Emma Raducanu injury update emerges as she shares practice session footage ahead of Australian Open

Emma Raducanu has already had her 2025 season disrupted by injury, with the Briton having withdrawn from the ASB Classic.

Naomi Osaka lost the ASB Classic final to Clara Tauson, a competition which Raducanu had planned to compete in to kickstart her WTA season.

Both Raducanu and Osaka rose the WTA rankings in 2024, having enjoyed a handful of impressive results.

But Raducanu missed the ASB Classic with a back injury, while Osaka retired hurt in the final with an abdominal problem.

Both players will be desperate to recover in time for the Australian Open, which gets underway in Melbourne later this month.

Emma Raducanu injury update emerges ahead of Australian Open

Fortunately, Raducanu is now back on the court, with the former British number one resharing footage of her in a practice session in Melbourne on her Instagram story.

The 2021 US Open champion can be seen serving at a high intensity and smashing a forehand effort before returning to the baseline.

Her fellow WTA ace Caroline Garcia then shared an image of the duo on her Instagram story, having taken part in a practice session together.

“Great practice with Emma Raducanu,” commented world number 58 Garcia. “Wishing you a great season.”

Caroline Wozniacki among notable Australian Open withdrawals

An Australian Open withdrawal will be the last thing Raducanu wants and indeed needs at this stage of her career.

The former WTA number 10 has had a simply horrible time with injuries over the years despite being only 22.

It is clear how much ability and potential she has, with a clean run simply required in order for Raducanu to build momentum and start winning titles.

The Australian Open meanwhile would be suffering a huge blow if she did fail to recover in time and feature at the Grand Slam.

Plenty of star names have already taken that decision, with Caroline Wozniacki pulling out of the Australian Open alongside Barbora Krejcikova, Karolina Pliskova and Martina Trevisan.

Simona Halep meanwhile has withdrawn from qualification after being handed a wildcard for the tournament.

A respected voice in the tennis world believes “it is only a matter of time” before Emma Raducanu climbs up the rankings, but he acknowledges there is one “big question” mark if she is to enjoy a “big year”.

Sky Sports Tennis commentator Jonathan Overend feels Raducanu “made huge strides last year” and she will reap the rewards in 2025.

Following an injury-disrupted 2023 campaign during which she played only 10 matches after undergoing surgery on both her wrists and one ankle, Raducanu started the 2024 campaign at No 301 in the world.

She made a sluggish start to the season, but found some form during the grass-court swing as she reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and semi-final at Nottingham.

Raducanu returned to the top 100 after Wimbledon and eventually finished the year at No 57, but she has since slipped to No 60 after missing the 2025 season-opening ASB Classic due to injury.

But there have been a lot of promising signs 22-year-old on and off the court over the past 12 months. The 2021 US Open winner hired renowned fitness coach Yutaka Nakamura ahead of 2025 and he joins her coaching team alongside Nick Cavaday, who teamed up with her at the start of the last year.

Overend says Raducanu has the perfect set-up.

“Yutaka Nakamura is a very experienced fitness trainer on the tennis circuit, worked for many years with Maria Sharapova,” he told Sky Sports Tennis.

“I think he is exactly the right sort of person for Raducanu to have at her side alongside her coach Nick Cavaday, who has been doing excellent work with her over the last year or so.”

Emma Raducanu News

There is no doubt that Raducanu – who peaked at No 10 after winning the US Open – will surge up the rankings, but Overend admits she will need to stay fit in order to fulfil her potential.

He added: “The thing with Raducanu is she is 60 in the world having made huge strides last year and having played just slightly over 10 tournaments, I think it was 13 events.

“To get to that number playing relatively few tournaments is quite an achievement in itself so I think it is only a matter of time before Raducanu gets back inside the world’s top 50. Then it is about how many of the big tournaments she can pull out big results in because that is really where the big ranking points are available at.

“As we know from her exploits at the US Open in 2021, when she famously won it as a qualifier without dropping a set, she has that ability on her day to beat the very best.

“If she can stay fit, that really is the big question. Now with this established, settled team around her, I think 2025 could be a big year for Emma Raducanu.”

Emma Raducanu has added a tournament to her 2025 calendar after being forced to delay the start of her season due to an injury setback.

The 22-year-old has confirmed her participation in the Singapore Tennis Open, a WTA 250 event scheduled to run from January 27 to February 2, just a week after the conclusion of the Australian Open. This decision marks a significant step in the British tennis star’s efforts to play a more consistent schedule in the upcoming season, following a limited campaign of just 13 tournaments in 2024.

The Singapore Tennis Open, set to take place on the indoor hard courts of the Kallang Tennis Hub, replaces the Thailand Open in Hua Hin. This event also marks the return of top-level women’s tennis to Singapore for the first time since the WTA Finals were held there from 2014 to 2018. Previously, Singapore hosted a WTA Tour event six times between 1986 and 1994. Raducanu will join an impressive field, including world No. 14 Anna Kalinskaya, 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, Elise Mertens, and rising star Wang Xinyu.

Laura Ceccarelli, co-tournament director, expressed her excitement about Raducanu’s participation:

“The player field is looking good for the tournament, and I believe we are going to see some great matches in both singles and doubles.“

Emma Raducanu’s Developments in 2025

Raducanu was originally set to kick off her season at the ASB Classic in Auckland, but a back injury forced her to withdraw from the ATP 250 event. She will now make her season debut at the 2025 Australian Open, scheduled from January 12 to 26. This marks her return to Grand Slam competition after a challenging period marred by injuries.

