Emma Raducanu plans to begin her 2025 WTA season at an event where she previously sustained an injury and hit out at the tournament's organizers.
Raducanu, despite being just 21 years old, has endured many physical issues in the last two years. Her most recent issue came at this year's Korea Open when she retired after 31 minutes against Daria Kasatkina.
The Briton later confirmed she had sprained ligaments in her foot and needed some time on the sidelines to recover. Raducanu missed the entire Asian swing, having previously planned to play many tournaments during that period of the schedule.
Raducanu's injury led to fears that Raducanu would not be fit for this week's Billie Jean King Cup Finals. Team Great Britain is scheduled to play Germany on Friday at the team event.
The 2021 US Open champion played a pivotal role in Team Great Britain qualifying for the finals in Malaga. She produced two superb performances against Caroline Garcia and Diane Parry to lead her team to an upset triumph against France away from home on clay.
Although 2024 has been an inconsistent year for Raducanu, those performances in April at the Davis Cup qualifiers reminded tennis fans how good she is when playing close to her best.
There has been good news in recent days for Raducanu's fans. After her team gave a positive update about the Grand Slam winner's chances of being fit for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals, the tournament's social media pages released a picture of the British team that included Raducanu.
This year's Nottingham Open semifinalist deserves credit for working off-the-court to get herself fit for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals. Some players in the same position would have ended their season and focused entirely on next year.
While Raducanu is focused on the team event in Malaga, her first tournament of the 2025 season was also recently announced, and it is an event she has some good and bad history.
Raducanu will compete in the opening week of the WTA season at the ASB Classic in Auckland. The tournament in New Zealand begins on December 30th and was won last year by Coco Gauff, the WTA Finals champion.
In 2023, Raducanu sustained an injury against Viktoria Kuzmova and was forced to retire after two sets. Afterward, the Briton criticized how slick the courts were and felt certain aspects of the tournament could have been better organized.
However, Raducanu's memories of the ASB Classic last year were happier. She missed the final nine months of 2023 after severe injuries to both her wrists and one of her ankles. Raducanu recently admitted she made that injury worse by attempting to return too soon.
The young star's first tournament after the injury was the 2024 ASB Classic. Radcuanu defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the opening round before losing narrowly to the eventual runner-up Elina Svitolina.
It was not the deepest run, but returning to tennis in Auckland after so long out may have improved Raducanu's perception of the tournament, which could be why she decided to sign up for the 2025 iteration.