Two promising young tennis players whose careers have been riddled with injuries are getting a late start to their 2025 seasons. Both were scheduled to play in Australian Open warmup tournaments this week.
Emma Raducanu
2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, 22, was forced to withdraw from her opening match at the ASB Classic because of a back issue. Raducanu missed most of 2023 with three injuries and has been unable to stay healthy enough for consistent periods to get momentum and stamina.
Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from Auckland due to a back injury.
Tough way to start the season.
Hoping to see her healthy at the Australian Open.
🇬🇧❤️🩹 pic.twitter.com/tcHpSCfyBG
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) December 30, 2024
The British tennis star is slated to play in the 2025 Australian Open, but this injury setback makes that less of a certainty. She has not made it past the second round in Melbourne in the past three years.
Sebastian Korda
American Sebastian Korda was set to begin his 2025 season at Brisbane International. He withdrew before his opening match. It is not clear what happened. Korda had elbow surgery in October.
Like Raducanu, Korda, 24, planned to play at the 2025 Australian Open. He was a quarterfinalist at this event in 2023.
🇺🇸 Sebastian Korda (5) has withdrawn from the main draw of the @BrisbaneTennis replaced by 🇷🇸 Dusan Lajovic (LL)#TheFirstServe
— The First Serve (@TheFirstServeAU) December 31, 2024
Qualifying begins at the Australian Open on January 6 with main draw play scheduled for January 12. The draws will be released on January 9.
Players who have already bowed out of the Australian Open due to injury are Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova.
Jessica Pegula and Ajla Tomljanovic are missing Australian Open warmup tournaments but hope to be healthy for the Australian Open.
