I struggled to brush my teeth and needed a mobility scooter during rehab – now I feel reborn, reveals Emma Raducanu
EMMA RADUCANU says she feels “reborn” as a tennis player – after admitting she used a mobility knee scooter during her rehab and recovery.
This has been an injury-damaged year because the 2021 US Open champion had three surgeries – one on her left ankle and two on her wrists – in May.
In the weeks and months after her operations last spring, Raducanu needed wheeled transportation to get around the house as he struggled to walk properly.
Brushing her teeth was also difficult as she needed to resist using her hands during the initial rehab.
The 21-year-old said: “I had a few hiccups along the road, some which were unrelated to the injuries.
“It took a while. I would play and then I had a patch where I couldn’t play again for two months because of one of my wrists. That was really difficult.
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“I felt like I was getting going and then it was a setback again.
“You’re so used to being active and moving around all of the time and then everything is cut off.
“I couldn’t even use crutches. So, I basically had like a scooter kind of thing.
“You would put your hands on the front steering thing and your knee on a pad, and push yourself around with one leg.
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“It was really difficult. I couldn’t really go anywhere. I couldn’t go to the supermarket. Imagine being that immobile.
“It reignited the fire to get back out there competing and made me appreciate just being healthy and being able to walk around. Being able to brush your teeth so much more.”
Raducanu, who has dropped to 298th in the WTA world rankings, marks her return to the tennis circuit this week at the ASB Classic in Auckland.
In the first-round, she will face a qualifier while former Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark or Ukrainian Elina Svitolina will lurk in the second round.
Kent-based Raducanu, who will be assisted in New Zealand by “mentor” Jane O’Donoghue, said: “I feel reborn in a way. I feel fresh. I feel happy. I feel excited. I feel positive and lighter.
“In training and practising over the last few weeks, I have been hitting the ball really well. I think I’m a better tennis player than I was before the break.
“People around me can see I’m playing really well. Physically I’m pushing weight and pushing things that I wasn’t doing before. In my body, I have confidence in it.
“Tennis-wise, it’s about now putting it into a match, which is completely different to practice.”
