see the ball very well, but with everything I went through last year, it’s made me so much tougher,” she went on to say. “I wasn’t going to pull out. She was going to have to beat me, which she did. “She served it out.”
Raducanu emphasized that her body recovered nicely from this test and her warm-up event in New Zealand two weeks prior. This year’s goal is to combine a large amount of training and matchplay to raise her level.
“I’m feeling quite optimistic. I really want to play one entire season. The good thing is that, despite playing two back-to-back three-setters in Auckland and another three-setter today, I did not develop any odd niggles. [The vomiting] occurred throughout the match. It was only me throwing up. That is OK. That is unusual, but it appears to be a one-time occurrence.
