Emma Raducanu is injury-free and refreshed ahead of the 2024 Australian Open with a differing feeling for the former US Open champion who has had the eyes of the media on her since her 2021 run and has suffered with injuries and the caving in of becoming a global megastar.
But Raducanu said she will play this season without a ‘backpack of rocks’ on her back and that the pressure is off going into her return. Albeit in her mind that her level is too good for her not to return to her best if consistency is a factor. She will face Shelby Rogers in the first round who she defeated on her way to Flushing Meadows glory over two years ago.
Reflecting on my journey so far💭, trying new things 🎨 and returning to what I love 🎾… Join me for a look back at the past few months in the 9:11
“I feel a lot lighter now than I did for a long time after the US Open. I feel like I’m not playing with a backpack of rocks. I feel pretty light and happy,” she said to British media.
“Reflecting on the past, I think people are very important, like the people who I surround myself with, maybe sometimes even more so. I think surrounding yourself with competent and knowledgeable people is of course really important, but also the type of person and their character is big-time, just making sure we really get on and intentions are really good.”
“In the off-season, when I was in the UK training, I started in October retraining because I had a bit of a setback and started with rehab, then fitness in the month of November, then kind of started hitting again late November, December,” she continued.
“Being in the NTC, of course I was working alongside the LTA, who helped me big-time. They did a lot for me in the gym and also physio, tennis. Then Nick was also around. I asked him, because he coached me when I was between 10 and 12. He was there. Yeah, it’s just been working like that.
“We’re just taking it how it goes. It’s been working really well so far. I of course hope to continue with him because I feel very comfortable with him. I know his sister (Naomi) really well because, like, everyone is from Bromley. It’s pretty good.”
“I think success to me in the long-term is, for the rest of the year, to play a full season, to be healthy throughout, to be able to train consistent weeks,” she concluded. “I know my level is there, I just need to keep working on it to make it more consistent.
“I think that will come with time in the gym, time on court, being able to play the calendar, not thinking about ‘Will I have to pull out from this one? Does that hurt?’ Just being able to go consistently throughout the year. I think my level, to be honest, is just too good not to come through if I put consistent work together.
“Physically I feel good. I did a lot of good work in the off-season. But I think that regardless of how good I may feel on the court on a particular day or in practice, I think to get that level of consistency is going to require more time. So, yeah, I’ve been doing the right work, doing it consistently.