After Emma Raducanu made an early exit at the Qatar Open, when are we expecting to see her in action next on the new Sky Sports Tennis channel?
The 2021 US Open champion has been showing positive signs having spent eight months out of action in 2023 after wrist and ankle surgeries.
The 21-year-old was hampered by a stomach bug during her loss at the Australian Open but her tennis was encouraging and she stepped up her comeback with victory over Marie Bouzkova in Abu Dhabi before being denied a spot in the quarter-finals by Ons Jabeur.
My main goal is to stay healthy injury-wise, sickness-wise. Also another goal is consistency.
She received a wildcard into the Qatar Open but suffered a straight-sets defeat to world No 30 Anhelina Kalinina.
Speaking on Sky Sports Tennis, Raducanu said: “I think I was struggling with everything, serve, return, forehand, backhand.
“To be honest I felt like I never really got into it. I think it was a combination of things. It’s like my first day match I think I’ve played in a year, so that’s different.
“Honestly, I think I need to practice training outside a bit more because it’s very different and also the light, conditions, shadows – it’s really hard to kind of see the ball, I found towards the end.
“When the tennis isn’t there, you have to at least try to fight and I think I did that in the second set.”
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Emma Raducanu believes she never really got into her match against Anhelina Kalinina at the Qatar Open and is planning more preparation time back home
Raducanu, who has reunited with childhood coach Nick Cavaday, returned to the UK where she spent time in Roehampton hitting with popular LTA national coach Colin Beecher.
The Brit spoke about her goals for the season during the launch of Sky Sports Tennis.
“My main goal is to stay healthy injury-wise, sickness-wise. Also another goal is consistency. One thing I needed to do after Australia was that I knew I had areas to develop and obviously when you start working with a new coach they implement new things, so you want to give yourself time to do that, but on the tour there is no time,” said Raducanu, who is now ranked British No 7.
“In recent months I made a few technical tweaks so I mean to try and change something technically, it’s difficult. You start with hand feeds, baskets, drilling, point play and then match play.”
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Highlights of Raducanu’s straight-sets victory against Marie Bouzkova at the Abu Dhabi Open
Where could Raducanu play next?
Raducanu will definitely play in Miami after being awarded a wild card
Raducanu is currently ranked at No 252 and not even her protected ranking (which is given to players who are out of action for an extended period) of No 103 is enough to get into the draw at most top tournaments.
But given the fact she is a former Grand Slam champion and draws in big crowds, there is a high possibility she will be offered wild cards into the main draw of many future tournaments if she decides that is her best route or potentially drop down a level to 125 tournaments in order to gain some much-needed match wins.
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Raducanu is grateful to be injury-free after making a winning return to action following eight months out of the game
We could well see her at Indian Wells in early March.
The third WTA 1000 of the season is set in the California desert and is known as the unofficial fifth Grand Slam. It is one of the biggest tournaments on the calendar as it has a larger draw size of 96 singles players.
She has already been awarded a wild card into the Miami Open which takes place at the iconic Hard Rock Stadium from March 17-31.
Whether we will see Raducanu represent Great Britain in the Billie Jean King Cup or the Paris Olympics is not yet known. Britain play France again on April 12-13, but Raducanu may not feature.
The tie will be played on indoor clay, which is the same surface as the following week’s tournament in Stuttgart, where Raducanu is likely to play as it is organised by Porsche, one of her sponsors.
Last year she lost in the first round while in 2022 she made the quarter-final.
How to watch play on Sky Sports Tennis
The stars of tennis will appear on the new Sky Sports Tennis channel every day
Sky Sports has confirmed a new home for tennis in the UK and Ireland, with Sky Sports Tennis on Sky and NOW, making tennis content available all day, every day for fans.
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