Raducanu Still Waiting To Know First Opponent On Comeback Even After Auckland Draw Release
WTA
The draw of the first WTA 250 event was released with a lot of attention centered around Emma Raducanu's first-round match at the ASB Classic in Auckland.
The British tennis sensation is fit and raring to go again after accepting a wild card into the 32-woman field in New Zealand. Raducanu infamously injured her ankle during her last appearance at the tournament in 2023, when most outdoor matches were unplayable due to rain.
Instead, the tournament arranged for makeshift indoor hard courts to complete the schedule. In one of those matches, Raducanu picked up a costly injury that ruled her out for the entire second half of the campaign, and she had to undergo surgery.
But even after berating the tournament organizers, Raducanu has let bygones be bygones and is eager to make her tennis comeback in Auckland. She is set to play her first match since mid-April when Jelena Ostapenko swept her aside on the clay in Stuttgart.
Following the release of the draw in Auckland, Raducnau found herself in a very interesting quarter in the bottom half, where she was drawn against a qualifier.
Plenty of interesting names are featured in the Auckland qualifying draw, which began on Saturday. These include the likes of Elena-Gabriela Ruse, Sachia Vickery, and big-hitting Jule Niemeier, who can give the Briton a run for her money.
Interestingly, the player she faced during her last visit to New Zealand, where she was forced to retire due to the aforementioned injury, Viktoria Hruncakova, is a possible draw. But Raducanu can only know the identity of her first-round opponent by New Year's Eve on Sunday when the qualifying rounds conclude.
Overall, it is a very tough draw for the 21-year-old who is projected to face one of Caroline Wozniacki or Elina Svitolina in the second round. She has been very positive about her return and no wonder she is tipped to rise again in 2024.
