INTERNATIONAL: Emma Raducanu admitted that she is not expecting as much from herself as she prepares for her grass-court tournament of the season. The athlete expressed that she has been dealing with injury lately, which is affecting her preparations for the upcoming competitions.
The 2021 US Open champion experienced a back spasm during her match against Danielle Collins just before the French Open, and this concern is still bothering her now.
Raducanu has been making a strong comeback in her recent games, particularly during the clay-court season. With her recent performances, she is now close to returning to the top 30 in the WTA rankings. However, despite her progress, the injury limits her ability to perform her best, and it has raised concerns about whether she can fully perform in the grass court stretch of the season, which includes Wimbledon.
With this, Raducanu admitted: “I have had a small interruption with a back spasm again, so that was a bit annoying… That kind of hindered my grass prep, but the last few days I have managed to get on the grass and just begin to feel my feet.”
She added: “Overall, I just have to manage what I can take care of, and if these things happen, I just need to deal with it and just keep doing the right things… But I try not to let it get to me, because I think I have a pretty good feel of when it happens, what to do, and how to manage it. It does take a few days out, but all I can do is kind of deal with what’s in front of me.”
Still, Raducanu declared that she is excited to participate in the WTA 500 tournament at Queen’s Club despite these setbacks. She stated: “Of course I want to win this tournament, like every tournament, but especially when it’s at home… My expectations are pretty low, because I played points for the first time today, and I’ve had maybe two or three days on the grass courts, so it’s not been much.”
Updates on her coaches
Alongside her health updates, Emma Raducanu also shared the latest on her coaching situation.
She said that Mark Petchey will continue to work with her part-time while also working in his regular job as a tennis commentator. Moreover, Raducanu announced that coach Nick Cavaday is back in her team.
Cavaday previously left her team after the Australian Open in January due to health problems. Now, he has returned to support the young athlete in this important part of the season. With this, Raducanu said: “I’m happy to see him healthy, first of all… I mean, it’s been such a long time since we were last on court together in Australia, and Mark is in Paris commentating, so Nick was around and it was nice to just have a few days with him.”
She added: “They’ll both be helping me throughout the grass [season]… I think having Mark and Nick, both people who have banks of experience, and I think they can complement each other really well, and I trust both of them a lot… So that is a big fundamental for me, so I’m looking forward to this upcoming season and seeing how it goes.”
In a social media post, Raducanu shared that the grass court season is about to begin and said: “That time of year 🍀.”
Netizens commented on the post and stated: “Good luck Emma! I’m really hoping to see you in semi-finals! Let’s go! ❤️🔥💪🏼,” “Wimbledon is yours,” and “Good luck Emma 🍀🤞 always support you no matter what.”