Emma Raducanu’s Australian Open preparation derailed as she’s forced to withdraw from another tournament
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EMMA RADUCANU has suffered a back injury before the start of next month’s Australian Open. The Brit, 22, is not fully fit to appear in a season-opening event in Auckland, which has started this week. The former US Open champion had been due to face American Robin Montgomery in the Last 32 in New Zealand on Tuesday but withdrew on the morning of her match.
![[Emma Raducanu has suffered a back injury]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/emma-raducanu-great-britain-reacts-950465738_2ecc21.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Though she has been able to train recently, her camp say her back has not eased up as much as she would have liked after travelling Down Under – and she will now head straight to Melbourne. It means she will enter the first Slam of 2025 without playing in a WTA tournament since late September.
Raducanu said: "I tried my best to be ready. "I love Auckland and the fans here but unfortunately picked up a back niggle and won’t be ready in time.". Raducanu, the world No.56, has had a complicated history with the Kiwi event as she retired hurt in January 2023.
Tournament bosses there were forced to defend the conditions of their indoor courts almost two years ago. Raducanu blasted the “slippery” substitute surfaces as she rolled her left ankle and left the event in tears. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS.
In November, Raducanu celebrated her 22nd birthday while being confined to a hotel. The ace was forced to stay at her hotel in Spain due to the heavy flooding in the Costa del Sol. She has also recently admitted that her tennis has been impacted by off-field commercial activities.
