Raducanu had to withdraw from the Transylvania Open and Billie Jean King Cup Finals after injuring her right wrist.
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Emma Raducanu provided an update on her injury recovery as she returned to the practise court, with one notable difference. The British No. 1 had to end her season early due to a wrist injury and has only recently resumed hitting tennis balls with her left hand as the problem heals. Raducanu had to withdraw from the Transylvania Open and Billie Jean King Cup Finals after injuring her right wrist near the end of her first full season on the pro tennis tour. Since being forced to stop playing tennis due to an injury, the 20-year-old has been strength training with one of Andy Murray’s former fitness coaches, Jez Green.
But the 2021 US Open champion has provided an update on her recovery journey, posting a video to her Instagram story showing her return to the practise court, where she hit balls for the first time since withdrawing from the BJK Cup Finals after a quick test to see if she could play. Raducanu was clearly excited to be back on the court.
It means that the British player’s right wrist has not yet recovered sufficiently for her to resume using her playing hand, but she will be able to practise her footwork and movement on the court while subbing in her left hand. Raducanu is currently scheduled to play an exhibition match against world No. 2 Ons Jabeur in Abu Dhabi next month in the World Tennis Championship, and will be hoping that her wrist heals in time after pulling out of the same tournament last year.
After the draw for the World Tennis Championship was made on Thursday, Stefanos Tsitsipas will face Cameron Norrie in the first match next month. The first WTC quarter-final, comprised of six male players and played over three days from December 16-18, will be followed by the last-eight match between Russian defending champion Andrey Rublev and American US Open semi-finalist Frances Tiafoe.
The winners of the two quarter-finals will advance to the semi-finals on Saturday, where the top two seeds will be waiting. In the early semi-finals, Norwegian world No. 3 Casper Ruud will face either Tsitsipas or Norrie, and Spanish world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz will face either Rublev or Tiafoe. These semi-final matches will take place following the fifth-place playoff between the two losers from Friday’s quarter-finals.
The third and final day, Saturday, will begin with the third-place playoff, followed by the final and trophy ceremony. This year’s final will begin earlier than usual, at 3 p.m., allowing fans to watch the 2022 FIFA World Cup on the same evening.
