Emma Raducanu “pleased” after defeat to Ons Jabeur with eyes set on 2023 season
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Emma Raducanu
Young British sensation Emma Raducanu has had a fairytale start to her tennis career. In the US Open 2021, she had to enter the main draw as a qualifier ranking 150 in the world but ended the tournament with a Grand Slam title to her name at the tender age of 18. She was expecting to carry the form of 2021 to the 2022 season but a wrist injury in October cut her plans short.
On Friday, the 20-year-old Raducanu made a comeback in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition match against the Tunisian player Ons Jabeur where she suffered a defeat by 5-7 6-3 10-8. In the post-match performance assessment, Radcuanu said she was happy to play again despite suffering a loss.
“Last year I had a bit of a shocker. Amazing to play here in front of all of you, this is Ons’ house so thank you for having me,” Raducanu said while talking about her performance despite the loss. Last year at the same tournament, the Brit was supposed to face Belinda Bencic in the women’s exhibition match but tested positive for Covid at the last minute. Coincidentally, Jabeur was drafted in as a last-minute replacement.
As the 2023 season is about to start in less than a month, Raducanu is set to play at the ASB Classics tournament, starting early next month in Auckland. There, she would further test her fitness on the court before going into the season’s first Grand Slam in Melbourne where she will start as the favorite.
Emma Raducanu appoints Sebastian Sachs as her new coach
The 2021 US Open winner, Emma Raducanu has appointed former German player Sebastian Sachs as her new coach, who will be Raducanu’s fifth coach in the past 18 months. Sachs helped Swiss professional Belinda Bencic in her run to the golden glory at the Tokyo Olympics last year and also worked with Belarusian former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka.
Current world No. 76 had been without a full-time coach since splitting with Dmitry Tursunov after this year’s US Open. The Russian coach later claimed her game was “very raw” and spoke of “red flags” when revealing why he ended the partnership. Raducanu will be hoping to bounce back in the 2023 season in partnership with the new coach.
Earlier this week, the Brit shared her plans for the next season and her ‘New Year Resolution’ with SheerLuxe. Raducanu revealed that her biggest goal in 2023 is to be more “injury-free” and stay healthier for longer. “Put in the work, day in, day out,” Raducanu said in her New Year’s resolution.
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