Emma Raducanu will come back to tennis at the ASB Classic in Auckland, and ahead of it, she declared herself a better player.
We haven't seen Emma Raducanu play a competitive match in a very long time, but it's finally here. The Brit will make her official comeback to the sport in Auckland, the same event where she suffered one of the injuries that was surgically repaired earlier this year.
All of that is now behind her as she's been working hard for a while to get back to the sport, and it's here. She made a few bold claims ahead of the event, and now it's about backing it up. We'll see if Raducanu is truly this better player as she seemed to be confident in her abilities ahead of the WTA 250 event.
Tennis-wise in training and in practice over the last few weeks, I'm hitting the ball like really well. I think I'm a better tennis player than I was actually before the break. I think the people around at the LTA, for example, everyone can see that I'm training and playing really, really well.
Being confident ahead of your return is how it's supposed to be, but obviously, some people will still doubt you. Despite not playing the best tennis, when Raducanu was healthy before her injuries, she found a pretty decent level.
She didn't drop off because she played poorly for a year; she dropped off because she didn't play at all, which is crucial. The tennis skill is likely there; it's more about how her body will handle regular tennis. Regarding that, Raducanu feels confident because she put in the work.
And physically I'm pushing weight, pushing things that I wasn't doing before. So I think in my body, I actually have confidence in it, which is really nice. And tennis wise, I feel good too. So it's just about now putting it into a match, which is obviously completely different to practice.
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