Emma Raducanu was left less than impressed with the Australian Open schedule after being forced to scramble to get ready for the tournament.
The British No. 1 only arrived in Melbourne on Friday after reaching the quarter-finals of the Hobart International, but will begin her campaign here on Sunday against Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkai.
And not only is she scheduled on the opening day, but she has also been given a second slot for the night session at Margaret Court Arena after the men’s match which starts at 7pm local time (8am BST), meaning the possibility of a very late start.
Raducanu planned to have her first training session on Saturday at 9pm local time and said: “It’s very difficult. I wish you had more time in the environment, more time to practice, but I guess I’m pretty much given the schedule to try to turn it around and make the most of what’s in front of me.”
“I think it’s easy to get down and complain about it, but that’s not going to help. So I’m just trying to focus and turn things around for tomorrow.”
“It’s very difficult to schedule women’s matches after a potential five-set match. It doesn’t really make much sense to me.”
“I’m going to practice today and see how it is. I don’t think I’ve been in that situation. Only once until now maybe when I played in the semifinals of the US Open.”
“I played the second match in the evening, but other than that, I haven’t played that late. So it’s a new experience for me, something I have to learn to do.”
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Most notably when top seed Emma Raducanu was kicked out of the Hobart International.
It would have been a tough situation even if Raducanu had entered the season in top form, but the 23-year-old has once again struggled with physical issues during pre-season, with a foot injury severely limiting her time on the pitch.
She appeared to lack match sharpness in her clash with Maria Sakari at the United Cup last week, beating Camila Osorio in the first round in Hobart before losing to low-ranked Australian Taylah Preston.
Raducanu said of the foot problem: “It’s definitely a lot better. I’ve had to deal with it for the last few months, but I’m really happy with the progress I’ve made this year.”
“I came to Australia not knowing how it was going to go and now I’m in a much better place and I’m just improving day by day.”
“I could easily get frustrated that I didn’t have the preseason I wanted. I think that would just frustrate me. After last year was my first real year on the tour, I really learned that the season is so long. I just want to try to go into this year.”
“Obviously I want this week to go well, but I know I’m working on the right things and it will fall into place at some point.”
“I started training very, very late tennis-wise. So, because of that, I feel like I have to kind of take the pressure off myself and not put too much pressure on myself and expect to play amazing tennis.”
Raducanu has been given a busy early schedule at the Australian Open
On paper, Savangkaev shouldn’t pose much of a threat to be ranked 195 and make her Grand Slam debut, but the 23-year-old already has a lower-level title to her name this season.
“I think it’s tricky because playing a lot of matches, even if it’s at the ITF level, and getting a lot of wins, it does so much,” Raducanu said.
“I think it’s a very dangerous opponent, a very dangerous situation to be in. You don’t know a lot about them, so there’s that element of surprise.
Williams is excited to make history ahead of the Joker’s return
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Venus Williams talks about how excited she is to compete in her first Australian Open in five years
Venus Williams is ready to celebrate her latest milestone as she prepares to make her first Australian Open appearance in five years.
At 45, the American will become the oldest woman to compete in the main draw at Melbourne Park, surpassing Japan’s Kimiko Date, who was 44 when she played her last match in 2015.
“I didn’t think about it until it came out in the press, so, woe betide me,” said Williams, who played in the tournament for the first time in 1998. “Let’s do this.”
Williams reached her second singles final in Melbourne in 2017 but has not traveled Down Under since 2021, making it two-and-a-half years since her last Grand Slam appearance outside the US Open.
But returning to the court last summer after struggling with injury and her health brought joy and emotion for Williams, who won a singles match two years ago in Washington and reached the women’s doubles quarterfinals at the US Open with Leila Fernandez.
Venus Williams, 45, will play in her first Australian Open since 2021 after receiving a wild card
She hinted at the time that Australia might be too far of a trip, but there was a wild card ahead and Williams gratefully accepted.
“You have to throw out the red herrings, don’t you,” she said. “Also, I was getting married. I had two weddings coming up. It was a busy time for me, so I focused on that.”
“This is the greatest place in the world to play. I have amazing memories here. I love challenges, so I’m up for the challenge.”
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