Raducanu ‘ready to go’ after back injury

Australian Open 2025

Dates: 12-26 January Venue: Melbourne Park

After recovering from a back spasm that prevented her preparations, Emma Raducanu claims she is “ready to go” against the best in the world at the Australian Open.

The British number two hasn’t played competitively since winning the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in November, so the British number two will enter the season’s opening Grand Slam.

After experiencing a spasm while bent-tying her shoelace, Raducanu, 22, was forced to leave the Auckland International at the end of December.

In the Melbourne first round, she will face Ekaterina Alexandrova, a Russian 26th seed, in her first match of the new year.

“I feel good. I feel well-balanced and feel healthy after my training. I’m prepared and ready to go”, said Raducanu, who is ranked 60th in the world.

“I believe I can really be a dangerous opponent for anyone,” he said. As a player, you must kind of believe that.

Following complications to her wrists and ankle in the 2024 season, Raducanu wants to build on that success.

However, she continued to struggle with the injuries that have plagued her the most recently, especially since she stunned the world to win the 2021 US Open as a teenage qualifier.

At last year’s US Open, a lack of match action led to a rusty first-round exit and a tearful admission afterwards that it was a” lesson learned”.

The difference between this and the US Open is that I didn’t actually train before the US Open, Raducanu, who hired Yutaka Nakamura as a full-time fitness instructor in December.

” But I’ve been putting in really good work. “

The former world number 10 later stated, “The way that Yutaka has structured our days has helped me get into that position where I feel pretty prepared.”

In a bid to negate the lack of match practice, Raducanu has played sets against sixth seed Elena Rybakina, of Kazakhstan, and former world number four Caroline Garcia, of France.

” Stepping out with them is great… to see and measure your game and where it is at, “she said.

I felt good on the court this week playing with some really elite players. I didn’t feel I was out of my depth at all.