Emma Raducanu vows she is 'ready to commit' to reaching her full potential after achieving 'zen mindset' during injury lay-off - as she gears up for return after two months out of action
- Emma Raducanu withdrew from the Korea Open with a foot injury in September
- Now she is gearing up for her return at the Billie Jean King Cup finals in Malaga
- She revealed how she has gained a 'zen mindset' during her time off the court
After a holiday in China cultivating a ‘zen mindset’ and a 22nd birthday spent doing yoga and watching the rain coming down in buckets, Emma Raducanu returns to the tennis court on Friday.
The British No2 is here with team GB for the Billie Jean King Cup finals, her first outing since twisting ligaments in her left foot in Seoul almost two months ago.
Raducanu has clearly done some thinking during that time off and said on Thursday she is ‘ready to commit’ to maxing out her athletic potential, confirming talks with Maria Sharapova’s former fitness trainer Yutaka Nakamura.
‘I did a lot of reading, picked the piano back up,’ she said of her injury-enforced absence. ‘I was trying to develop myself in other ways and doing other hobbies. I spent some time in China to see my grandma.
‘Whenever I'm with my grandma over there, it's a bit of a retreat for me and very far from what I usually do. I was very grateful for that opportunity because I don't get to see her very often. I came back in quite a peaceful and zen mindset.’
Emma Raducanu says she is 'ready to commit' to reaching her potential after achieving a 'zen mindset' during her two-month injury absence
She is in Malaga for the Billie Jean King Cup finals, her return after two months out of action
Raducanu said she had done lots of reading and started playing the piano again
On the prospect of appointing Nakamura, who worked with Sharapova for seven years as well as Naomi Osaka, Raducanu added: ‘We are having discussions. My goal next year is to stay on court longer. This year I came top 60 in the world but I barely played - less than 15 events. I know if I'm on court and healthy and competing, I can go even higher and further. My athleticism is a strength of mine but it's nowhere near its full potential. I'm looking to explore that further and I’m ready to commit to doing that.’
Horrendous flooding caused havoc in Malaga on Wednesday, delaying the beginning of the event. More frivolously, it also put a dampener on Raducanu’s birthday celebrations.
She and the rest of the team – Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart, Heather Watson and Olivia Nicholls – were confined to barracks but still marked Raducanu’s big day with yoga and ‘just a little bit’ of chocolate cake.
‘I'm really grateful that my team made a really big effort yesterday to make me feel really special,’ said Raducanu. ‘There were birthday banners, cake, balloons. It was really nice, considering the weather - we couldn't really go out or do anything. Even though those were the conditions, I still had a great time. It was very memorable.’
Britain begin their campaign against Germany on Friday from 4pm UK time and start as favourites, given the opposition’s highest-ranked player is 36-year-old Laura Siegemund, the world No84.
Katie Boulter will tee off against Siegemund and then Raducanu is expected to get the nod to face either Jule Niemeier or Tatjana Maria. If those two matches are split, the tie will be decided in the doubles.
Get through that tie and GB would then face defending champions Canada, led by Leylah Fernandez, who Raducanu beat to win the 2021 US Open.
For the first time this year the Billie Jean King and Davis Cups are being played at the same venue, creating a so-called World Cup of Tennis – with the hoped-for climax being Rafael Nadal leading Spain to the final in his last event before retirement.
