Win Emma Raducanu’s signed racket as former top 10 player makes bold rankings prediction

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Emma Raducanu hits a forehand
Emma Raducanu playing in Auckland in 2024

Emma Raducanu has discovered who she will face in her first Grand Slam match for a year and a former top ten player believes the young Brit is ready to defy her critics in 2024.

Raducanu stepped away from the WTA Tour last April as she underwent wrist and ankle surgeries that forced her to use a mobility scooter as she tried to get back on her feet.

The 2021 US Open champion made a successful return to action in Auckland as she won her first match and then showed an impressive level of tennis in a defeat against the tournament’s No 2 seed, Elina Svitolina.

Now former world No 7 Barbara Schett has told Tennis365 that the 21-year-old has the talent to get back to the elite level of the game, as she hinted a return to the top ten in the WTA rankings was possible.

“She has just come back from injury and she will need to get some matches, but I would have high hopes for Emma,” Schett told Tennis365, as she prepares to lead the Eurosport and discovery+ team at the Australian Open.

“She said she is as fit as she has ever been and that shows when you look at her practicing.

“Emma is a player who wants to do well this year and I think she is a player who has to be in the top ten of the rankings.

“The most important thing is that she is healthy and the injuries are all gone.

“I also think she is the kind of player who needs to get matches under her belt and play with confidence. She won’t just pop up and win a title like some of the others, so let’s give Raducanu some time.

“People look at her as a Grand Slam champion and expect a lot, but I think she is good and belongs at the top of the game.

“She has the tennis to be a top 20 player at least and maybe back in the top ten.”

Laura Robson echoed Schett’s optimism for Raducanu as she also gave an exclusive interview to Tennis365.

“Everyone who has been at the NTC over the last couple of months knows how hard she has been working on and off the court,” Robson told Tennis365.

“It has been a huge slog in the gym as well as trying to get that match fitness back, so you never know how it’s going to go when you go off to a tournament.

“So to see her play so aggressively, arguably the most aggressive I have seen her play since the US Open that she won, and to see the confidence that brought as she went after her shots without feeling pain was amazing.

“She was so close against Svitolina. Elina is hitting bigger than ever from the back of the court. It is something she knew she needed to do when she came back to compete with the best.

“After you spend that much time off the court, you always think let’s get back to the basics, which is what I always used to think after months and months of rehab.

“You are like why did I pick up a racket, what did I enjoy doing… let me get back to that.

“Emma, from the looks of it, is hitting the ball big and from the age of 14, we knew she could do it. Just to see her enjoying her tennis again is huge.”

Raducanu is preparing to make her return to the Grand Slam stage at the Australian Open and we are giving you a chance to win the racket she will use in Melbourne.

Tennis365 have teamed up with Wilson to give you a chance to win a Blade racket signed by Raducanu – WIN EMMA RADUCANU’S SIGNED RACKET HERE

Watch every moment of the Australian Open LIVE and exclusive on Eurosport and discovery+ from 8-28 January 

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