Emma Raducanu will return to the site of one of her major injury scares when she makes her comeback in 2024. The Brit has taken a wildcard into the ASB Classic in Auckland, which will be her first tournament in eight months. She played the WTA 250 event at the start of this year, where she turned her ankle and was forced to retire in tears, later slamming the “slippery” courts. Raducanu went on to have surgery on the ankle in question, with the injury ruining her Australian Open preparations.
Raducanu has finally confirmed her return to tennis, entering the field in Auckland where the tournament begins on January 1. It will be her first tournament since she went under the knife three times in three weeks back in May, having surgeries on both of her wrists and one ankle.
The operations ultimately brought an end to her 2023 season and she could have a tough test in her first tournament back, with the likes of Coco Gauff, Caroline Wozniacki and Elina Svitolina also signing up to the ASB Classic. And Raducanu will have another test to face in Auckland as she returns to a tournament that caused her heartbreak at the start of this year.
The 21-year-old was competing in her second-round match against Viktoria Kuzmova when she fell and turned her ankle. The physio arrived before Raducanu was forced to forfeit the match, exiting the court in tears. The match was being played in an indoor facility after rain stopped them from using the regular outdoor courts.
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And the former world No 10 wasn’t happy with the condition of the alternative court she was given for her clash with Kuzmova, later claiming that she wasn’t surprised that she got injured. “The courts are incredibly slick, so to be honest it’s not a surprise that this happened to someone,” a frustrated Raducanu said.
“It’s difficult to take. I’ve put a lot of physical work in the last few months and have been feeling good and optimistic. So to be stopped by a freak injury, rolling an ankle, is pretty disappointing, in the first week as well. I thought I was playing some pretty decent tennis.”
Raducanu was right to be annoyed, as the injury left her in a boot just days before the Australian Open. The Brit was still able to take to the court and won her opening match before losing to Coco Gauff. The ankle injury then forced her to spend a couple of months on the sidelines and she ultimately had surgery to fix the issue.
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The 2021 US Open champion will now hope to have a more positive experience in Auckland this time around. She may then need to compete in the Australian Open qualifying event the following week as her protected ranking of No 103 in the world wasn’t high enough to reach the cut-off of the main draw.
Several other players have also entered using their special standing, meaning there is an unusually high cut-off of No 99 in the world. Unless Raducanu receives a wildcard or multiple people above her withdraw, she will need to come through qualifying to get into the Australian Open.
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