Emma Raducanu makes exciting pledge to fans and reveals key new hobby ahead of tennis return
Emma Raducanu is looking ahead to the future as tennis star prepares to return
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Emma Raducanu has revealed she'll be in a better headspace when she returns to a tennis court.
And the Brit also thinks piano lessons will have helped her, having not played since undergoing three surgeries in May.
Raducanu was the talk of the tennis world when she powered her way to US Open glory in 2021.
She's been plagued by injury issues ever since, however, and has struggled to climb to the dizzying heights of old.
Emma Raducanu has been learning the piano amid her time away from tennis
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Raducanu has now started on-court training again and is hoping to return to action in the New Year.
The 20-year-old has also spent some time in China - and the youngster thinks learning piano during her time in the Far East bodes well for the future.
“I really wanted to expand what I do off the court because obviously when you’re playing you have little to no time to do anything," she said.
“So, it was nice to have some time off to do new things and new skills that I had never done before or tried before.
“I learned one piano song in literally like four days. I’d touched the piano once when I was 10 in China.
“Never in the UK because I don’t have a piano.
"But my cousin has always played so whenever I go back to China, I’d try it. And this time I actually gave it a go.
“I’m just aiming to get back to tennis as soon as possible without rushing it.
“Because I know that when you rush things, you set yourself back a little bit.
“I know it’s going to be difficult when you haven’t competed for a long time, like almost a year.
“So for sure it’s probably going to take me some tournaments to get back into it and up to speed.
“But once I do, I think I’m in a better headspace to compete now.”
Raducanu then also proceeded to double down, though also admitted she didn't watch any of this year's US Open because it was 'too raw' for her.
“I didn’t watch any of the US Open," she told Prime Video.
“When the Slams were happening, it was too raw.
"You know the feeling of playing, you know the feeling of walking out on to court, so it was a bit close to home so I stayed away from the US Open.
“Initially after my surgeries, it was difficult to train.
“For example, if it was just the wrist, you could run or still do other things. In the beginning it was very much quite sedentary.
“But for the whole period I’ve been doing a lot off the court, just reading a lot.
“I feel like mentally I’m in a better place to compete now than I have ever been since the US Open win.
“It was really nice to finally get back on court for training.
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Emma Raducanu didn't watch any of the US Open after previously winning the competition in 2021
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"And then you really realise how much you’ve missed it. How much you have been itching to go.
“I think it makes the off-court exercises easier to do because you actually see a reward for it. "Rather than just doing it and doing it and doing it with no reward.”