‘I want them to see I’m happy’: Emma Raducanu relishes Wimbledon return

A year ago, as another Wimbledon fortnight began at last, a few ­tennis fans caught fleeting glimpses of Emma Raducanu at the All ­England Club. Early in the tournament, she appeared there for a few brief ­sponsorship obligations, where she shook a few hands and engaged with fans.

Otherwise, she had nothing to do with the tournament in 2023. Last April, Raducanu had surgeries on both wrists and an ankle, ruling her out of action for the rest of the ­season. In the aftermath, her ­injuries meant she could barely complete ­everyday tasks without the help of her mother, let alone play tennis. Missing Wimbledon was excruciating enough, but actually being so close to the action made it feel even worse.

Related: Refusing to throw in the towel is a fitting finale in its own right for Murray at Wimbledon

“I was horrible. Like, it was horrible! I’m just so grateful to be on the other side of it. I think going there was really rubbing salt into the wound but I guess it was part of my obligations to do it and I’m just very happy to be actually playing,” Raducanu said.

One year on, the 21-year-old returns to the All England Club ­having seemingly learned necessary lessons from her absence. She says she is even hungrier than before and with a greater perspective after the game was taken away from her for so long.

Most notably, her time away gave her space to think and she has stopped focusing on the negative aspects of her 2021 US Open win, instead ­viewing it for the great, ­singular achievement it was.

“I think it’s refreshing for me, it’s less about missing out, it’s more about, OK, I’m just happy to play. Because I feel like before I would look at the US Open in more of a negative light whereas now I’m like, OK, that was insane.

“Now I can just play and keep going, and I feel lighter in myself, which is great, and I think in the last two weeks it’s been a big shift in just my attitude, my everyday and I’m just enjoying life, enjoying tennis a lot more.”

During the grass-court season so far, this positive outlook has yielded positive results. She reached the semi-finals of the Nottingham Open, losing an excellent battle to the ­eventual champion, Katie Boulter. In Eastbourne this week, she followed up her one-sided victory over Sloane Stephens with her first top-10 win, saving a match point with a brilliant forehand winner before ­recovering to defeat Jessica Pegula in three tight sets.

If those results showed that ­Raducanu is on the right track, her straightforward defeat by Daria Kasatkina on Thursday underlined the work to be done. Her inability to ­handle the windy conditions and maintain her high level from the previous rounds showed the importance of playing matches to build consistency across consecutive matches and ­better ­handle challenging weather.

At Wimbledon, a tough first-round battle awaits. She will face the 22nd seed, Ekaterina ­Alexandrova. An attacking player with flat, precise groundstrokes, the Russian is a solid grass-court player who has won two titles at the tournament in ’s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands and she reached the fourth round of Wimbledon last year. Raducanu will head to the All England Club ready for a battle while also hoping that the audience recognises her enjoyment in the games.

“I just really want them to see that I’m putting my ­personality on the court, my ­character, being bubbly, happy, ­energetic. I think you can really tell the difference, especially with me, when I’m in a good place compared to when I’m struggling a little bit more with confidence or something.

“And now I want them to see I’m happy – certain engagement in the points in big moments, like I remember 2021 was a prime ­example. I won the point, I thought it was a practice, I dropped my racket and I was like, how did that fly out of my hand? But just moments like that, I’m just really playing the game and enjoying the sport.”