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Emma Raducanu increasing gym regime to help tackle injury issues

Emma Raducanu - GETTY IMAGES
Emma Raducanu - GETTY IMAGES

Emma Raducanu says she has stepped up her gym regime in an attempt to become more physically robust and better able to deal with the injury problems that have blighted her in recent months.

Raducanu’s clay-court season has been afflicted by back pain – first in Madrid and then in Rome 10 days ago, where she was forced to retire midway through her opening match against Bianca Andreescu.

At that stage, she wondered whether she might have to withdraw from the French Open – which would have been a bitter blow. But after a few days’ rest, she resumed training this week and believes that she will be in good enough shape to take on an as-yet-unspecified opponent in the first round.

“It was definitely thrown into question,” said Raducanu, when asked about her participation at Roland Garros. “But I got the all clear to continue with preparations and see how things go.

“After Rome, I definitely had to slow down that week. But this week I’ve been training and luckily I’ve been able to practise all of the shots. I have been preparing as normal the last few days.

Raducanu receives treatment in her women's singles first round match against Bianca Andreescu - GETTY IMAGES
Raducanu receives treatment in her women's singles first round match against Bianca Andreescu - GETTY IMAGES

“With my physios,” added Raducanu, “I've got Will [Herbert] who is here and Tom Cornish, who is back home now but he travelled with me to Rome. They are definitely looking after me.

“I am putting together something, like just figuring out what works physically, because that is obviously an element of my game that needs to be looked at.

“I think it's been really positive that, the last few days after the back [injury], I have definitely been increasing my gym work. It gives me confidence to be able to do that stuff and train, leading up to a tournament. I'm really looking forward and motivated to keep doing that.”

Raducanu hasn’t played in the main event at Roland Garros before, although she did win one junior match here in 2018. Even if she remains highly inexperienced on clay, her results have looked up slightly since the tour switched surfaces two months ago, with five wins coming from nine outings.

Meanwhile Naomi Osaka – who pulled out of last year’s French Open after a row over her media duties – said that she had felt nervous returning to this tournament after two years away.

"When I first came here, I was very worried,” said Osaka, who began seeing a therapist after a heckling incident in Indian Wells two months ago. “I was worried that there were people that I offended some way and I would just kind of bump into them.

“But I think everyone has been really positive, for the most part,” added Osaka. “I was also very worried about this press conference, because I knew I'd get a lot of questions about this. Of course I'm still thinking about it, and I'm also prepping just in case I go on the court and a fan says something like in Indian Wells. Yeah, for the most part I think I'm okay.”