Genuine hope for a revived Emma Raducanu despite her early withdrawal from the Australian Open
A strong performance in spite of a health scare was more evidence that Raducanu’s future is bright.
There was a sense of familiarity yesterday as we headed deep into Melbourne night. Emma Raducanu was taken to court by a medical officer.
But unlike most of the time since her incredible US Open victory in 2021, this time it wasn’t that her sick body was failing her.
Rather, she received treatment for nausea, which was regrettably caused by an ill-timed stomach illness. Her dreams of competing in the Australian Open were dashed for another year, but very seldom has a second-round exit left one feeling more upbeat than this one.
Since the Australian Open last year, she has only participated in ten WTA Tour matches, winning just five of them—two of which were in the previous week alone.
She took an eight-month break from the sport in the interim to have triple surgery on her ankle and wrists.
There were severe doubts about her ability to return to the pinnacle of her sport as a result. Even she questioned whether she would ever be pain-free while picking up a tennis racket.
Given the hazards, wrist surgery is typically the last option for tennis players. However, in this case, the problems were so severe that, even at her early age of 21, it ended up being the only option.
She transitioned from a wheelchair to crutches, then to independent walking, and in late November, she began playing tennis.
Raducanu managed to maintain some perspective after Thursday’s 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 loss to Wang Yafan of China, saying that even with the setback, it had been a blessing to have arrived in Australia unscathed.
Although Wang, the world No. 94, would face much stronger opponents, there were similarities to the Raducanu who initially made waves at Wimbledon and then in New York.
She had trouble with the windy conditions during the first set. She picks things up on the court so rapidly that by set two, she had mastered them and was working quickly to dismantle her opponent when illness hit.
When the rallies came, you would have never known there was a problem, even though she appeared like she was going to throw up between almost every point—she even tried to throw up into her towel during the third set.
The fact that she persevered and made it to a suspenseful conclusion where things did not work out in her favor was maybe the most satisfying part. She quickly conceded that Raducanu’s pre-surgery experience might not have been as difficult.
She remarked, “I’ve retired a few times in that circumstance before in matches due to illness and injury.” “Everything I experienced strengthened me to the point where I could not possibly fail. She had to defeat me, and she succeeded.
Raducanu is no longer surprised by the jabs. Many have suggested that she was mentally and physically fragile, and that her US Open victory was only a fortuitous coincidence.
She has never hidden the fact that her body lacked the core strength necessary for the demanding demands of the tour, as her ascent to become a Grand Slam winner was too quick. She was in dire need of the rigorous training block that her three surgeries had provided.
Three of her previous four matches have ended in victories, which was revealing. Aside from the event of vomiting, she has held up admirably, especially with her wrists.
She said that her career as a hand model was gone, pointing to the two noticeable scars on her wrists, as the sole setback she had experienced prior to the Australian Open.
And with that, we get at Raducanu’s other striking aspect. The once-brilliant flare of post-match interviews had turned gloomy before surgery. She was obviously in agony and was tired of being questioned.
Raducanu in her return has been her former carefree self. You would be hard pressed to find a more articulate talker in any sport, and she has been smiling more throughout, even while discussing the way she exited the Australian Open.
Her inadequacies won’t be as painful as the thought of what could have been if she hadn’t been ill.
