Emma Raducanu has honed painting and piano skills during her time out with injury but she is ‘itching’ to get back on the court for the first time since April following THREE surgeries 

• Emma Raducanu has been away from the tennis court since April through injury 
• The 20-year-old has seen her world ranking fall down to 284 during her time out
• She is due to play exhibition tennis in Asia ahead of the start of next season 

Emma Raducanu believes that time off has put her in the right place to begin her comeback as she ramps up preparations to return to the court.

The former US Open champion said she was ‘itching’ to get back to wielding a racket after a hiatus caused by three minor surgeries which has allowed her time to learn how to play the piano and work on her painting skills.

Now ranked 284 having not played since April, she is due to play some exhibition tennis in Asia ahead of the start of next season in Australia.

‘It was difficult to train after the surgeries, so it was very sedentary in the beginning,’ she said in an interview with Amazon Prime, referring to the span of time from May onwards when she had operations on her wrists and ankle.

‘Through the whole period, I’ve been doing a lot off court, reading a lot and watching some tennis. Mentally, I feel like I’m in a better place to compete now than I ever have been before since the US Open.

Emma Raducanu’s last outing came in the Madrid Open against Viktoriya Tomova in April 

The British tennis star shared a video on Instagram of herself painting what appears to be a Terracotta Army a warrior in a traditional dress

Raducanu underwent wrists and ankle surgery in May, which brought her season to an end

‘I just 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. So, it was nice to have some time to learn new skills and do things I’d never done or tried before. At the end of the day, I’m itching to get back on court.’

Raducanu is not going to rush matters, but reckons she will be in a stronger position eventually.

‘I’m hoping to get back on board for next season. I know it’s going to be difficult when you haven’t competed for a long time, like almost a year. It’s going to probably take me some tournaments to get up to speed. But, once I do, I think I’m in a better headspace to compete now.’

With the main tour season coming to an end, she will be absent when Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup team take on Sweden in London next weekend.

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