Emma Raducanu finds out when she will play her first match at the Australian Open
Emma Raducanu has discovered when she will make her return to Grand Slam action in the opening round of the Australian Open.
The 2021 US Open champion will take on experienced American Shelby Rodgers in her first match and it has been confirmed that the clash will take place on Tuesday.
There is a chance the match will be played at a time that will allow fans in England to watch while eating their breakfast, with Raducanu set to take to the court as the fourth match on the 1573 Arena.
Britain’s Cameron Norrie will open proceedings on this court as he takes on Peru’s Juan Pablo Varillas.
Danielle Collins will then play Angelique Kerber before a men’s singles between America’s Mackenzie McDonald and China’s Shang Juncheng.
Raducanu’s match against Rodgers will follow, with an early or even late evening start in Melbourne likely if the men’s matches are long.
Ahead of her return to a Grand Slam stage, Raducanu has been looking back at her story over the last few months, after she took a break from the game and underwent double wrist and ankle surgery.
Raducanu was left unable to do simple tasks after three surgeries last spring, but the 21-year-old believes the enforced break from tennis could be the making of her.
Coping with the instant global fame and expectations that accompanied her remarkable US Open victory in 2021 proved very difficult for Raducanu, who had slipped outside the top 100 in the WTA Rankings.
The recovery has not been straightforward, with the Brit finally able to make her comeback last week in Auckland after eight months on the sidelines.
She cut a noticeably more relaxed and happy figure, and she told the PA news agency: “I would say I would take the place that I’m in now mentally and physically and trade it for the past eight months on the tour.
“Missing that time, it obviously was really difficult at the moment, and seeing the tournaments go on, but I would have done it again if I had to.”
Raducanu spoke on Friday about feeling like she was carrying around a “backpack of rocks” as she tried to build on her history-making success.
“It was like it was glued on,” she added. “I think now it’s completely off, I feel good, I feel better and ready to take this second chance at being on the tour again.”
READ MORE: Win Emma Raducanu’s signed racket as former top 10 player makes bold rankings prediction
Now able to look back and reflect on the decisions she has made since lifting the trophy at Flushing Meadows, Raducanu’s one regret is not giving herself more time.
A swift loss in her opening match in Indian Wells at her next tournament set the tone for a year and a half of struggle.
“I probably would have taken some more time off to rest and then to train because I feel like I had a lot of things straight after the US Open and then Indian Wells was right around the corner, so I kind of rushed straight into it with minimal practice and it was a bit of a spiral from there,” she said.
Raducanu also believes she is ‘too good’ to fail in her comeback bid, as she is relishing the chance to play on the big stages in tennis once again.
The former world No 10 is currently ranked down at 299 as a result of her long break, although she can enter tournaments using her protected ranking from before surgery of 103.
“I think success to me in the long-term is, for the rest of the year, to play a full season, to be healthy throughout, to be able to train consistent weeks,” she added.
“I know my level is there, I just need to keep working on it to make it more consistent. I think that will come with time in the gym, time on court, being able to play the calendar, not thinking about ‘Will I have to pull out from this one, does that hurt’?
“I think my level, to be honest, is just too good not to come through if I put consistent work together.”
