I will be fine after tears at my warm-up, says Emma
EMMA RADUCANU vowed to give her best at next week’s US open, despite appearing tearful at one stage during a near two-hour practice last night.
The defending champion admitted to not feeling comfortable during the session, but played down fears that there was a threat to her participation.
‘I had a few small things, got a couple blisters, a bit of a niggle here and there,’ she said later. ‘It’s just one of those weird days where you feel a bit like nothing, you just feel a bit out of it. ‘Can’t really explain myself, to be honest. I mean, I have no concerns of an issue, no.’ raducanu, still only 19, would hardly be human if there was not a degree of tension ahead of next week’s start.
‘You guys are thinking more about pressure and ranking than me. as I said last year, I’m just going to do things my way,’ she insisted. Practising with russian ekaterina alexandrova, raducanu hit for 40 minutes before taking a prolonged break and pointing towards the lower part of her right arm. She appeared to be tearful.
However, she then resumed and ultimately completed her allotted time in what were hot and steamy temperatures, while not looking entirely happy, especially when it came to serving.
This all played out under the watchful gaze of current coach dmitry Tursunov and physio Will Herbert. The latter was part of the team when she roared to such and unlikely triumph nearly 12 months ago.
Suffering from health worries prior to, or around, a Grand Slam has become a repeat pattern this year for raducanu. at the australian open she was hampered by blisters and had her preparation disrupted by a bout of Covid. at the French open she retired with lower back problems during the preceding Italian open. She played little in the way of competitive tennis before Wimbledon due to a sidestrain sustained at Nottingham. raducanu will play at midnight UK time on Tuesday evening when she tackles world No 37 alize Cornet of France, one of the toughest first round draws she could have had.