The Brit last competed at the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup Finals in November, where she delivered an impressive performance, winning all three of her matches as Great Britain reached the semi-finals. However, she has not played a WTA Tour event since the Korea Open in September 2024, where an injury forced her withdrawal and subsequent absence from five scheduled tournaments in the Asian swing.

Raducanu’s commitment to a fuller schedule in 2025 is highlighted by her recent appointment of renowned fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura, who has previously worked with tennis stars Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka. Nakamura’s expertise is expected to address the 22-year-old’s ongoing physical struggles and improve her durability on the tour.

Emma Raducanu is gearing up for a pivotal 2025 season after an injury setback delayed her start to the year. The 22-year-old Brit, currently ranked world No. 56, has announced her participation in the Singapore Tennis Open, a WTA 250 event set to take place from January 27 to February 2, marking the return of top-tier women’s tennis to Singapore for the first time since 2018.

A Welcome Return to the Tour

Raducanu was originally slated to begin her season at the ASB Classic in Auckland but withdrew due to a back injury. The setback also limited her participation in late 2024, as she pulled out of multiple events following a Seoul injury during the Asian swing.

“Tried my best to be ready,” Raducanu told the WTA. “I love Auckland and the fans here but unfortunately picked up a back niggle and won’t be ready in time.”

Now, the Singapore Tennis Open provides her with a fresh opportunity to jumpstart her campaign after the Australian Open, where she is expected to make her season debut.

Raducanu will face stiff competition in Singapore, with world No. 14 Anna Kalinskaya, 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, Elise Mertens, and Wang Xinyu among the notable names on the entry list. The tournament, staged at the Kallang Tennis Hub, replaces the Thailand Open and promises a strong player field, according to co-tournament director Laura Ceccarelli.

“The player field is looking good for the tournament, and I believe we are going to see some great matches in both singles and doubles,” Ceccarelli stated.

A Focus on Fitness and Longevity

Raducanu’s injury history has been a recurring theme since her meteoric rise to win the 2021 US Open. To address her physical challenges, she has brought on renowned trainer Yutaka Nakamura, who has worked with Maria Sharapova and Naomi Osaka, to enhance her athleticism and durability.

Speaking at the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in Malaga last November, Raducanu outlined her commitment to staying healthy and on court for longer stretches.

“I think my goal next year is to stay on court longer,” she explained. “This year I came to top 60 in the world, but I played I think less than 15 events. I know if I’m on court and healthy and competing, I can go even higher and further.”

Raducanu also highlighted her athleticism as an area with untapped potential, adding:

“It’s nowhere near its full potential. I’m just looking forward to exploring that further, and ready to commit to doing that.”

Aiming for a Breakthrough in 2025

Raducanu enters 2025 with the aim of building consistency and climbing back up the rankings. Her participation in the Singapore Tennis Open, along with a renewed focus on fitness, reflects a strategic approach to managing her schedule and maximizing her performance.

The Brit’s last WTA semifinal appearance was in Seoul in 2022, and a strong showing in Singapore could signal her resurgence as a serious contender on the tour.

Emma Raducanu delivers philosophical injury update ahead of Australian Open

Concerns about Emma Raducanu’s readiness for the Australian Open have been partly assuaged by social-media images of an intense training session in Melbourne.

Raducanu had planned to be participating in the Auckland Open this week, only to withdraw on the eve of the tournament on account of the niggling back trouble that had dogged her off-season.

But she was pictured moving freely on one of Melbourne’s blue practice courts in a hitting session with her close friend Fran Jones, the British No 5.

In a separate series of images, Raducanu is shown hurling a medicine ball into the floor in an exercise that was presumably prescribed by her new fitness trainer, Yutaka Nakamura.

Since joining the Raducanu camp for the first time in November, Nakamura – who supervised Maria Sharapova’s training regime for eight years – has been trying to improve his new charge’s patchy fitness record. But the recent issues with Raducanu’s back have underlined how much work still needs to be done.

Raducanu labelled her latest Instagram photo-dump with the caption “being grateful for health & channelling into growth”. She also attached an image of a WhatsApp message that read: “It’s funny you forget how much for granted you take being fit is & only remember when you’re on the sidelines again.”

While Raducanu’s non-appearance in Auckland was not a significant disappointment, given the fact that it is only a 250-point event with a modest field, the Australian Open is one of the four most prestigious events of the year.

Starting on Jan 12, the first major of the season will bring the world’s best players together in pursuit of a first prize approaching £2 million, not to mention the 2,000 rankings points – enough to put the winner on the verge of the world’s top 20 even if they did not play another event all year.

The British No 1, Katie Boulter, should go into Melbourne with some confidence after scoring two dominant victories at the United Cup in Sydney over the past few days.

Having defeated Nadia Podoroska of Argentina and Australia’s Olivia Gadecki, both in straight sets, Boulter went up against world No 2 Iga Swiatek on Thursday and pushed her all the way in a narrow 6-7, 6-1, 6-4 defeat.

With Hubert Hurkacz also defeating Billy Harris in the men’s match, Great Britain were eliminated by Poland at the quarter-final stage.