Emma Raducanu remains ‘very positive’ after ‘throwing up in mouth’ during Australian Open loss

Ewan West
Emma Raducanu illness Australian Open
Emma Raducanu looks on at the Australian Open

Emma Raducanu has divulged she felt “really weak and nauseous” and was sick during and after her second round loss at the 2024 Australian Open.

The 2021 US Open winner declared she was “feeling really positive” after her start to the year and reiterated her goal is to “play a full season” after her injury nightmares in 2023.

Raducanu fell to a 4-6, 6-4, 4-6 defeat to Wang Yafan in the second round of the Australian Open on Thursday in just the second tournament of her comeback.

The 21-year-old left the court after winning a tough second set to level the match and visibly struggled with sickness after returning for a gruelling deciding set.

The Brit battled hard after losing her serve in the opening game of the third set, but could not convert any of the seven break points she had in Wang’s first two service games before ultimately succumbing.

READ MORE: WATCH: Emma Raducanu bows out of Australian Open after suffering with illness

The former world No 10 returned from an eight-month absence in Auckland earlier this month following surgeries on both her wrists and her ankle last year.

Following her defeat in Melbourne, Raducanu opened up on how she was feeling and outlined the issues she dealt with in the third set.

“Yeah, now I feel a little bit better. I had some time. During the match, I’d say, like, third set I was 30-Love up serving. Then all of a sudden just felt so sick, just really like weak and nauseous,” she explained.

“Throughout the third set I think everyone could see it was a bit of a battle. Like physically, body-wise, I felt fine. It was more I was throwing up in my mouth. Then after the match, it came out. Now I’m okay. Yeah, I’ll get over it. It just sucks with the timing.

“I mean, I think I just had a bit of a stomach bug beforehand.”

Raducanu also expressed her excitement for the coming tournaments and revealed was pleased with how her body has dealt with her return to action.

“Yeah, I mean, I’m really looking forward to it ’cause for me I think there were doubts whether I would be able to make the Australian Open trip,” the 21-year-old added.

“I think that to be here is a bonus, a good starting point I would say because I started putting good practice sessions together with Nick, we’re doing good work off the court. As I said before, I’m more focused on level and the practice days, trying to win the day rather than focusing more on win or loss.

“I know the difference between me playing okay and me playing good or me playing great are just really, really in the details, like doing a few things just 5% better. I think it makes a huge difference. I’m feeling very positive. I really just want to play a full season.

“The encouraging thing is, even though I played two back-to-back three-setters in Auckland, a three-setter today, body-wise, strength-wise, I didn’t come up with any random niggles. That just happened throughout the match. It was just me throwing up. That’s fine. That’s not normal, but it’s like a one-off.”

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