‘Loner’ Emma Raducanu ‘managing’ her back niggle ahead of ‘interesting’ match-up against Bianca Andreescu

Shahida Jacobs
Emma Raducanu practice

The intensity and overload from her recent matches have taken its toll on her back, but Emma Raducanu insists she is fine ahead of her Italian Open clash against Bianca Andreescu.

Raducanu needed treatment on her back during her defeat at the hands of Anhelina Kalinina of Ukraine in the third round of the Madrid Open last week and was initially not sure if she would compete in Rome.

Although she is still not 100%, the reigning US Open champion is good to go at next week’s WTA 1000 event in the Italian capital.

“I think it’s just coming from a lot of intensity and overload,” the teenager is quoted as saying in The Guardian. “My back, I’m managing it. Like it’s fine. But it’s just trying to adapt again to the long matches, to the intensity.

“I think that all of the small sort of niggles I’m getting, they’re all related and connected to each other, when something is overcompensating perhaps. Yeah, we’ll see.”

She has been handed a tasty Rome opener as it will be a battle of US Open champions as she is up against 2019 Flushing Meadows winner Andreescu.

Blockbuster draw for Emma Raducanu as she prepares for Rome debut

The Canadian has also struggled with injury the past few years and Raducanu is looking forward to a good tussle on Monday.

“Of course, we are both pretty good players,” she said. “It’s going to be a good match-up, for sure. She’s a great athlete and obviously a champion. She’s got a really good attitude. Yeah, I think it’s going to be interesting.”

British No 1 Raducanu is currently going it alone as she parted company with Torben Beltz at the end of April after working together for only five months.

The 19-year-old, though, did well in Madrid as she reached the third round and prefers being a “loner”.

“I’d describe myself as a loner,” she joked. “No, I mean, I do like being on my own, but of course I love being in groups as well. I can easily and very happily spend a lot of time on my own. I think it’s something that is off-court as well as on-court.”