Emma Raducanu has delivered some welcome news for tennis fans, revealing she's on the mend after a frustrating spell on the sidelines.
The British No. 1 responded to a supporter on Instagram earlier today, offering a brief but encouraging update on her health.
When a fan expressed hope that she was recovering well, the 23-year-old replied: "Much better thank you x".
It's the first positive sign from Raducanu since a viral illness picked up in February forced her to withdraw from three consecutive events.
Emma Raducanu has told a fan on social media that she is feeling better
| GETTYThe world No. 27 has been absent from the Miami Open, Upper Austria Ladies Linz, and most recently the Madrid Open.
The illness appears to have taken hold during her impressive run to the Transylvania Open final, where medical staff monitored her vitals as she fell to Sorana Cirstea in the title match.
Rather than resting up, Raducanu pushed on to the Middle East, taking to the court in Doha just 48 hours later before being forced to retire during the third set.
Things didn't improve from there.
She lost her opener in Dubai the following week, then managed a single victory at Indian Wells before Amanda Anisimova handed her a crushing 6-1 6-1 defeat.
That match, more than seven weeks ago now, remains her last competitive outing.
There's hope that Raducanu will make her comeback at the Italian Open, which gets underway next week.
Although she pulled out of Madrid, it's understood she's been back in training and has her sights set on Rome.
If all goes well, she should be fit for the French Open, which starts on 24th May. Roland Garros hasn't been kind to her so far – she's yet to progress past the second round in Paris.
Questions remain about who'll be in her corner when she returns. The Brit split from Spanish coach Francisco Roig back in January and has since been travelling with hitting partner Alexis Canter and physio Emma Stewart.
She's made clear she isn't actively searching for a permanent replacement.