by Emma Raducanu has expressed her joy at being pain-free after months of trauma injury after winning her grand slam comeback.
Raducanu needed just 1 hour 12 minutes to get into the second round of the Australian Open, thanks to a calm, composed and professional performance against world No 156 Shelby Rogers. She was never under pressure in her 6-3, 6-2 win, which was exactly the same as her score from the same match here last year.
But Raducanu told reporters she felt like a different woman 12 months later.
“Last year, I traveled here in a wheelchair,” she said, referring to the sprained ankle she suffered during her 2023 warm-up event in Auckland. “I only started hitting three days before the game. That whole process was very stressful.
“It’s much more relaxed this year. I think I’m more level-headed. I think things around me are fixed. I feel better, and there are fewer highs and lows around. It’s more of a balance.”
Rogers – a leading American who Raducanu beat en route to the 2021 US Open title – always looked like she would be a favorable draw. A torn abdominal muscle has kept her from playing a competitive match since Wimbledon last summer.
Admittedly, Raducanu was in a similar boat, after the multiple operations that ruined her 2023 season. But at least she enjoyed a spectacle in Auckland two weeks ago, where she beat Elena-Gabriela Ruse and then she put up a great fight against Elina Svitolina.
This could explain why Raducanu was the most settled player from the start, finding his rhythm on the phone and defending well from a deep position behind the baseline. She settled for big goals and steady rallies, knowing that Rogers – who committed 35 unforced errors at a rate of just over two per game – would sooner or later miss the court.
On a balmy afternoon in Melbourne, every seat in the 1573 Arena was taken, but the crowd didn’t bother much. They offered a polite round of applause to Raducanu’s polished game management, and watched the sun set behind the skyscrapers of downtown Melbourne. The highlight of the evening came when a ball girl managed to catch a pesky cricket that was jumping around the court.
For Raducanu, it must have felt like a gentle training exercise. But she is so delighted to be back on tour after her many toils that she clearly relished her victory. After securing her first match point with a classic serve/forehand combo, she didn’t storm off the court, but did a slow lap of honor as she signed autographs. One lucky super fan received her Australian Open towel.
“I gave the towel to Mark,” Raducanu explained later. “He was there every round at the US Open, the one I won. I didn’t know he was here. I just saw him in the crowd. He is very vocal. It was really great to have him there to get me through. He is very passionate and enthusiastic [and] it was his birthday.”
In general, the evening could hardly have gone more smoothly, even if Raducanu later admitted that she suffered from butterflies in the preparation period. “I’m always nervous in the first round,” she said, “like anyone in the lottery. I don’t think tennis was the nicest to be honest. In those conditions, it was very difficult to play perfect tennis. It was just about managing the situation and dealing with the conditions, and I think I did that well in the crucial moments.”
‘It’s great to be pain free’
Raducanu smiled her way through her media duties, and looked particularly relaxed when she was asked about the condition of his wrist. [which both underwent operations in May to remove bony spurs known as carpal bosses].
“It’s great to be pain free with the wrists,” she said. “I really didn’t know if I would ever get to this stage. I was in pain for so long, as before the US swing in 2022 all the way to the surgery. It was difficult because I couldn’t train, I couldn’t practice. Then it is very difficult to compete against the best in the world. You can’t even say ‘I know I’m doing the work, it will pay off,’ because I wasn’t doing any.
“I think the time away made me very hungry,” Raducanu added. “I am doing my religious rehabilitation every day. Shout out to Millie [Lawn Tennis Association physiotherapist Milena Mirkovic], which is on me like a hawk. Yes, it’s paid for. I have no fear or restrictions on anything. I have reached all the return-to-play markers. My grip strength is higher than ever. All you have to do is continue the boring rehabilitation. Yeah, I hope I’m right.”
Even if there wasn’t much intensity about Raducanu’s opening game, at least she is pushing without any worries. And her second round opponent turned out unexpectedly, after the 22nd seed Sorana Kirstea was eliminated by China’s Yafan Wang.
A clean debut performance, and a second round meeting with the No 94 ranked player in the world. No wonder Raducanu is smiling.
