Emma Raducanu Injury: Will she play the Australian Open 2023? Everything you need to know
Emma Raducanu's participation in the 2023 Australian Open currently hangs in the balance following her ankle injury at the ongoing ASB Classic.
The 20-year-old Brit rolled over her ankle midway through her second-round clash against Viktoria Kuzmova on Thursday (January 5).
The match was poised at 0-6, 7-5, when the freak injury took place, following which Raducanu had to retire. She later blamed the slippery court and poor organization of the tournament for her injury.
With the Australian Open a little over a week away, the Brit cast doubt on her participation while speaking to the media in the aftermath of her injury.
“We’ll assess over the next few days and make a plan,” she said of her injury.
Will Emma Raducanu play in the Australian Open 2023?
This is indeed the biggest question at the moment for Emma Raducanu, her team, and her fans. She has had her ankle scanned and is awaiting a report for the same. Her coaching team will be hoping that the 20-year-old has not suffered anything worse than a grade 1 sprain, as that will heal in time for the Australian Open, which is scheduled to start on January 16.
However, if the injury is any worse, then she will be missing the year's opening Slam. We should get an update on her injury in the coming days, if not hours, and that will define the beginning of her 2023 season.
Raducanu, who suffered numerous injuries throughout 2022, lamented her bad luck while speaking to the media after retiring against Viktoria Kuzmova.
“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," the 20-year-old said.
The World No. 78 also took aim at the tournament organizers but did not pinpoint them for any particular issue. It is believed that she was also unhappy as they made her wait a very long time to know when and where she would be playing her second-round match.
The Brit did, however, express her delight at the support she received from fans in Auckland.
“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.