Emma Raducanu has suffered a setback ahead of the Australian Open after being forced to withdraw from the first tournament of her 2025 season in New Zealand.
The former US Open champion has pulled out of her match against America’s Robin Montgomery at the ASB Classic in Auckland after recently suffering from a back problem that she had hoped to recover from. Raducanu has been hampered by various physical setbacks in recent months and missed most of 2023 after undergoing surgery on both of her wrists and her ankle. More recently, in September she sprained ligaments in her foot while playing whilst playing at the Korean Open.
“I’ve tried my best to be ready. I love Auckland and the fans here. But unfortunately, I’ve picked up a back niggle and I won’t be ready in time,” said Raducanu.
The world No.56 will next travel to Melbourne where she will continue her preparations ahead of the Australian Open, which will start on January 12th. She has yet to win back-to-back matches at the Grand Slam and has lost in the second round in her three previous appearances.
Traveling with Raducanu is recently hired fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura, who has previously worked with Naomi Osaka and Maria Sharapova.
“I think he is going to help me just really explore how far I can go, like athletically,” Rducanu said of Nakamura earlier this month.
“I think it’s a big strength of mine that I have nowhere near fulfilled. I think I can become one of the best athletes out there in tennis and I’m just looking forward to seeing how much I can do.
“My natural athleticism is something that I have to use. I have to hone it, I have to polish it, it’s still pretty raw and I don’t think anywhere near fully developed so he’s going to help me explore that.”
Raducanu isn’t the only player to withdraw from Auckland on Tuesday. Another to do so was Elise Mertens who was the second seed in the tournament. Mertens has cited an ankle injury as the reason for her decision to pull out.
“I am sorry not to play my singles due to an injury,” said Mertens. “I wish the tournament all the best and hope to be back next year.”
The ASB Classic is a WTA 250 event. The highest-ranked player in this year’s draw is world No.21 Madison Keys.
