Emma Raducanu needs to get used to physical, mental and emotional stress at the top level, says Prakash Amritraj amid Brit's injury at ASB Classic
Emma Raducanu's consistent injury woes have been a major issue for the Brit over the past few seasons. Former tennis player Prakash Amritraj feels that Raducanu has to quickly adapt to the physical, mental and emotional stress that comes from playing top-tier tennis to avoid such injuries and have any chance of success.
The 20-year-old rolled her ankle during her second-round match against Viktoria Kuzmova at the ASB Classic in Auckland. Upon suffering the injury, the Brit was forced to retire midway through the match.
In light of the incident, Amritraj conveyed that persistent injuries might be occurring for Raducanu as a result of her body not getting completely used to the various stresses involved in playing at the highest level.
"she [Raducanu] thrust into the highest level of events and she had to play that all year round. There is the physical stress, mental stress, emotional stress, all of which comes out in the body and perhaps it's just still getting used to and spending a lot more time getting the body ready," the American said in a conversation at the Tennis Channel.
With the 2023 Australian Open set to commence on January 16, the 39-year-old has warned the World No. 78 that she will have to recover as soon as possible to have any chance of featuring in the first Grand Slam of the season.
"Right now in Australia, she won't have too much time. Ten days away, she's got to be ready," added Amritraj.
Speaking to the Tennis Channel, former World No. 6 Chanda Rubin also expressed hopes of Raducanu recuperating from her injury at the earliest.
"Hopefully, it's not something major that requires months and months of rehab but it is so frustrating, especially at this early stage. Hopefully, she can build physically and get back as quickly as possible," she conveyed.
Emma Raducanu criticizes organizers for her injury at the ASB Classic
Emma Raducanu did not hold back her emotions after suffering an ankle injury during the ASB Classic as the Brit went on to criticize the organizers for her miserable fate.
The former US Open champion was initially set to play her second-round match outdoors but was later shifted to an indoor court owing to persistent rain. However, the indoor courts were not brushed up prior to the tournament as players found it difficult to find any traction.
Speaking to the press after suffering the injury, Emma Raducanu commented on the poorly maintained indoor courts at the ASB Classic.
"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," Raducanu said.
The World No. 78 criticized the organizers for not sorting out the situation in a better way.
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," she stated.