Emma Raducanu is feeling “reborn” and freed of the weight of her US Open triumph as she prepares to make her comeback in Auckland.
The 21-year-old will face a qualifier in the opening round of the ASB Classic, her first match since April following operations on both her wrists and one ankle.
Raducanu looked relaxed and happy as she spoke to the media in New Zealand, saying: “I feel reborn in a way, I feel fresh, I feel ready, I feel happy, I feel excited.
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“Overall I’m feeling very positive and lighter. I think for two years after the US Open I felt maybe a bit more weight on my shoulders but now I feel completely fresh.”
The former British number one had hoped to make her comeback last autumn but her recovery was not a smooth process and she was forced to delay until the start of the new season.
She has been building back up to full fitness on and off court at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton under the guidance of Lawn Tennis Association staff.
For her final week working in London she turned to childhood coach Nick Cavaday while accompanying her in Auckland is mentor Jane O’Donoghue, a former coach who left the LTA to pursue a career in finance.
Raducanu has not had a permanent coach since splitting from Sebastian Sachs at the beginning of June.
O’Donoghue also helped out Raducanu at Wimbledon in 2022 when she was between coaches, and the former US Open champion said: “It’s really nice and refreshing to have her around, I know she has my best interests at heart and it’s just nice to have a familiar face.”
While it is likely to take time for Raducanu to find her feet on the match court again, she believes she is returning to the tour a better player and hungry to succeed.
“It’s going to be fun, I think, going out there competing again, having the competitive juices flowing,” she said.
“I’ve been training really well in practice so overall I’m feeling really good about my game. I think tennis wise I’m better than I was a year ago today, it’s just playing a match it’s going to be different.
“I got to spend a lot of time just thinking how I feel and I definitely got that hunger back just to be on the court competing, training, sweating. I think you really appreciate the time you have when you’re healthy and on court.”
While Raducanu received a wild card in Auckland, she is still waiting to see whether the same will apply for the Australian Open.
Her protected ranking given to players who have been sidelined long term is 103, which appears unlikely to be high enough to secure direct entry in Melbourne.
Currently that would mean going through qualifying at a grand slam for the first time since her remarkable New York triumph in 2021, and she said: “Qualifying doesn’t faze me.
“Right now I’m approaching it like I am in qualifying because I am. I’ve done pretty well in qualifying before so I’ll just see how it goes.”
Preparing to make his 2024 debut across the Tasman Sea at the Brisbane International is Andy Murray, who will take on second seed Grigor Dimitrov in his opening match.
Most of the focus at the tournament is on the returning Rafael Nadal and Naomi Osaka, and Murray faced the Spaniard in a practice session on Saturday.
Nadal has been sidelined for a year by a hip problem, and Murray said: “It’s great to have him back playing. He’s obviously working extremely hard, like always. He looked physically good, was playing well.”
Both men would need to make it to the semi-finals to meet in anger, and Murray cited renewing his long-time rivalries with Nadal and Novak Djokovic as a goal.
“If I get the opportunity to practise with them, I still really, really enjoy that,” said the Scot. “It does bring back some good memories. But ideally I’d want to be doing that in the tournaments, not in the first rounds. I’d like to be doing it
in the latter stages, if I can.”
Sinner guides Italy to back-to-back Davis Cup triumphs
Jannik Sinner capped his outstanding year by helping Italy retain the Davis Cup, beating Tallon Griekspoor to ensure Italy downed the Netherlands 2-0 in Sunday's final.
World number one Sinner overcame Griekspoor 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 after Matteo Berrettini had registered a 6-4 6-2 win over Botic van de Zandschulp in the opener.
Sinner saved the only two break points of the first set as Griekspoor put up a fight, but the Italian put on a show in the tie-break to inch ahead.
Griekspoor hit back after giving up an early break in the second set, but Sinner immediately responded with two further breaks, with the Dutchman double-faulting for the first then wildly miscuing with a backhand for the second.
Sinner was untroubled from then on, sealing a triumphant end to a spectacular season.
The Italian has only dropped one set throughout that streak, finishing a year that saw him win the Australian Open, US Open and ATP Finals with a 73-6 singles record.
Data Debrief: Sensational Sinner leads the way
This has been a truly remarkable year for Sinner, who has become the first man in the Open Era to win at least one set in every match throughout a season since Roger Federer in 2005.
His victory ensured Italy became the first team to retain the Davis Cup since the Czech Republic triumphed in 2012 and 2013.
Italy also captured the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this week, and they are just the third nation to claim both trophies in the same season in the last 30 years, after the Czech Republic in 2012 and Russia in 2021.
Sinner and Berrettini send defending champions Italy into Davis Cup final
Jannik Sinner's victory over Alex de Minaur clinched Italy's place in another Davis Cup final, with Matteo Berrettini also victorious as the defending champions beat Australia 2-0.
Italy won the Davis Cup for the first time since 1976 last year, and they will have an opportunity to defend their crown against the Netherlands on Sunday.
Former Wimbledon finalist Berrettini got the ball rolling with an entertaining 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 7-5 victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis, not surrendering a break after losing the opener in a tie-break.
That teed up Sinner to close out Italy's victory, with the world number one overcoming De Minaur 6-3 6-4, the same scoreline he beat the Australian by at the ATP Finals earlier this month.
Speaking after his victory in Malaga, Sinner said: "It means a lot. It was a tough encounter, playing Alex. We know each other quite well now, so I have to be very careful every time.
"It's a very tough challenge for me, so I was looking forward to this one. Obviously, it helped a lot that Matteo won the singles today. He played amazing tennis. It was very high quality.
"Hopefully, this can give us some confidence for [Sunday]. It's going to be a very difficult and tough day for us and also the Netherlands."
Data Debrief: Back-to-back for Italy
Italy's men are looking to follow in the footsteps of their female counterparts, who won the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this week.
They are just the third nation in history to make back-to-back finals at both the Davis Cup and the Federation/Billie Jean King Cup, after the United States (1963-64, 1978-79, 1981-82 and 1990-91) and Australia (1963-64 and 1964-65).
Djokovic appoints Murray as coach for Australian Open
Novak Djokovic has announced his long-term former rival Andy Murray as his coach for the Australian Open in 2025.
Murray, a three-time Grand Slam winner, announced his retirement earlier this year and played his final match at the Paris Olympics in August.
He will join Djokovic's team in the off-season and coach him through the opening grand slam of the year, which begins on January 12.
This will be Murray's first coaching role since retiring following a 19-year career.
"We played each other since we were boys. 25 years of being rivals, of pushing each other beyond our limits," Djokovic said in a video on social media.
"We had some of the most epic battles in our sport. They called us game changers, risk-takers, history makers.
"I thought our story may be over - turns out it has one final chapter.
"It's time for one of my toughest opponents to step into my corner. Welcome onboard coach, Andy Murray."
Djokovic failed to win a major title for the first time since 2017, though he did clinch a long-awaited Olympic gold medal in Paris.
The Serb is currently level with Margaret Court for the most major singles titles by any player. He has a good record in Australia though, winning 10 times in Melbourne, beating Murray in four of those finals.
Murray, who beat Djokovic to win the US Open title in 2012 and Wimbledon the following year, says he hopes they can achieve success together.
"I'm going to be joining Novak's team in the off-season, helping him to prepare for the Australian Open," Murray said.
"I'm really excited for it and looking forward to spending time on the same side of the net as Novak for a change, helping him to achieve his goals."
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