The 21-year-old Emma Raducanu returned to action after a long injury stand of over 8 months. Emma had gone through two major surgeries on her wrists and her left ankle.
However, Raducanu marked her return with a triumphant performance over Romania’s Elena-Gabriela Ruse with a scoreline of 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 on Tuesday. The British couldn’t keep up the performance in her next match against second-seeded Elina Svitolina, who defeated her in three sets 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-1 at the ASB Classic.
Emma, who is a recipient of the Order of the British Empire (MBE), serves as a source of inspiration for numerous young British tennis players. She recently conversed with several kids aspiring to be tennis players in the future and shared her childhood memories with them.
“My dad would do lessons with me in the backyard. And I think it is good for everyone to play tennis with the families because it makes it fun, and it is always a great feeling when you can beat them.”
Emma’s dad has been a major influence in Emma’s young career, and she did not shy away from telling stories of them going to various tennis clubs.
“My dad drove me to a lot of different clubs and the one I picked was the one that had four girls in it, I did not think about the tennis, the coaching, whatever, as long as there were girls, so I felt more comfortable in the squad.”
Spark of hope for Emma Raducanu as she gets into the main draw of the Australian Open
Emma Raducanu stormed out of the ASB Classic in the second round after losing to 25th-ranked Ukrainian player Elina Svitolina. However, she enjoys a glimpse of hope.
In the post-match interview, Emma pointed out the takeaways from the match.
“I can take away that I played a high level for two long sets,”
“I’m proud of how quickly I was able to get my level up, as Elina gives you nothing. To be able to play like I did for two sets, in my second match back … the level was raised really quickly.”
Despite the loss, there is still hope for the former US Open champion, who now ranks No.301 in the WTA rankings. It was announced earlier on Tuesday that she will be granted entry directly to the main draw of the Australian Open because of various key withdrawals.
Many important players such as Karolina Muchova, Petra Kvitova, Irina-Camelia Begu, Caty McNally, Lauren Davis, etc. have pulled out of the competition for various reasons.
Earlier, she had missed a chance at the wild card qualification into the competition, and participating in the qualifying draw was her only remaining option for a main draw spot.
