After becoming US-Open champion in 2021 it has become quiet around shooting star Emma Raducanu. The 20-year old Britain had been suffering from a wrist injury forcing her to take a break for almost the whole 2022 season. She made her return on court at Mubadala World Tennis Championship and talked about her recovery and her goals for 2023:
Are you ready to get on the road again after seven months off the tour?
I had two months in bed at home so I had to kind of get used to be back on the road. Once you’ve spent a long period at home it’s easy to get used to this kind of bubble. It’s really nice to have some time to switch off, to do normal things, but I‘m really ready to get on the road and start competing, training hard, cause this is what I love doing.
“I love the bigger pages, I love the big courts, the atmospheres, but my goal in 2023 is probably to win a title.”
Emma Raducanu
What are your targets for 2023?
My targets are to stay healthy for longer, to stay injury free and to be on court, to be competing. One of my biggest goals is to go on the court and not think about my fitness. I wanna be able to go out there with focus on the tennis. I think this year, I’m in a better position, but it still gonna take some time to recover fully. I love the bigger pages, I love the big courts, the atmospheres, but my goal in 2023 is probably to win a title.
What advice would you give to young kids, who want to become a professional player like you?
I’d say you need a lot of resilience to reach your goal, because there are a lot of defeats, what you think may be failures, and you just have to keep going – no matter how bad you fell, how upset you are or how much you cried. I think that’s a big thing for young players starting out their journey.
Photos: © IMAGO / ZUMA Wire
