EMMA RADUCANU NEEDED A WHEELCHAIR AS TRUE EXTENT OF HER INJURY NIGHTMARE COMES TO LIGHT
Emma Raducanu has revealed the true extent of her injury nightmares this season. The 20-year-old shared a new video showing her preparations for this year's Australian Open and revealed that she needed a wheelchair days before the first Major of the year. She has since undergone surgery and will be sidelined for months.
Raducanu has given an insight into the ankle injury she picked up at the start of the season in Auckland. The Brit fell on the court in her second-round match and retired in tears but still managed to pull up for the Australian Open just 11 days later.
At the time, it was known that the 20-year-old had to race to recover in time and she was able to reach the second round in Melbourne before losing to Coco Gauff. But the former world No 10 has now shared a new video of her preparations for the tournament, showing just how bad the injury was.
Raducanu can be seen in a wheelchair, wearing a boot. As the video progresses, she is also seen on crutches. She later tries some fitness drills and has a hit on the court without moving around.
The 20-year-old did manage to make it into the court for her opening match against Tamara Korpatsch exactly 11 days after turning her ankle in Auckland. And she won before falling to seventh seed Gauff in the next round.
Alongside the new video of her brutal 10-day recovery timeframe, Raducanu wrote: "A little insight into my unorthodox prep for the last Grand Slam in Aus this January. We had 10 days to try to get my ankle match ready from scratch..."
Since then, Raducanu has played just three tournaments with her best showing coming in the round-of-16 in Indian Wells. Last month she suddenly announced that she would be undergoing surgery on both wrists and on the ankle she hurt in Auckland.
The 2021 US Open champion has been dealing with injuries to her wrists since last summer and admitted that she could no longer manage the pain without any intervention. "I'm having a minor procedure done on both hands to resolve the issues," Raducanu wrote in an Instagram post last month.
"I'm disappointed to share that I will be out for the next few months and while I am at it will have another minor procedure that is due on my ankle. It pains me that I will miss the summer events and I tried to downplay the issues so I thank all my fans who continued to support me when you did not know the facts. Looking forward to seeing you all back out there."
She has already completed all three surgeries and will focus on trying to return to competition before the end of the season, though Raducanu is not expected to be back in time for the US Open. She also recently parted ways with coach Sebastian Saschs given that she wouldn't be able to play tennis for the next few months.