The physical demands of elite tennis are relentless but there is optimism the US Open champion can become more robust
If there is anything that Emma Raducanu’s career since her US Open triumph has reinforced beyond doubt, it is just how difficult the day-to-day grind of life as a professional tennis player is. The physical load each week is considerable, injury niggles are so common that few players are ever functioning at 100% and only the strongest maintain their spot at the top.
For now, as expected, Raducanu has a long way to go. In the past week in Prague, her latest injury issues have been the blisters on her foot. A recap of how she has fared since the US Open is largely a long list of such setbacks. She endured illness in her final tournaments of 2021, her off-season was scuppered by Covid, blisters on her hand forced her to her hit one-handed backhand slices at the Australian Open, in February she had to retire in Monterrey after sustaining a hip injury and a stiff back followed in Indian Wells.
