Emma Raducanu is hopeful of being fit for next week’s Australian Open but taking it “a day at a time” in her recovery from an ankle injury.
The British number one was in tears on Thursday after rolling her left ankle during a second-round match with Viktoria Kuzmova at the ASB Classic in Auckland.
Raducanu, who had started her season with an impressive victory over Linda Fruhvirtova, headed to Melbourne at the weekend and during an interview with Tennis Australia talked up her chances of appearing in the first major of 2023.
“It was really unfortunate to be honest last week,” Raducanu said. “I was feeling great about my season and feeling really good with the preparation I did physically.
“I just had an accident on the court, which I don’t know what I could have done to prevent that, so I’m just taking it a day at a time honestly and every single day try as best as possible to see and make progress. We’ll see.
“Hopefully by Monday or whenever the tournament starts (for me) I’ll be OK and ready but we’re just taking it a day at a time and not trying to expect too much at this point.
The Australian Open gets under way on 16 January and Raducanu’s team were hopeful initially after her slip in Auckland that it was only a minor ankle strain.
The grand-slam winner endured a frustrating 2022 after her US Open success in 2021 with a string of fitness issues affecting her first full campaign on the tour.
A wrist injury ended last season early for Raducanu but a hard-fought victory over Fruhvirtova ensured she made a positive start to the new year.
The 20-year-old made her Australian Open debut last January but exited in the second round following defeat to Danka Kovinic where she struggled with blister issues.
