After her second-round loss, Emma Raducanu said pulling out of her 2024 Australian Open match with Wang Yafan was never a possibility.
The 2021 US Open champion's comeback from nine months out with injury continued at the Australian Open. Raducanu hoped for more progress after an encouraging first tournament back at the ASB Classic in Auckland.
The 21-year-old made a perfect start in Melbourne. Radcuanu convincingly won her opening round match. That strong performance set up her contest with Wang, and it turned out to be a cracking encounter.
After an incredible battle, Raducanu lost despite her best efforts. Wang managed to take it 6-4 in the third set, needing to come up with some superb tennis to overcome the fighting and determined Brit.
Raducanu's effort was particularly impressive because she was hampered by illness in the third set. She did not want to go into much detail about it in her press conference but did say that she felt it was from a stomach bug.
However, Raducanu was rightly proud of fighting hard and not retiring, and felt her time out with injury has made her stronger.
"Yeah, I mean honestly, I've been in that situation before in matches, whether it was with illness or injury, and retired a few times..... I think with everything I went through last year, it's made me so much tougher."
Raducanu then elaborated slightly more on her mindset, saying that she was clear in her head that Wang was going to have to earn her victory.
"There was no way I was going to pull out. She was going to have to beat me, and she did. She served it out."
It is good to see Raducanu taking the positives from her fighting spirit. That attitude, combined with getting even sharper technically with more matches, could bring the 21-year-old real success this season.
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