Emma Raducanu needed scooter to get around after three surgeries but now 2021 US Open champion is playing better than ever

An optimistic Emma Raducanu is ready to put her nightmare year behind her as she prepares to return to action at the Auckland Classic.

The 2021 US Open winner had a 2023 to forget after managing just nine matches all year – the last coming in April.

In May, she underwent surgery on both of her hands and her left ankle, ruling her out of action for the rest of the year.

It has seen the 21-year-old drop down to 298 in the world rankings but she was offered a wildcard for next week’s Auckland Classic.

After being drawn in a qualifier for the first round, Raducanu is keen to get back on the court.

“I feel reborn in a way. I feel fresh, I feel ready, I feel happy and I feel excited,” she said.

“Overall, I’m feeling positive and lighter. I think that for two years after the US Open I felt maybe a bit more weight on my shoulders, but now I feel completely fresh.”

Raducanu also told Sky Sports: “I would play and then I had the patch where I couldn’t play again for two months because of one of my wrists. 

“That was really difficult because I felt like I was just getting going and then I stepped back again.

“It was hard, especially in the first few months. When you’re so used to being active and moving around all the time, then to all of a sudden to have everything just cut off from you.

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“I had like two wrists and one foot [injured] so I couldn’t even use crutches. I basically had like a a scooter kind of thing and you would push yourself around with one leg.

“It was really difficult. I couldn’t really go anywhere. I couldn’t go to the supermarket; imagine being that immobile.

“I think it definitely reignited the fire to get back out there competing and made me appreciate just being healthy.”

If Raducanu wins her first game in Auckland, she will face either former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki or Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in the second round.

And she will need to in order to reach the main draw of the Australian Open, which will start on January 14.

Raducanu revealed: “Physically, in in practice over the last few weeks, I’m hitting the ball really well.

“I think I’m a better tennis player than I was before the break.”

The Australian Open is the first Grand Slam of 2024 and Rafa Nadal is set to bid farewell to Melbourne Park after confirming that this will be his final year.

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The Spaniard suffered a serious hip injury at 2023’s Australian Open while Aryna Sabalenka won the event for the women’s.

Despite Raducanu’s tough year, she remains one of the biggest stars in tennis after her sensational victory at the US Open two years ago.

She has also landed huge sponsorship deals in the past, working for companies such as Tiffany, Evian, Porsche, HSBC, and many more.

It was reported by The Mail that she made £12.1million over the past year through sponsorship deals.