Emma Raducanu reveals ‘I could not hit ball without pain’ with injury

Emma Raducanu will finally be back in a Grand Slam arena tomorrow after fearing she would lose her battle to return to full fitness last year.

The former US Open champion is grateful to be at the Australian Open as he revealed the full extent of the battle that took place after Wimbledon.

‘I was just worried. “I started hitting in August and then, I would say, for the first eight, nine days I felt sore and then it didn’t go away,” she said ahead of her first-round match against American Shelby Rogers. .

Andy Murray was the only British singles player due to play tonight, while Raducanu was one of five to see action on day three of the extended first round programme.

Initially, the 21-year-old from Kent started practicing with the softer red ball used by younger children as it is easier and less stressful to hit.

She also received differing opinions from specialists about why it took so long to recover from the minor surgery she had on both wrists in May.

“And then I didn’t start hitting the yellow ball again until the last week of November,” she added. ‘I didn’t play for a few months after that (the first setbacks) and then only started playing again recently, at the end of November.

“So I think I’m in the position I’m in now, having only trained with yellow balls for six weeks. I’m pretty proud of myself and the team they brought me here.

‘I always had pain in my wrist, but all credit to the surgeon, he did an excellent job.’

The procedures left two-inch marks that still remain just above the wrist on the backs of her hands, and have barred her from certain professions in the future.

“I guess I won’t be a hand model and I can throw that career away,” she joked.

‘They are battle wounds, but they are healing nicely and look a lot better now. So it’s just part of the journey. When I’m 80, I can show everyone: ‘These are the scars of battle!’ ‘

With Jodie Burrage eliminated in the first round at the Open’s first Sunday start, Raducanu and Katie Boulter are the only British women left.

While Boulter has become a recognizable figure in Australia, thanks in part to her relationship with home favorite Alex de Minaur, Raducanu is also regularly recognised.

“I’m walking around, some people come up to me on the street and say, ‘Hey, I love you, keep going, good luck this week.’ And it’s really nice just to get that support,” she said.

Murray was due to face 30th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina this morning in an attempt to get the British contingent off target following Burrage’s collapse on what was her main draw debut in Melbourne. After a qualifying campaign in which zero of eight Britons made the main draw, GB No. 2 looked ready to boost morale as she went into the first set against Tamara Korpatsch.

However, the German player then took a questionably long toilet break that lasted seven minutes, and when she returned, she soared to a 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory.

Afterwards, world No. 93 Burrage took issue with the length of the break, but also admitted she may have been naive in handling the situation against a more experienced opponent.

Conditions also changed as the wind picked up mid-match, with the Surrey player admitting she had suffered from ‘panic attacks’ as things started to go against her.

Burrage, 24, questioned the referee’s delay as it went beyond the five minutes allowed for breaks, but a contributing factor was that they were playing on one of the more remote outdoor courts. She said: ‘It’s something where you just have to keep playing matches and get used to how you deal with it when your opponent changes the rhythm and tries to disrupt your rhythm, which she did in the second and third sets.

“It seemed like with every change it was something different, whether it was her shoe, or her rackets or towel. I know I’m 24, which isn’t that young in tennis age, but for me I’m a newcomer reaching this level. I’m still learning.’