(Tennis news) Emma Raducanu endured a disappointing second round defeat to Coco Gauff in the Australian Open. The British number 1 suffered an ankle injury at the Auckland International and was seen leaving the court in tears, which put her participation for the Australian Open in doubt. However, the 20 year old recovered in time but couldn’t show her best self at Melbourne, resulting in an early elimination. Raducanu had an injury-riddled 2022, prompting her to spend the off-season working on fitness and conditioning. 

Raducanu entered the Australian Open with her fitness in doubt due to her ankle injury but went on to defeat Tamara Korpatsch 6-3 6-2 in the first round but was handed a tough draw in the second, facing seventh seed Coco Gauff. The 20 year old ended up losing in straight sets 6-3 7-6 to her 18 year old opponent. 

With four months until the French Open begins, Emma Raducanu has now hinted at taking a short break from tennis to improve her fitness ahead of the second Grand Slam of the year. As things stand, Raducanu is not expected to compete until next month’s Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and she will undoubtedly hope to improve her rankings at the BNP Paribas Open in March followed by the Madrid Open in April.

“I would say all the chips were against us and the chances of me playing this tournament were very, very low. I think 13 days ago, if you would have told us, ‘Hey, you’re going to be in the draw and win a round’, it would have been a massive effort for sure. Saying that, I still think I didn’t necessarily play my best. I felt like I could have done better. I just have to review the body right now. 

“I’ve had some niggles in the past few months, and I just need to get that sorted, train, and then we’ll see after that. I’m really buying into and trusting the work that I’m doing with (new coach) Sebastian (Sachs) and the rest of the team. So I’m feeling good and confident that, in six months’ time, I know it’s not going to be the finished product, but hopefully I will have made strides.” – Emma Raducanu 

Upcoming WTA tournaments in February and March

Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open (February 6th to 12th)

Qatar Open (February 13th to 18th)

Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (February 19th to 25th)

BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells (March 8th to 19th)

Miami Open (March 21st to April 2nd)

Also read: Novak Djokovic defeats Alex de Minaur to reach Australian Open quarter-finals