Emma Raducanu blames the organization after "freak" injury at ASB Classic
Emma Raducanu was extremely unhappy with the indoor courts in use at the ASB Classic, lambasting them for being "very slippery" after she rolled her ankle midway through her second-round clash against Viktoria Kuzmova on Thursday.
The 2021 US Open winner was forced to concede the match to Kuzmova, and soon after, left the court in tears. Raducanu was initially slated to play her match on an outdoor court but her match was shifted to an indoor court due to the rain.
However, the indoor courts at the ASB Classic have not been re-surfaced ahead of the tournament, making them very difficult to gain any traction on.
The Brit, who suffered numerous injuries throughout 2022, bemoaned her misfortune while speaking to the media in the aftermath of her latest injury.
“It’s difficult to take. I’ve put a lot of physical work in the last few months and I’ve been feeling good and optimistic. So to be stopped by a freak injury, rolling an ankle is pretty disappointing, in the first week as well," Emma Raducanu said.
The 20-year-old stormed into the lead against Kuzmova by pocketing the opening set 6-0, but the latter drew level by winning the next set 7-5. Raducanu blamed poor court conditions for her injury, also criticizing the long wait to play her match.
“I thought I was playing some pretty decent tennis. The courts are incredibly slick, like very slippery, so to be honest it’s not a surprise that this happened to someone. It’s out of my control and after a very long day of waiting around," she added.
With the Australian Open a little over a week away, the Brit cast doubt on her participation due to her ankle injury.
“We’ll assess over the next few days and make a plan,” she said of her injury.
She then took aim at the ASB Classic organizers, but in the same breath praised the fans.
“But Auckland overall, it rained a lot this week, so I didn’t get to see much and I thought maybe certain aspects could have been organized better, but overall I had pleasant support when playing outdoors and the crowd made me feel really welcome and at home," the Brit stated.
Like Emma Raducanu, Coco Gauff too expressed her disappointment with the organization at the ASB Classic
Unlike Emma Raducanu, Coco Gauff emerged unscathed from her second-round match, beating Sofia Kenin 6-4, 6-4. But the 18-year-old American, who also played her match on an indoor court, criticized the poor organization for having to wait a long time to see if she would play indoors or outdoors.
“It’s been tough honestly. Just waiting, waiting, waiting waiting, then being put indoors. I kind of speculated it would be indoors, but I didn’t think we’d wait so long before they made the decision," Coco Gauff said.
She further revealed that the wait was so long that she found herself with ample time to return to her hotel for a nap.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect the rain to stop for a bit, I thought it was going to pour all day. I went back to the hotel, took a nap, then came back here," added the American.