Emma Raducanu feeling injury free following exhibition match against Ons Jabeur in Abu Dhabi ahead of Australian Open

The 20-year-old Brit will open her 2023 campaign with the ASB Classic in Auckland, before heading to Melbourne for the Australian Open, and she will do so with a clean bill of health.

Raducanu faced off with 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur in Abu Dhabi on Friday. She lost the exhibition match, but was delighted to have proven her fitness ahead of the new season.

She said: “Physically, body, injury-wise I’m good now, I’m clear. Touch wood it stays like that. I really worked on my fitness the last two months, less on the tennis court. So I’m just trying to get my feeling on the court.”

Despite the result against Jabeur, Raducanu saw the silver lining. She described her performance: “But today [against Jabeur] was a pretty positive step in seeing where I’m at and what I can do better. But physically, I feel pretty good.”

Having struggled for fitness recently – she lost the final two months of 2022 to a wrist injury – the Brit admits that her body has played on her mind in recent seasons.

As a consequence, part of her fitness battle has been to regain that mental fitness and confidence in herself. She suggested that her fitness had been a distraction.

She said: “I want to be able to go out there and just focus on the tennis. I think this year I’m in a better position, but it’s still going to take some time to develop fully.

“One of my biggest goals is to – it might not come this year, but to go out on the court and not think about my fitness, not think about, ‘Oh, like start the timer, I’ve got 60 minutes to finish this match’.

“I want to be able to go out there and just focus on the tennis. I think this year I’m in a better position but it’s still going to take some time to develop fully.”

Raducanu explained that her passion for on-court workouts may be the root of her injury issues.

She said: “I really, obviously, want to work hard, try to get back on court as much as possible, but I could overdo it if I didn’t really think it through because I want to be back on court so much. I just need to maybe cut down a little bit on the hours sometimes.”

Raducanu’s return to fitness could not have been better timed with the arrival of her new coach.

Since winning the US Open in 2021, the Brit has changed coaches four times. The appointment of 30-year-old Sachs is only on a preliminary basis.

Raducanu explained: “We are trialling until the end of the year and just seeing how it goes really. It’s been going well. I’ve done a week with him so far and I think he’s a really calm influence. He’s on it, switched on, and yeah, I’m excited to see how it goes.”

The Brit admitted that her short-term aspirations are simple. She said: “I think my goal in 2023 is probably to win a title.”

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